118 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
CHAPTER SIX
PRESS COVERAGE OF ETHNO-RELIGIOUS
VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS
FOR NATIONAL INTEGRATION
Hashim Muhammad Suleiman and Suleiman Salau
INTRODUCTION
The press the world over is presumed to perform some vital
functions in the integration of the society (Miller and Krosnick,
2000). Such functions of the press include, sourcing and
dissemination of information for societal surveillance, social
enlightenment, social cohesion and social mobilisation. The mass
media brings simulated reality into our lives and we find ourselves
relying on those sources to provide a conceptualised image of the
real world. The role of the media in shaping public perceptions
and opinions about significant political and social issues has long
been the subject of much speculation and debate (Wimmer and
Dominick, 1991). It is widely accepted that what we know about,
think about and believe about what happens in the world, outside
of personal first-hand experience, is shaped and orchestrated by
how these events are reported in newspapers and communicated
through the medium of radio and television (Wilson and Wilson,
2001).
Curran (2002: 158) opines thus, “The conviction … that the
media are important agencies of influence is broadly correct.
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 119
However, the ways in which the media exert influence are
complex and contingent”. Newbold, Boyd-Barrett and Van Den
Bulck (2002:310 ) concur that “although representations most
certainly do matter, their interaction … is very complex as indeed
are all the relationships between media and reality. Agendasetting theory advanced by McCombs, and later derivatives such
as ‘agenda framing’ and ‘agenda priming’ (Blood, 1989:12 as cited
by Macnamara, 2005), shifted thinking further from viewing the
mass media as powerful propaganda instruments used by elites to
manipulate public opinion and ‘manufacture consent’ towards a
focus on the mass media as the originators of messages.
In relation to the above, McCombs and others of this school
stopped short of seeing media power as absolute, but argued that
while mass media may not tell people “what to think” they set,
framed or primed the agenda of “what they think about”
(Macnamara, 2005). The media has the capacity to increase the
impact of a message and the scale of its reception. It has the
capacity to construct new geographies; both real and imaginative,
and to readjust perceptions of social reality and social contact
(Morley and Robins, 1995). All these point to one fact, the media
can be for good or for bad, subject to the whim and caprices of
those who control such media (Newman, 2005).
Further, if the print media possesses the above subtle power
to influence the minds of those exposed to its product, how then
is the Nigerian print media covering issues that pertain to the
integration of the nation? According to Metumara (2010) “Nigeria
is an amalgam of rival ethnic groups pitched against each other in
a contest for power and resources that have reflected in the
political processes, sometimes threatening the corporate
existence of the country.” Therefore, the quest to ascertain
whether the Nigerian press is pursuing the propagation of a
national approach to our national problems, creating in every
reader an interest in the affairs, achievements and culture of
fellow Nigerians and helping them to develop a national
consensus on issues which concern the country as a whole is a
valid one because when ‘social, political, economic and cultural
processes are monopolised by a group, it creates the condition
120 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
that makes people to adopt adversarial approaches to conflict’
(Ademola, 2009).
However, if the press is tilted in a biased perspective in its
reportorial responsibilities, if it (press) is in favour of one group
while putting other groups at a disadvantage, if the press always
stereotype and label certain ideas and groups in the national
discourse, the chances are that violent conflict may occur and
national integration may be jeopardised (Scarborough, 1998).
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Many things are happening in the Nigerian domestic civil life. The
Nigerian press strives to filter through such happenings and sieve
the newsworthy ones for onward transmission to the reading
public. The problem herein lies in the Nigerian press’s framing of
such sieved events in a nuanced angle at the expense of other
angles. Such framing is apt to tilt the national discourse to a
particular perception and representation of reality. This framing
of national discourse to a particular, often times stereotypical
understanding by the Nigerian press aid in furthering the
polarisation of the nation. The persistent pattern of interpreting
and presentation of our national and social life from a particular
biased perspective by our print media is not only unethical but
also a way of promoting heightened apprehension and mistrust
among and within the Nigerian population which in turn engender
violent tendencies. Thus, this work aims to highlight some of this
nuanced coverage of violent upheavals and their likely influence
on Nigeria’s national integration.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study is premised on finding some possible answers to the
following research questions:
RQ1: What prominence do the Nigerian press give to ethnoreligious violence?
RQ2: To what extent is the Nigerian press’s coverage of ethnoreligious violence promoting national integration?
