Exploring practical issues in media reportage of conflicts in Nigeria

Title: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Reporting Conflict in Nigeria Editors: Umaru A. Pate & Lai Oso Publishers:  Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Limited Year of Publication: 2017 Pages: 491 Reviewer: Fidelis Mac-Leva From the stable of the popular Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Limited, comes this new publication which explores the relevant, conceptual, theoretical and practical issues involved […]

Title: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Reporting Conflict in Nigeria

Editors: Umaru A. Pate & Lai Oso

Publishers:  Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Limited

Year of Publication: 2017

Pages: 491

Reviewer: Fidelis Mac-Leva

From the stable of the popular Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Limited, comes this new publication which explores the relevant, conceptual, theoretical and practical issues involved in media representation of conflict within the context of Nigeria’s multiculturalism and diversity.

Co-edited by Professors Umaru A. Pate, Dean, Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano and Lai Oso, former Dean, School of Communication, Lagos State University, this compellingly readable book is made up of 25 chapters written by experienced contributors in diverse perspectives using appropriate cases and examples that easily appeal to the experiences of the Nigerian reader.

Thoroughly analytical with theoretical anchoring, the book identifies the issues, happenings as well as the challenges of reporting conflicts in a diverse and multicultural setting.

While chapter one of the book introduces other chapters, chapter two, written by Dr Zebulon Sulifon Tsokwa of the UNDP (Nigeria’s office), provides an overview on multiculturalism, diversity and reporting of conflict in Nigeria in Africa with a particular bias for Nigeria. The chapter also spotlights the challenges of multiculturalism in Africa in general, with particular reference to the Nigerian context. It further recommends ways forward with the conviction that great strides in the area of governance in Nigeria will be made when diversity and difference can be effectively managed by the leadership and followership.

Professor Lai Oso is the intellectual resource person for chapter three. Writing on ‘Perspectives in Media Conflict’, Professor Oso provides deep insight into conceptual and theoretical issues that have underpinned the concerns and discussions on the role of the mass media in conflict. He posits that the media have become a highly prized strategic resource to all social groups, especially antagonists in conflict situation.

Chapter four which focuses on reporting conflict in Nigerian context is written by Professor Mohammed Musa who avers that the mass media are always the central institutions in the process of mobilization. He posits that while the outcome of wars and conflicts in Africa have always been catastrophic and regrettable to both participants and observers, the former always rationalize it as the inevitable action for self-defence, pre-emptive or simply to stop bad guys from bad actions.  

Chapter five titled: ‘Reporting Diversity: Towards understanding Nigeria’s Ethnic and Religious Conflicts through the Mediatisation Theory’ is written by Godfrey N. Danaan. He admits that the mass media have devoted time and space to reporting diversity, focussing on the conflicts that occur when social groups express frustrations caused by exclusion or discrimination by authorities. Maintaining that reporting ethnic diversity is complex, especially when content providers share membership of a given social group, Danaan said the output of Nigerian journalists reflects this diversity, as their ethnic and religious identities are entrenched. He, however, admonished the Nigerian journalists and the media to uphold professional honour by applying goal-oriented logic that supports peace building efforts.

In Chapter six of the book, ‘Reporting Conflicts and Violence in a Plural-Ethnic Society and the Challenge of Objectivity’ is addressed by Toyosi Olugbenga Samson Owolabi who maintains that conflict and violence reporting requires specialised training and experience due to its security implication for the Nation. 

Professor Chinyere Okunna and Dr Muyiwa Popoola address the role of the media in building the culture of peace in the country in chapter seven while in chapter eight the co-editor and Dean Faculty of Communication, BUK, Professor Umaru A. Pate and journalist Hamza Idris examine professionalism and risk management in reporting terror groups and extremism in the country. They proffer a mediatory role within a peace media system as the way forward for the media in Nigeria and in all societies desirous of building a culture of peace in today’s conflict-ridden world.

Chapters nine to sixteen which focus on the reporting of conflicts in different sectors in the country; while chapter nine by Dr Tunde Akanni addresses issues in Newspapers’ reportage of oil-induced conflicts in selected Niger Delta communities, chapter ten titled, ‘Sleeping on the Feet with Open Eyes: Newspaper Coverage of the Herdsmen/Farmers’ Conflict in Nigeria written by Dele Odunlanmi, sought to find out how newspapers are covering the farmers’/herdsmen crisis in the country in terms of the direction and prominence of the stories, the dominant frames including actions taken against the perpetrators of the clashes.    

In chapter eleven, Jide Jimoh examines gender sensitivity in the coverage of the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen while Dr Hadiza Ibrahim takes a look at the plight of internally displaced women in the content of the country’s media in chapter twelve. Dr Ruqayyah Yusuf Aliyu takes on the role of the media in restoring hope for the internally displaced persons by Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria in chapter thirteen while an analysis of the discourses on conflicts in the social media written by Sharafa Dauda, Abdulmutallib Ado and Aisha Kolo is the focus of chapter fourteen.

Similarly, Abubakar Jibril draws attention on the coverage of ‘Bring Back Our Girls campaign’ in the Nigerian online media in chapter fifteen. In chapter sixteen Drs Bakut T. Bakut and Olympus Ejie focus on strategies for integrating arts and popular culture in building peace and managing conflicts in the country while Dr Rasheedah Liman, in more specific terms, focuses on the role of the theatre for development in resolving conflicts even as Dr Mainasara Yakubu Kurfi dwells on film and conflict resolution in chapter eighteen.

While Abubakar Jibril makes a case for the use of community broadcasting in resolving conflicts in the country in chapter nineteen of the book, the contestation for space in broadcasting among Islamic groups in Kano is examined by Dr Gusau Ahmad and Kabiru Haruna Isa in chapter twenty.

Chapters twenty-one to twenty-three are contributions by Lauratu Umar Abdulsalam, Professor Nanyelugo Okoro and two of his colleagues as well as Professor Nosa Owens-Ibie and Ifedalapo Ademosu who discuss the contributions of the NSRP in strengthening the practice of conflict sensitive communication in the country’s media, ‘peace versus war journalism:  case notes from Nigerian newspaper headlines and the issue of ethnic peculiarities as exemplified in the content of Nigerian movies using the movie: ‘Phone Swap’ respectively. 

Chapter twenty- four of the book which explains issues and direction in the process of developing communication strategy for the security sector in Nigeria is contributed by Dr Akeem Mojisola Adeyanju while in the concluding chapter (25) titled: ‘Media and Civil Liberties: When the Cloud of Fear Gathers’, veteran journalist and currently a national commissioner at INEC, discusses in a more journalistic format, his personal ideas on the linkage between the media and the civil liberties.

Coming at a time when the issue of hate speeches is dominant in the country, this book is quite timely to only in addressing the conflicts arising thereof but also the critical role of the media in reporting conflict within the context of Nigeria’s multicultural diversity. 

Indeed, this book is very relevant as it offers a compendium of insightful analyses and perspectives that scholars, students as well as policy makers will find very useful.