This article examines Nigeria-South Africa relations with emphasis on political, trade and economic engagements. It investigates the consistencies and changing patterns in Nigeria and South Africa relations that are partly linked to the failure of Nigeria to diversify its economy and South Africa's unwillingness to provide enabling environment for Nigerians in its economic domain. It argues that Nigeria and South Africa have de-prioritized the key objectives of leading economic growth and economic development in Africa, and resorted to competitive pursuit of regional hegemonic status. This article emphasizes increased cooperation between the leading regional powers and pursuit of birelations on the bases of autonomous state structures rather than the personalities of the governing elite. The work relies on secondary sources of data such as journal articles, newspapers and policy briefs to discuss aspects of Nigeria-South Africa relations. It concludes that Nigeria and South Africa should shift from competitive relations to cordial relations with a view to leading the envisaged economic growth, economic development and political renewal in Africa.

The media role in the political space cannot be exaggerated. The impact of media on politics and political space are awesome; and the media often define agenda for public debates. The growth trajectory from traditional to social media signposts increased relevance and influence of the media in the political space. This work examines the role of media in the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria. The media are assessed against the backdrops of the reportage on party financing, political violence, election handling by the electoral umpire and political campaign. This article is predicated on specific media theories to explain and interpret the strength, significance and reach of the media. There has been a shift in media role of informing the public to influence political behavior and determine the critical issues for public conversations and debates. The paper found that the social media has assumed considerable penetration in Nigeria; and constitute important platforms for intriguing political exchanges including hate campaigns between the major parties. The social media space enables the electorate to directly engage the Presidential candidates on major national issues. The role of social media would likely grow deeper at the 2019 General Elections to deepen political culture, quality of campaign and extent of electoral competition. A fraction of the traditional media, however, assumed partisanship in the coverage of political parties and their interpretations of political news.

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