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 121
RQ3:
How is the press framing ethno-religious violence in
Nigeria?
AIM OF THE STUDY
This research aims to analyse the coverage of ethno-religious
violence by the Nigerian press. The research also aims to
understand the possible relationship between the press’ coverage
of such violence and the influence of such coverage on Nigeria’s
national integration.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This work analysed two Nigerian national dailies, the Vanguard
and the Sun from 18th to the 26th of April 2011 (covering the
period of the post-election violence of 2011) and 30th August to
14th September 2011 (covering the latest Jos crisis).
CONCEPTIONS OF MEDIA INFLUENCE AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION
The media represent and construct conceptions of what
constitutes a valid struggle to lay claim by claim makers about a
particular issue. The media exert an influence on identity
formation and associated issues to do with social relations,
economic and political positions and stance on religious issues. As
such, the media should be integral to the functioning of a healthy
society, and that media texts and technologies can have a
significant impact on understanding and behaviour. Hannigan
(1995) posits that, “for a problem to enter into the arena of public
discourse or become part of a political process, media coverage is
crucial”. The newspaper serves as a public forum where debate
can arise by the various social groups, institutions, ideas and
groups who struggle to define and construct reality. The press
communicate cues about the relative salience of issues through
the placement of such issues on a particular page, the size of the
headline, length of the story or even follow up coverage of a
122 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
particular issue. The press also performs its function by focusing
on some issues at the expense of other things.
In relation to this stance, Mohammed (2003: 13) concurs that
“very important issues which could be crucial to the development
of a society may not be the subjects of public debate in the
legislature, markets, and motor-parks if the mass media decides
to ignore such important issues.” The media provides frames from
which we make sense of our understanding of the society and the
various issues and problems that confront us. For instance, the
way in which socio-economic status is framed in the press
significantly influences how audiences feel about social equity.
The press also serves as a forum for various claims-makers who
seek support for their views on social issues.
Perhaps, the press salient influence comes through its framing
function. Framing according to Gitlin (1980: 2) is the “persistent
pattern of cognition, interpretation and presentation, of selection,
emphasis and exclusion, by which symbol-handlers routinely
organise discourse, whether verbal or visual.” Thus, Mutonono
(2002: 7) sums up the presumed effect of the media thus,
The media, with its ability to reach into millions of
homes, is a powerful force in shaping attitudes. It
can either be used to maintain the inequalities in
society, or be used to challenge them. Rather than
being completely objective and impartial, the media
is shaped by the society. Media practitioners come
with their own set of beliefs and biases, which
influence their views and reporting. But these views
have a major influence on the public as they accept
the world they see reflected in the media as reality.
The media affect us in many ways: as a major socialising
influence, a carrier of culture, a source of information, education and
entertainment, an important factor in political communication and
participatory democracy, and a communicator of ideological values
and norms, attitudes and beliefs (Crossley and Roberts, 2004). It is in
this direction that the concept of the public sphere was advanced by
Jurgen Habermas (Louw 2005: 181). This concept is of the view
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 123
that with the desire of a mass society where communal interest
will supersede individual interest; which would in turn create a
“notional space” providing more or less autonomous and open
arena or forum for public debate the press should be an unbiased
umpire in its reportorial duties (McQuail, 2005).
The Nigerian press is not an exception to this observation.
From the colonial days, the Nigerian media carved a niche for
itself as a powerful tool used by the Nationalists to fight for
independence (Okoye, 2003). Then, the Nigerian media proved to
be a powerful tool in uniting Nigerians to push for the eventual
freedom of Nigeria from its colonial master. To this end,
Ekeanyanwu (2007: 3) opines that, “the development of the
Nigerian democracy and politics is closely linked with that of the
press.”
However, the role played by the press is many a times a
dysfunctional one. In Nigeria, the press is apt to sensationalise
issues, albeit based on media politics which centres around trying
to set or prime what the society come to accept as reality
(Ekeanyawu and Olaniyan, 2000). It is in the process of this
sensationalising issue by the Nigerian press that ethics and
professionalism at times become relegated to the background. It
is in the process of sensationalising issues that have direct bearing
on national survival that some newspapers fail the test of unifying
the nation. According to Kukah (1993: 100) “the media has helped
in fanning and sustaining the embers of bigotry.” When
information is deliberately distorted to favour a particular idea, a
race or a section of the society, the misinformation that goes on,
will negatively affect policy formulation and dastardly affect the
flow of national discourses (Bello, 2011). Further, in every
communal or ethnic conflict, the positions of the media can
significantly impact the outcome (Olorunyomi, 2000).
