Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of Security Issue In Nigeria (2021-2022)

Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of Security Issue In Nigeria (2021-2022)

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine newspaper coverage of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022 using Vanguard newspaper Lagos State as a case study. The study was carried out to determine the extent of the newspaper’s effectiveness in reporting security issue in Nigeria (2021-2022), determine whether newspaper firms have been accurate and timely in reporting of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022, and determine whether the newspapers were reliable in raising security alert in Nigeria. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of staff of Vanguard newspaper Lagos State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 57 respondents and 50 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables. While the hypotheses were tested using Chi-square statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that the extent of the newspaper’s effectiveness in reporting security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022 is high. The study also revealed that the newspapers were reliable in raising security alarm in Nigeria between 2021-2022. Therefore, it is recommended that the Federal Government (FG) should formulate and effectively implement policies and programmes capable of addressing the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria –such as Ethno- religious conflict, systemic and political corruption, weak security system and unemployment among others. To mention but a few.

Table of Content

• Title Page
• Certification
• Dedication
• Acknowledgement
• Table of Content
• List of Tables
• Abstract

Chapter One:

Introduction

• 1.1 Background of the Study
• 1.2 Statement of the Problem
• 1.3 Objective of the Study
• 1.4 Research Questions
• 1.5 Research Hypothesis
• 1.6 Significance of the Study
• 1.7 Scope of the Study
• 1.8 Limitation of the Study
• 1.9 Definition of Terms
• 1.10 Organisations of the Study

Chapter Two:

Review of Literature

• 2.1 Conceptual Framework
• 2.2 Theoretical Framework
• 2.3 Empirical Review

Chapter Three:

Research Methodology

• 3.1 Research Design
• 3.2 Population of the Study
• 3.3 Sample Size Determination
• 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
• 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
• 3.6 Method of Data Collection
• 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
• 3.8 Validity of the Study
• 3.9 Reliability of the Study
• 3.10 Ethical Consideration

Chapter Four:

Data Presentation and Analysis

• 4.1 Data Presentation
• 4.2 Analysis of Data
• 4.3 Answering Research Questions
• 4.4 Test of Hypotheses

Chapter Five:

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

• 5.1 Summary
• 5.2 Conclusion
• 5.3 Recommendation
• References
• APPENDIX
• QUESTIONNAIRE

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Ever since the inception of democracy in Nigeria, people have been expressing divergent views on its benefits. To some, it is a threat to the security of their lives and property, while those that are key participants in the polity recognize it as suitable for the country. Knowing the importance of peace for the citizens, studies on insurgency have attracted experts’ attention whose literature has been of help to policy makers both governmental and nongovernmental to strategize plans against Boko Haram. Notwithstanding the universality of terrorists’ activities in many parts of the world, to Nigerians, Boko Haram’s bomb attacks are the first of its kind, therefore becoming difficult to tackle.

In the words of Ojo (2011) commenting on the Nigeria’s security challenges in this democratic setting, the greatest security challenge facing President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is the imposing impunity of terrorist activities of the Boko Haram, an Islamic fundamentalists based in Northern Nigeria. It is on record that between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011 alone Nigeria witnessed over fifty cases of bomb blasts across the country with a casualty figure of over 800 people dead and many injured. In addition, millions of Naira and properties were destroyed. It was also revealed that there are foreign militias from Somalia, Chad, Sudan and other Islamic countries in Borno state. From 2010 to 2015, the casualties of Boko Haram’s attacks are too many to be counted but can be estimated in thousands.

According to President Goodluck Jonathan, while commenting on the Boko Haram challenges, “the emerging dimension of threat to national security that is rearing its horrible head in our nation must be confronted headfirst and defeated. The spate of violent crimes in parts of the country including kidnapping, armed robbery, assassinations etc. are contemporary security challenges facing our nation” (Soriwei and Fidelis, 2010).

The study’s main focus is on the coverage of insecurity by selected Nigerian newspapers through content analysis. In an attempt to get more information, qualitative approach through in-depth interview was employed with four journalists from each sampled newspaper.

Violence continued to increase, and by 2013 some Nigerians as reported by the press began to see greater influence of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Boko Haram operations. Insurgents acts against civilians, like the murder of sixty-five students while they slept at the agricultural college in Yobe state in September 2013, chainsaw beheadings of truck drivers and the killing of hundreds on the roads of northern Nigeria were reported by Nigerian press. After sometimes, bloodshed returned to Abuja in April 2014 in the bombing of a bus station that killed virtually one hundred people, followed by the kidnap of more than two hundred Chibok schoolgirls in northern Nigeria. However, Nigeria assembled a Joint Task Force (JTF) of military and police units to combat Boko Haram and declared a state of emergency in three northeast states Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa in May 2013. The move pushed the militants out of cities, but attacks in rural areas continued. The JTF, augmented by vigilantes who were folded into publicly endorsed Civilian JTF units, have factored in massive killings of militants and civilians, which may have rendered support for the insurgents (Shehu, 2014).

