Mass Media And Crusade Against Boko Haram

The paper study the role of broadcast media in crusade against terrorism especially in Nigeria with the insurgence of Boko Haram has since been a threat to national security. The study became essential because of the atmosphere in which the Nigerian media found itself as a watchdog caught in the midst of political, ethnicity and religious divide. The research is justified by the Social Responsibility and Agenda Setting theories respectively. The study adopted survey research method and elicit data via questionnaire to the respondents that were simple randomly drawn from the Nigerian Tribune and NTA Channel 5 Lagos. 95 copies of questionnaires were perfectly filled and returned for analysis. The collected data were analysed and interpretations in table using frequency and percentage method. Findings show that mass media reports about terrorism was creating tension as emphasis were been made on attacks more that many important activities. The research recommends that journalists should as a matter of national security must not write or broadcast unguided utterances of security agents with regards to logistical plans to root out criminals and terrorists from our civilized society.

Introduction

1.1 background to the Study

Terrorism is a global phenomenon that now dominates major news headlines of the mainstream media from London to Paris, New York to Beijing and Damascus to Moscow. Networks from CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and France 24 all have terrorism present in their news headlines. Bassiouni (1981) reports that in the 1960s and 1970s, terrorism was mainly attributed to Marxist and Communist radicals in South and North America, right wing radicals in Western Europe mainly in Italy and Germany, and religious extremists in the Middle East. However, with the collapse of regimes in Iraq, Yemen and Libya, coupled with the insurgency in Syria, and Nigeria, Islamic insurgents account for a greater part of terrorist activities in the world.

Sub-Saharan Africa has become some of the hotbeds of violent terrorism activities in recent history. In East Africa; Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have experienced terrorist acts of different proportions (Blair & Lough, 2013; Ferguson, 2013; Agbiboa, 2014) attributed to the Al Shabab group based mainly in Somalia, while Mali, Cameroun, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan and especially Nigeria have all experienced terrorism attributed mainly to Boko Haram insurgent group operating primarily from North East Nigeria, citizens in the areas where the insurgents consider their strong holds still live in fear and uncertainty as to when the next bomb is going to explode.

The rise of Boko Haram under the leadership of Mohammed Yusuf, who was perceived as an advocate for the poor has been attributed to negative economic indices such as hunger, poverty, unemployment, lack of access to healthcare, poor road networks, lack of government presence, etc. roughs about by corruption in the government and neglect of the population to fend for themselves in the decay of government infrastructure and economic fabric that binds the local society together (Adeniyi, 2011; Noakes, 2014; Shode, 2018).

1.2 Statement of Problem

The media has been accused of being complicit in the continued Boko Haram insurgency as has been documented by different scholars (Hamid & Baba, 2014; Ayoola & Olaosun, 2014; Shehu, 2015). This paper supports this view and adds that community media could have helped in bringing the above named negative indices to government attention as well as report on the activities of the Boko Haram group when they were viewed as a religious pressure group with representatives working with the state government in Borno state while behind, their ideologies were being fertilized and nurtured to the point of insurgency against government (Gusau, 2009). Nwanne (2013) defines community media as mass media which serve the needs of those who make up a community. In this sense, these are media dedicated to events in the local environment, and can help in bringing their issues to the attention of government. Calling attention to local vices and groups radicalizing members of the society may have alerted the government to the growing influence of the then religious Boko Haram group before its metamorphosis into an insurgent group.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of this research is to determine the impact of social media in the crusade against terrorism and Boko Haram sect.

The specific objectives are name:

To determine the role of mass media in combating terrorism

To determine how media misinformation affect fight against terrorism

To determine the responsibility of mass media in promoting peace

1.4 Research Questions

Does mass media play any role in the combat of terrorism?

Does media misinformation affect the fight against terrorism?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study will show and expose the significant role played by mass media in the fight against insurgency in the north east Nigeria .

It shows the importance of mass media and need for accurate reportage in the report of terrorism and boko haram sect.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study will be focused on the insurgency/terrorism ravaged northeast Nigeria

Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion

A lot of factors have been advanced for the emergence and continued violence perpetrated in the North East of Nigeria by the Boko Haram terrorist group poor governance that encouraged corruption, which in turn brought about a high rate of poverty and unemployment in the region. These we advocated may have been aggravated by the lack of community media to report on happenings in the rural areas and also the inability of the mainstream media in Nigeria to adequately cover developmental challenges in the rural areas. The situation may have been further worsened by the low literacy rate in Northern Nigeria compared to the South. The residents of such areas depend heavily on opinion and religious leaders for guidance in understanding events happening around them.

Whatever point of view advanced by the opinion leader becomes the reality for these people. The founders of Boko Haram played on this by blaming the government for the ills of the society and promised to return the region to a Mohammed an era type of government where a strict obeisance of the sharia code is believed to draw adherents closer to "Allah" and a future paradise in the life after earth. The media can play a crucial role by ensuring that journalism is practiced with the highest standards where honesty, accuracy and objectivity are paramount in order to give credibility to media articles. Reports should not only focus on atrocities committed by the Boko Haram insurgents, the actions of security agencies fighting the insurgents should also be x-rayed to ensure that the standard operating procedures and rules of engagement as enshrined in the UN Charter are maintained because at the end of the day, the battle is among Nigerians and in a not too distant future, the report cards of every party in the conflict will be laid bare for public scrutiny

It is argued that because of their scope and reach, the mass media could have undoubtedly provided a platform that elaborate debate about these conflicts to regional, national and international levels. Scholars in the field of communication and even the practitioners have agreed that the media in many cases helped to escalate conflicts rather than deescalating them. One of the causes of this was attributed to poor understanding of the issue by the journalists and the carelessness in cross checking facts and figures about the conflict situation (Ya"u, 2008).
Thus, some of the factors that can be identified as influencing the reportage of conflict and insurgence by the Nigerian media include: additional leaning, ownership influence, low technical skills, lack of access to information, identification with regional bias, political influence, economic patronage, religious and ethnic biases, lack of investigative journalism, inadequate equipment and other operational tools.

Sensitivity to cultural differences and values become an important issue for consideration. There is a feeling that the press in particular is not showing respect for plural nature of the Nigerian cultural environment. However, in time of peace, people depend on the media as their source of information, but they depend on the media more in times of conflict. Also, the rumor mills are more active in times of conflict than in peace time. These two scenarios underscore the role of the media in conflict and peace management. Conflict is an indication of disagreement and the media handling it will go a long way in explaining the situation to resolve the conflict or aggravate the situation. It is the duty of the media to ensure the authenticity of the information being disseminated and convince the audience of the reality of the messages. The media has been seen or suspected of being involved in propaganda which in turn erodes its credibility.

5.2 Recommendations

In view of the discussions above, the following recommendations have been made, which are vital to not only the media practice, but also to resolution of crises in the North-Eastern region in particular and the Nigerian nation in general:

The media should ensure that the feelings of the people are properly reported irrespective of the feelings of the government and economic interest of the owners.

While it is important to put into consideration the interest of the owners of the various media houses, such interests should not over ride the ethics of the profession and the general national interest.

Similarly, the media should dedicate attention to reporting conflict and insurgencies especially as it relates to using such reports to create peace rather than aggravate the situation.

The media must work in collaboration with stakeholders in the North to ensure that government policies directed at curving the conflicts are properly implemented.

The media should refrain from giving any particular segment preference above the other.

Media should give emphasis on information that neutralize friction and clear the ignorance and misconceptions which breed the Boko Haram insurgence

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