According to Media Rights Agenda (2000);
Depending on how the media reports issues, it can
serve to fuel ethnic and religious tensions and
create distrust among different political, ethnic and
religious groups. On the other hand, the media can
124 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
help to reduce political, ethnic and religious
tensions if it works towards building a common
vision for the country and tries to find a way to
communicate with the whole population. But the
media seem to have unconsciously made the choice
to exacerbate political, ethnic and religious tensions
afflicting Nigeria through reports lacking objectivity.
The Nigerian Press in its strive to sensationalise issues
tends to stereotype and label ideas and races by constantly
reporting from a nuanced angle. According to Bello (2011),
“within the Nigerian reading public, there is a little filter to sieve
the kernel of truth from biased trash. People believe in the press,
especially where a tradition of particular form of reporting is
sustained. Mental models are daily updated through the
regurgitation of structures.” Here, mental models include the
promotion of ‘we’ versus ‘them’ and giving more credence to the
reporting of our differences rather than what unite us as a nation.
Also, most of these mental models are based on stereotypic
understanding and according to Lippman (1997: 59) “the subtlest
and most pervasive of all influences are those which create and
maintain the repertory of stereotypes. We are told about the
world before we see it. We imagine most things before we
experience them. And those preconception, unless education has
made us acutely aware, govern deeply the whole process of
perception.” In relation to this stance, stereotypes influence the
way we relate with others, and to an extent promote the labelling
of ‘others’ as different from ‘us’.
In relation to the above, Agwunobi Chidi Heavens quoted by
Gusau (1996: 60) rhetorically asked, “… must every ethnic group
in Nigeria own a newspaper or magazine before the rights and
issues affecting her nationality could be honestly and
dispassionately discussed devoid of ethnic journalese?” Further,
when the Nigerian press daily and on weekly basis prioritises and
published materials full of sentiments and at times devoid of
facts, this is certainly not only unethical but a deliberate attempt
at influencing the public discourse through promotion of
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 125
falsehood. According to Yusif (2011), “lies artfully crafted and
placed in the right environment, can acquire semblance of truth”.
The issue here is that most of these craftily embedded lies tend to
be taken as gospel truth by some reading public as according to
Adibe (2011) the “problem is that some of these opinions, usually
presented as facts obtained from authoritative sources, when
repeated often enough through grapevines and occasionally in
the broadsheets, begin to sound like truth or at best make the
search for the truth more arduous.” Thus, if the unsuspecting
reading public is mostly given falsehood by the press, the
possibility of such reading audience to make informed and
positive decisions relating to the national integration of Nigeria
would be severely hampered.
In relation to the above phenomena, Gusau (1996:88) quoting
Laurence I. David asserts, “the tendency by the press to ignore its
own occasional errors, excesses and lapses in fairness” can further
promote biased coverage of issues bothering on national
integration. Indeed, Gusau (1996:89) argues that “the problem
with the Nigerian media is that those who make such mistakes
don’t believe that they are doing the wrong thing” thereby,
further polarising the Nigerian reading public at the expense of
national integration. Perhaps, McQuail (2005) aptly captured the
many sides of the media (Nigerian press inclusive) when he
asserts that:
Media are windows that enable us to see
beyond
our
immediate
surroundings,
interpreters that help us make sense of
experience, platform or carrier that convey
information, interactive communication that
includes audience feedback, signpost that
provides us with instruction and direction,
filters that screen out parts of experience and
focus on others, mirrors that reflect ourselves
back to us, and barriers that block the truth.
126 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
CONCEPTION OF ETHNO-RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE
The concept of religion suggests an attempt by man to work out a
relationship with a super-ordinate being often epitomised in God.
Implicit in this is an interaction between religion and the society
within which it functions. Consequently, because of its tendency
to colour relationships, religion in Nigeria has become a major
influence in politics and crisis, playing significant roles in the
entire societal process (Egwu, 2001). A religious divide separates
Christians and Muslims, and long-standing intra-religious conflicts
further divide the people. This distribution of adherents of Islam
and Christianity is complicated by ethnic differences as well. The
ethno-religious violence in Nigeria has continued to pose serious
threats to its national integration. In a memorandum submitted to
the Presidential Committee on National Security in Nigeria (2002),
it was observed that communal and societal conflicts have
emerged as a result of new and particularistic forms of political
consciousness and identity often structured around ethnicity and
religion. As such, people tend to get and form their ‘new and
particularistic forms of political consciousness and identity from
the media.