Boko Haram identity is vague because its members are not necessarily the followers of Salafi doctrine. To some, they are non-muslims under the pay role of Jews to indict Islam as their operations go against the Islamic teachings (Shehu, 2014). To others, it is an extension of Muhammed Marwa’s people (Maitatsine). Many foot soldiers are drawn from impoverished, religiously uneducated youth. According to Jacob Zenn cited in Alysergie and Johnson (2014) an analyst on African affairs at the Jamestown Foundation, some fighters claim to have been trained in Iran and are part of a Shiite Muslim group. The intricacies surrounding the Boko Haram necessitate this research on how the media frame their identity, motives, perceived risks and recommended solutions in Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

History has shown that the media can incite people towards violence. It is on record that Adolf Hitler used the media to create hatred for Jewsduring the Second World War (Jimoh and Danladi, 2012). However, with the information dissemination role of the media, Boko Haram became a known sect in Nigeria after the killing of their leader during the tenure of the then president of Nigeria, late Umaru Musa Yaradua in 2009. This has made it significant to some writers in Nigeria and abroad to come up with literature explaining the events in their judgments and proffering solutions to the problem. Notwithstanding the literature on insurgency, attempt has not been made to investigate newspapers’ framing of the identity, motive, perceived risks and recommended solutions of Boko Haram from the view point of conflict-sensitive journalism which the reseacher is set out to examine.

Ozohu-Suleiman (2013) has noted that the concerns follow media’s antisocial record of inciting and encouraging conflicts i.e. the discontent of war journalism did not end with only suppositional prescription of a shift to peace journalism. Researchers and experienced journalists have spent time suggesting how the media might shift from war to peace in covering conflicts. Key contributors in this regard include Galtung (1998), McGoldrick and Lynch (2000), Howard (2003), Kempt (2003) and El-Nawawy and Powers (2008).

Similarly, a one time president of America (Thomas Jefferson) briefly shows the power of the newspapers on people’s perception about issues “Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspaper or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.” The above classical statement by Jefferson situates the print media in the society as a leading vehicle to give light in perceiving issues. Being the oldest in the mass media category, newspapers exert some influence in the society that people look on to them not only for the news of the day, but informed opinions on topical issues (Aneato, 2009). Also, Ibrahim (2012) has noted that Nigeria as a country has suffered a lot from numerous ethnoreligious crisis since independence. Most times the coverage of such crises by the Nigerian press has been described as partisan and further promotes the polarization of the country along regional lines as well as unethical reporting. However, the framing of Boko Haram is not free from this allegation that the southern newspapers may give weight to war journalism while the northern papers may prioritize peace journalism depending on their clients’ vulnerability to the current Boko Haram insurgency.

A study conducted in 2014 suggests further studies on newspaper reportage of terrorism and its influence on people perception about the whole issue of terrorism in Nigeria, such studies should focus on greater numbers of newspapers in the country with a nationalistic outlook (Idowu, 2014). This study draws you the suggestion above to analyze the coverage of Boko Haram by the newspapers and examine its implications on conflict-sensitive journalism. Ozohu-Suleiman (2013) has noted that the influence of mass media in national and international security policies is growing thus necessitating studies on how the media respond to conflict situations.

Many researches suggest that media is capable of inflaming or mitigating conflicts depending on the way they report it (Ozohu, 2013; Nacos, 2007; Hoffman, 2006; McQuail 1987; Wilkinson, 2000). For this reason, there is a shifting interest towards conflict-sensitive journalism, whereby the media are expected to give voice to all parties, focus on invisible effects of conflicts and be truth oriented, people oriented as well as solution oriented.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The basic aim of this study is to critically analyze newspaper coverage of security issue in Nigeria (2021-2022).

Specifically, the study will;

1. Determine the extent of the newspaper’s effectiveness in reporting security issue in Nigeria (2021-2022).
2. Determine whether newspaper firms have been accurate and timely in reporting of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022.
3. Determine whether the newspapers were reliable in raising security alert in Nigeria.

1.4 Research Question

The study will be guided by the following questions:

1. What is the extent of the newspaper’s effectiveness in reportingsecurity issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022?
2. Have the newspaper firms been accurate and timely in reporting of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022?
3. Were the newspapers reliable in raising security alarm in Nigeria between 2021-2022?

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations:

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarizes the findings onnewspaper coverage of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022 using Vanguard newspaper Lagos State as a case study. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.

5.2 Summary of the Study

In this study, our focus was to examine newspaper coverage of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022 using Vanguard newspaper Lagos State as a case study. The study is was specifically carried out to determine the extent of the newspaper’s effectiveness in reporting security issue in Nigeria (2021-2022), determine whether newspaper firms have been accurate and timely in reporting of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022, and determine whether the newspapers were reliable in raising security alert in Nigeria.

The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 50 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent were staff of Vanguard newspaper Lagos State.

5.3 Conclusions

Based on the findings of this study, the researcher concluded that;

1. The extent of the newspaper’s effectiveness in reportingsecurity issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022 is high.
2. The newspaper firms have been accurate and timely in reporting of security issue in Nigeria between 2021-2022.
3. The newspapers were reliable in raising security alarm in Nigeria between 2021-2022.

5.4 Recommendation

Based on the responses obtained, the researcher proffers the following recommendations:

1. The Federal Government (FG) should formulate and effectively implement policies and programmes capable of addressing the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria –such as Ethno- religious conflict, systemic and political corruption, weak security system and unemployment among others.
2. Federal government should establish a more viable and resultoriented agency capable of addressing the problem of abject poverty/ unemployment among large population of Nigerians, this will aid in reducing the level of crime and violence in the country.
3. Government must be proactive in dealing with security issues and threats, through training, modern methods of intelligence gathering, and intelligence sharing, logistics and deploying advanced technology in managing security challenges. This will add more values in checking incessant bombings, robbery, kidnapping and violent crimes/crises by hoodlums in the country.
4. Federal government should include Security Management in school curriculum at all levels of education in Nigeria. This will enable the Nigerian youths to appreciate the importance of security in a secular state like Nigeria.

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