This paper examines the impact of politician-businessperson-owned (PBO) newspapers on the objectivity of the reportage of the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria, by some selected media organisations. Adopting analysis of documentary evidence as methodology, the study examines the dominant themes of some PBO newspapers during their coverage of the election. This was done with a view to establishing their level of objectivity, which is defined in terms of whether these media organisations gave equitable coverage to all the 26 political parties and their candidates; and their level of compliance with professional ethics. Using gatekeeping theory as main theoretical framework, the paper finds that media owners, and not the editors, appear to be the gatekeepers. The paper recommends proper regulation of media organisations in the country to ensure that they meet stipulated ethical standards.

At the core of the knowledge inquiry about behavioural differences is the nature versus nurture debate which has been central to the development of various theories of human personality. The metaphor of a pendulum, swinging back and forth between nature and nurture, has been used to depict the opinion of scholars and practitioners in the social sciences and psychology in this debate. Nature / Nurture debate seeks to proffer answers to the following questions: why do people differ significantly in temperament, approach to challenges and level of intelligence even when they are siblings sharing from the same pool of genes? The debate also seeks to understand why people with different genetic trait behave alike within a group. How does our physical environment affect human behaviour and what role does communication play in the development of human personality? In the context of street children in Nigeria, should we attribute human personality to nature or nurture? These are issues this paper seeks to deconstruct. Methodologically, the paper examines critical theories of human personality and utilises a mix of review of relevant literature, comments and observations to discuss the role of communication in the formation of human personality. It concludes that though nature contributes towards human behaviour and personality, communication, which is the tool that drives socialisation, is central to the development of personality among the street children of Calabar. Thus, if communication can influence personality negatively, then the street children of Calabar have a chance of being rehabilitated through a different kind of communication aimed at behaviour modification.

Since the advent of Colonialism, a real concern has been and remains the struggle to hold on to indigenous traditions and cultural identities in Nigeria and across most of Africa in the face of the crusading influence of westernization. In the view of many Afrocentric pundits, it has become imperative that decisive measures need to be taken to reverse the tide of the rapidly deteriorating cultural identity of neo-colonial African societies. These measures are especially needed in the light of the rise in criminal behavior and general moral decadence among the youths which are said to be as a result of a crisis in cultural values. This paper draws on existing works in an attempt to depict the role of cultural markers and in particular, storytelling as a tool that can be wielded towards the preservation of the indigenous Nigerian cultures. The paper specifically argues that storytelling provides a solid basis for raising culturally adjusted individuals and inculcating values or norms that can foster decency, honesty, integrity and creativity in the minds of the young and future generations of Nigerians.

Review of: The Rhetorical Legacy of Wangari Maathai, Eddah M. Mutua, Alberto Gonzalez and Anke Wolbert (eds) (2018) Lanham: Lexington Books, 221 pp., ISBN 978-1-49857-112-8, h/bk, $83.07