In relation to the above, Dunmoye (2003) quoting Cadfy,
defines violence as “physical and non-physical harm that causes
damage, pain, injury or fear.” Thus, if the Nigerian press
glamourises violence and or gives it more credence than
necessary, then the press itself can be seen as performing the act
even if it is ‘non-physical’ one. This stance is informed by the
understanding that the media in general and specifically the press
is an avenue for various claim makers to promote their
understanding of a particular phenomenon. This agitation by the
various claim-makers often times takes the colouration of either
ethnicity or religiou. Thus, if the purveyors of information, the
press should also take this angle to all the issue they cover, then
the conceptions of those who mostly read the product of such
press may likely have a coloured perception of reality, and this
trend may eventually stretch the bounds of unity and national
integration to a potentially snapping point (Jega, 2002).
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 127
THEORETICAL BASE
The theoretical base adopted for this research is the Agenda
Setting Theory. The theory was propounded by Maxwell
McCombs and Donald L. Shaw in the year 1972/73. The Agenda
Setting Theory implies that the mass media determine what issues
are considered important at a given time in a given society. The
crux of the theory is that, while the media do not possess the
power to determine what we actually think, they do have the
power to determine what we think about. The elements involved
in agenda-setting, according to Folarin (1998: 68), include:
-The quantity or frequency of reporting
-Prominence given to the reports...through headline
display, pictures and layout of newspapers.
-Degree of conflict generated in the reports, and
-The cumulative media-specific effects over time.
According to Baran and Davis (2009:279), “the press is
significantly more than a purveyor of information and opinion. It
may not be as successful much of the time in telling people what
to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what
to think about”. This suffices that, personalities, ideas and issues
are seen and approached differently by different individuals
according to their sources of information. Perhaps, as an
extension, we tend to decipher meanings of realities not from our
personal interests but also on the map drawn for us by the
writers, editors and the publishers of the materials we fall back to
in our quest for information. Further, Baran and Davis (2009: 276)
concur thus,
In choosing and displaying news, editors,
newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an
important part in shaping political reality. Readers
learn not only about a given issue, but how much
importance to attach from the amount of
information in a news story and its position… the
mass media may well determine the important
128 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
issue--- that is, media may set the ‘agenda’ of the
discussion.
In relation to the above citation, the theory postulates that
the issues that become public are the same issues that the media
are giving prominence to. Also, the significance with which we
align to issues are more or less proportionate to the prominence
given to such issues by the media. Indeed, according to Anaeto,
Onabajo and Osifeso (2008),
the relevance of the Agenda Setting Theory to the
modern contemporary media parlance could be
understood from the strength of the theory i.e. the
theory focuses on the audience interaction with the
media, empirically demonstrates links between media
exposure, audience motivation to seek orientation,
and audience perception of public issues and
integrates a number of similar ideas including priming,
story positioning and story vividness.
Thus, this theory serves the premises that, if what the press is
giving prominence to corresponds to what is being discussed at
the level of national discourse, and if the press is sentimental and
biased in its reportorial duties pertaining ethno-religious violence
in Nigeria, then the Nigerian press may not be giving its expected
quota towards promoting Nigeria’s national integration in its fifty
years of nationhood.
METHODS
In this research, content analysis was used. Keyton (2001: 125)
observes that “content analysis is the most basic method of
analysing content. It integrates both data collection method and
the analytical technique to measure the occurrence of some
identifiable elements in a complete text or set of messages.” The
work analysed two national dailies namely; the Sun and the
Vanguard newspapers. These newspapers were selected based on
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 129
their wide circulation, consistency in news coverage and their
editorial independence.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
The population of this study comprises of the publications of the
two newspapers from 18th to 26th of April, 2011 (covering the
period of the post-election violence of 2011) and 30th August to
14th September, 2011 (covering the Jos crisis). Therefore, the
population comprises 16 editions of each newspaper totalling 32
editions. However, a total of three editions of the Vanguard
newspaper could not be accessed by the researcher. This left the
researchers with a total of 29 editions.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
The study made use of the purposive sampling technique on each
edition of the two newspapers to select categories of analysis
from the front page, Op-Ed pages, centre spread and the back
page of each edition.
INSTRUMENTATION AND UNITS OF ANALYSIS
This work exploited the Code Sheet as an instrument of data
gathering. The units of analysis of this research were pictures,
headlines, captions, articles, lines drawing, and letters to the
editor, features, editorials and opinion articles.
RESULTS
A total of 29 editions of the newspapers were sampled out of
which a total of 180 units of analysis were gotten. These units of
analysis included pictures, headlines, captions, features, articles,
line drawings, pejorative language, letters to the editor, editorials
and opinion articles. The results of the analysis are presented in
tabular formats below.
130 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
Table 6.1: Showing Distribution of units of analysis by the Sun
newspaper
Units
Picture
Headlines
Captions
Features
Articles
Line drawings
Letters to the
editor
Editorials
Opiniona
Articles
Frequency
27
48
18
01
05
08
02
Sensational
17
45
10
01
05
06
01
Balanced
08
03
03
01
Neutral
02
05
02
-
04
14
01
10
01
01
02
03
Total
127
96
17
14
Source: The Sun newspapers
The table above shows the distribution of units of analysis by the
Sun newspaper during the period of this study. Out of the 127
units, 96 units (75.6%) are found to be sensational while 17
(13.4%) of the units presented by the Sun newspaper were
balanced. The units of analysis found to be neutral were 14
(11.02%). For instance, the use of sensational headlines such as
“Week of blood” (in red ink), “Back from the valley of death” (in
red ink), “Massacre in Jos; family of eight wiped out, Dad, Mum,
4-Month old baby among victims of gunmen attack”, “IBB bombs
OBJ again”, “JOS HORROR: the untold story, the deaths, agony”,
“Orgy of death: the attacks, the killings”, “Post election violence
BUHARI BARRED police stop him from entering Suleija… turned
back at road block…”, “Governorship election, total war in the
states” and “Fresh Massacre in Jos: Family of 8, 4 others killed,
how our people were butchered” were all used to report on
Nigeria’s ethno-religious violence by the Sun newspaper. Also,
most of the pictures used by the Sun newspaper were those of
dead bodies taken at close shots to bring out the details and
splashed across the front pages of different editions of the Sun
newspaper.
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 131
Table 6.2: Showing Distribution of units of analysis by the
Vanguard newspaper
Units
Picture
Headlines
Captions
Features
Articles
Line
drawings
Letters
to
the editor
Editorials
Opinionated
Articles
Total
Frequency
15
23
08
04
Sensational
04
09
01
01
Balanced
07
07
03
02
Neutral
04
07
04
01
-
-
-
-
01
01
01
01
-
01
53
17
19
17
Source: Vanguard newspapers
The table above shows distribution of units of analysis by the
Vanguard newspaper during the period of this study, 17 (32.07%)
of the units are sensational while 19 (35.84%) are balanced, 17
(32.07%) are neutral. Compared to the Sun newspaper, the
Vanguard is relatively better off in terms of sensationalising its
coverage of the ethno-religious violence. However, it (Vanguard)
used such sensational headlines like, “A decade of killings,
Abandoned by Jang, Soldiers, rioters massacred us—Victims of Jos
killings”, “Jos erupts again! (in red ink) pregnant woman, 13 family
members wiped out”, “Death toll 52: Friday 21, Sunday 8, Monday
11, Friday 12.” “How we were massacred—Victims of Jos killings”,
“Jos boils again: 20 killed, 50 injured, 50 vehicles, 100 motorcycles
burnt” and “Protect northern Christians, Oritsejafor tells
Jonathan.”
Furthermore, another nuanced angle used by both the
newspapers in their coverage of ethno-religious violence in
Nigeria was the use of normative words and phrases to indicate
132 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
habitual negative action by certain group of people. In addition,
the use of emotive and emotionally laden words in the coverage
of the ethno-religious violence was employed by the newspapers.
Furthermore, the use of war and military terminologies was
employed by the newspapers. Below is a table to indicate the use
of habitual action, publishing of headlines in red, underlying of
headlines, emotive words and negative labelling of perceived
aggressors by the papers.
Table 6.3: Showing the Distribution of use of pejorative language
by the two papers
Words
Murder/Massacre
Death/Dead
Bomb/Bombed
Again (habitual action)
Blood
Kill/Killed
Boko Haram
Underlined/Red inked
headlines
Violence/Riot/Crises
War/Battle
Terror/Terrorism
Total
The Sun
04
07
09
04
03
06
12
09
The Vanguard
02
02
06
03
10
09
05
10
02
66
04
01
02
44
Source: The Sun and Vanguard newspapers
The above table shows how the two newspapers used pejorative
language in their coverage of ethno-religious violence in Nigeria.
The two papers used such words as ‘murder’, ‘massacre’,
‘bombed’, ‘war’ and ‘terror’ in their coverage up to 110 times with
the Sun newspaper using such words up to 66 (60%). Perhaps,
citing some examples used by the newspapers under study
suffices here. The Sun’s headline of April 24th, 2011 reads, “Week
of blood, Bauchi: eleven ‘corpers’ killed, raped. Katsina: 7
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 133
murdered, 65 churches burnt. Sokoto: I lost everything--- CAC
pastor.” While the headline of the Vanguard newspaper of 11th
September, 2011 reads, “Jos erupts again; pregnant woman, 13
family members wiped out.”
According to Enwefah (2010: 93), “the content of an editorial
must strive to serve certain purposes in the society in order to
answer appropriately to its appellation as the heart, personality
and the moral substructure of the newspaper.” It was in this
parlance of being the ‘heart, personality and moral substructure
of the Sun newspaper that its editorial of September 12th, 2011
aptly captured the stereotypic and nuanced perspective of the
newspaper in reporting ethno-religious violence in Nigeria. The
editorial reads:
Almost all the crises in Jos since 2001 are traceable
to the dichotomy between the Berom indigenes
and the settler Hausa/Fulani community which
started in Jos North local government area… the
latest in Jos orgy of violence is the September 4
rampage by Fulani herdsmen that left a family of
eight dead in Heipang and Korut villages… before
this, a similar incident during this year’s Sallah
celebration in Jos led to the death of 15 youths,
injury of scores of others and torching of over 50
vehicles (emphasis mine).
Here, the newspaper uses stereotypic reporting to apportion
blame. While the newspaper asserts that ‘rampage by Fulani
herdsmen left a family of eight dead’, the newspaper deliberately
failed to explain to its teeming readers which group of ‘herdsmen’
was responsible for the ‘death of 15 youths, injury of scores of
others and torching of over 50 vehicles.’ The same editorial
employed two different approaches to report on two parties to a
conflict. The paper uses professional detachment to condemn the
death of ‘15’ youths but uses highly charged and emotive phrase
to stereotypically label a whole society of ‘Fulani herdsmen’ as
habitual murderers.
134 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
DISCUSSIONS
This chapter sought to find out how Nigerian newspapers are
framing ethno-religious violence in Nigeria; what prominence the
newspapers give to ethno-religious violence and; how the
newspapers’ coverage of ethno-religious violence is promoting or
hindering national integration in Nigeria. Thus, to present the
findings of this study, the study is guided by the research
questions earlier asked:
RQ1:
RQ2:
RQ3:
What prominence do the Nigerian press give to ethnoreligious violence?
To what extent is the Nigerian press’s coverage of ethnoreligious violence promoting national integration?
How is the press framing ethno-religious violence in
Nigeria?
Based on this study’s findings, some of the Nigerian press
frames ethno-religious violence in biased and stereotypic form.
Specifically, during the period of this study, the Sun and the
Vanguard newspapers used pejorative language, sensational
headlines, pictures, underlined headlines and even red inked
headlines to colour their coverage of the violence in a prejudiced
manner. Further, findings showed that both papers used war and
military terminologies such as ‘bombed’, ‘battle’, ‘terror’ and
‘massacre’ to promote their own version of understanding of
ethno-religious violence in Nigeria.
Also, some of the Nigerian press give a lot of prominence to
ethno-religious violence. However, the prominence given to these
religious violence is most a times a sensational and biased one.
Findings from this study indicate that both the Sun and Vanguard
newspapers gave front page and even double decked underlined
headlines and even red inked headlines. For instance during the
period of this study, the Sun newspapers gave a total of 48
headlines, 27 pictures, 14 opinion articles, 18 captions and 4
editorials to the coverage of ethno-religious violence while the
Vanguard newspaper gave a total of 23 headlines, 15 pictures, 4
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 135
line drawings and 8 captions to the coverage of ethno-religious
violence.
In relation to the second research question asked, the answer
to it is that this study found out that some of the coverage of the
violence by the analysed newspapers are at most jeopardising the
strive for national integration and sustainable development. For
instance, out of the 71 headlines given to ethno-religious violence
by the newspapers under this study, 76% were sensational.
Further, out of the 180 units of analysis obtained for this study,
113 (62.8%) were sensational. Also, the papers used labelling
techniques to isolate some section of Nigerian society and portray
them as aggressors who took pride in causing chaos and violence.
Further, the newspapers used pejorative and emotionally charged
phrases and pictures to cover ethno-religious violence in Nigeria.
As such, if the tenets of the Agenda Setting theory are to be used
as yard stick, then the coverage of ethno-religious violence by
some of the Nigerian press is at most giving a push to the forces
that promote the differences in Nigerians rather than what
integrates us.
CONCLUSION
The findings of this study indicate that some of the Nigerian
presses are sensational, biased and emotionally charged when it
comes to the coverage of ethno-religious violence in the country.
The newspapers through their clamour for using sensational and
often times biased and stereotypic headlines, pictures and
captions to report on the recurrent ethno-religious violence in
Nigeria tend to put the national integration process in jeopardy.
Readers of such daily representation of sensational and biased
reality are apt to construe what they have been reading as gospel
truth thereby polarising the country into different, diametrically
irreconcilable opinions.
Conflict and violence are inevitable in our national life as a
nation. However, a situation where the purveyors of
communication (press) covertly or overtly promote rather than
decelerate such conflictual relationships in our national life is not
136 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
only uncalled for, but it should be vigorously addressed by all
stakeholders in order to surmount the issues and challenges
facing the Nigerian nation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of this study, the paper recommends that:
Journalists and newspaper houses should be ethical and always
observe the principles of fairness, accuracy and balanced
reportorial responsibility. The bias as reported in the reviewed
newspapers as obtained in the result of this work indicated that
the reports are unethical to journalism as a profession.
The Nigerian Press Council and Nigerian Union of Journalists
should sanction any erring journalist and newspaper house that
consistently use sensational and biased reportage with the intent
of promoting ethno-religious violence in Nigeria. The Nigerian
Press Council and Nigerian Union of Journalists should be
organising forum and seminars where journalists would be trained
and sensitised on conflict reporting and conflict management and
resolution.
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 137
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140 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
GLOSSARY OF THE NEWSPAPERS’ HEADLINES DURING THIS
RESEARCH
THE SUN NEWSPAPER
*Massacre in Jos: family of 8 wiped out, Dad, Mum, 4-Month old baby
among victims of gun men attack. Soldiers ordered to shoot at sight (in
red ink).
*WAITING TO EXPLODE; A timed bomb discovered by police anti-bomb
squad at Riyom main market.
*Another 11 killed in Jos; 74-yr-old man, wife, 3 grandsons among
victims. Riot breaks out.
*BOKO HARAM (in red ink and underlined): cops protest redeployment
to Borno Bauchi
*Boko Haram; soldiers intercept truckload of 152 passengers. Suspects
detained at Immigration HQ for screening.
*The spirit of Boko Haram.
*Boko Haram (underlined) bomb factory uncovered. SSS arrests 5
suspects (in red ink).
*The Boko Haram menance.
*Boko Haram; bomb scare in Lagos; Drama as suspicious object sacks
Council, Motorists abandon vehicles, traders, LG staff, visitors flee (in
red ink).
*Again blast rocks Borno.
*Facing down terror; polarising blame, an improper response.
*The meaning of Boko Haram.
*How Sokoto celebrated Sallah in anxiety.
*Boko Haram (in red ink); Immigration goes tough on foreigners. …
police strengthen anti-bomb squad.
*IBB bombs OBJ again. You’re wrong on Egbin, Shiroro dams. I
completed them.
*Fresh massacre in Jos; Family of 8, 4 others killed.
*How our people were butchered--- Survivors (in red ink).
*JOS HORROR; the untold story, the deaths, agony.
*Attackers came with soldiers--- Tabitha.
*My mum, brother were killed and set ablaze—Iliya, 12 year old.
*Orgy of death; the attacks, the killings.
*Again 12 killed in Plateau, 8 from same family affected.
*DEATH IN JOS; pregnant woman, 70-yr-old granddad, 12 others killed
(in red ink).
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 141
*Boko Haram won’t go beyond its boundary, we’re prepared to protect
the Yoruba--- Faseun.
*Post-election violence BUHARI BARRED; police stop him from entering
Suleija… turned back at roadblock… ban political rallies in Kano.
*How presidential election was rigged--- ACN… PDP disagrees, tackles
CPC over allegation
*A toxic alliance and other matters.
*Buhari’s VP’s house burnt.
*Bomb rocks Kaduna again, 3 feared killed.
*Governorship election, total war in the states.
*PDP in battle of its life.
*Election fever grips contestants.
*Week of Blood (in red ink).
*Bauchi; 11 ‘corpers’ killed, raped.
*Katsina; 7 murdered, 65 churches burnt.
*Sokoto; I lost everything--- CAC pastor.
*Week of blood; 15, 000 living as refugees.
*Rioters invade female hostels.
*We hid in the ceiling--- Corps members.
*Arrest Buhari now; CAN wants CPC candidate picked up, prosecuted
over post-election violence.
*Battle not over yet--- Tunde Bakare.
*Post-election violence A’Ibom, Ondo, Ekiti recall corps members from
the North.
*NYSC to immortalise slain corpers (in red ink).
*Post-election violence; Arrest, prosecute Buhari now, CAN tells FG.
*Buhari must apologise to Nigerians--- APGA chieftain.
*Buhari, the hostage.
*Back from the valley of death (in red ink).
*Buhari dares Jonathan, Arrest me if you can; says Oritsejafor’s
comment is reckless.
*Guber polls; Borno bombed again. Don’t panic, you’re safe, minister
assures northerners in A’Ibom.
*North crises, Lagos evacuates 85 corps members from Kano, Jigawa.
*Stranded in Katsina, rescued by Shema.
*Taming the monster.
*Boko Haram; Security agents trail 3 bomb-laden SUV’s in Abuja.
*Fresh alert over suicide bombers (in red ink).
*Another bomb blast rocks Jos.
*The recurring bloodletting in Jos.
142 50 Years of Nigeria’s Nationhood: Issues and Challenges for Sustainable Development
*Jos; night of the beasts.
*Jos and the dogs of war.
THE VANGUARD NEWSPAPER
*Jos boils again; 20 killed, 50 injured; 50 vehicles, 100 motorcycles
burnt.
*Boko Haram kills LG boss, two others in Bauchi.
*UN HOUSE BLAST (in red ink) master mind Nur, declared wanted.
*Jos killings continue 3 days after.
*Boko Haram, a ‘political tool’?
*Bombing of UN HOUSE: supplier of bomb materials arrested.
*Boko Haram sends 270 members for training.
*Terror (in red ink); Jonathan gets Israeli protection.
*Jos: the reopening of old wounds.
*Protect northern Christians, Oritsjefor tells Jonathan.
*Jos; family of 8 killed.
*STF soldiers get mandate to shoot at sight.
*Islamic scholar shot dead in Maiduguri.
*11 killed again in Jos.
*Terrorism, here to stay--- Azazi, NSA
*SSS uncovers Boko Haram bomb factory; 6 suspects arrested over
Suleija bombings, 200 detonators recovered.
*Jos crises; Jonathan goes tough; orders defence chief to take over
security, summons Jang.
*Gunmen kill 7 in Bauchi, raze police station.
*Boko Haram threatens to bomb UI, Uniben, 18 others.
*Army, Air force move into Jos; GOC summoned to Abuja.
*Only God will end Jos crises--- Jang.
*Eight suspected Boko Haram members charged with felony.
*Jos crisis; 12 people killed in fresh attack; 54 suspects arrested, Jang
blames FG, victims cry out for help.
*BOKO HARAM; FG clamps on illegal immigrants.
*BOKO HARAM; Jonathan is main target says, PDP chieftain.
*A decade of killings, Abandoned by Jang, soldiers, rioters massacred
us--- victims of Jos killings.
*How we were massacred--- victims of Jos killings.
*Jos erupts again! (in red ink) Pregnant woman, 13 family members
wiped out.
*Death toll 52; Friday 21, Sunday 8, Monday 11, Friday 12.
*Boko Haram (in red ink); the way out, by General Godwin Abbe.
Press Coverage of Ethno Religious Violence in Nigeria: Implications for… 143
*Xmas eve bomber in SSS net.
*Nigeria shall be great again--- Jonathan, vows to empower youth
against violence.
*Post-poll violence (in red ink); sanction Buhari, others--- CAN.
*Jonathan’s victory; not a generous response from the North--- Rotimi
Fasan.
*CAN, PDP in war of words over 6 states.
*Sambo laments violence, urges Northern youths to embrace peace.