Building Trust in Media Coverage of Security Issues in Nigeria Abimbola Olulesi Department of Mass Communication.
College of Communication and Media Studies.
Caleb University.
Imota.
Lagos Abstract Keywords The media in a democratic setting exists to inform, educate and entertain the general public.
The media are referred to as the Fourth Estate of the nation with oversight functions on the activities of the Executive.
Legislature and Judiciary.
Despite the return to democratic governance in 1999.
Nigeria has witnessed an increase in security challenges, from the Sharia based riots in 1999.
Sagamu riots in 2000, the Jos riots in 2008, through the Chibok girls abduction by Boko Haram insurgents in 2014 to the Kaduna Shite clashes with the Army in 2015.
Till date, majority of the over 200 secondary school girls abducted at Chibok still remain in captivity.
The objective of this study is to examine to what extent the Nigerian media has played the role of agenda setting through media reports that adhere to objectivity, truth and This study adopted the content analysis method of media reports on security challenges and discovered that, such issues as media ownership, poor remuneration of media practitioners, corruption, religion and ethnicity tend to colour media reports which negatively impacts on the quality of and adherence to ethics of media coverage.
This results in the discerning public treating such reports with little or no trust.
This report recommends the improvement in the remuneration of media practitioners, effective implementation of freedom of information act, regular media summits on coverage of conflicts, co-operation of the security agencies with the media and a strict adherence to ethics of media as definitive steps that need to be urgently implemented in restoring the lost trust in media coverage of conflicts in Nigeria.
addition, media bodies such as the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) must lead the fight in ensuring ethical journalism thrives and ownership does not become an albatross to the industry.
Building.
Trust.
Media.
Coverage.
Security, and Nigeria Introduction National Security remains a burning issue facing the Nigerian nation.
According to Ali .
national security means the protection of the lives, rights, dignity and property of citizens.
It also means the protection of resources, cultural integrity, territory, sovereignty and lawful institutions of a country.
The aim of national security is to secure the just and equitable living conditions for all the citizens of the country.
Despite the return to civilian rule in 1999, the nation has had no respite from ethno-religious crises, banditry, militancy, kidnappings, and other socially disruptive occurrences.
As a nation.
Nigeria is ethno-religiously based - Muslim North and Christian South.
For administrative purposes, there are six geo-political zones within the 36 states structure.
According to Danjibo as cited in Olukotun .
, the media industry is also caught in the web because they are not just regionally, ethnically and religiously based, they also reflect these tendencies in their ______________________________________________________________ DOI: https://doi.
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There is reference to Ainorthern newspapersAn and Aisouthern newspapersAn.
This is to say that these papers speak and protect either the interest of the north or that of the south.
Such papers as New Nigerian and Leadership, mostly promote the interest of the north, while such papers as the Guardian and the Sun mostly promote the interest of the south, also ethnically based papers such as the Oodua News for Yoruba and Gaskiya Tafi Kwabo (Hausa - Truth is better than mone.
for the Hausa/Fulani.
Each tries to promote and protect its individual and group interests.
Even the government owned non-print media such as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) seem to project the interest of the local states where they have branches instead of being national representatives.
For example.
NTA and federal government owned FM stations in a good number of states in the north do not allow for Christian programs in the erroneous belief of protecting communal interests at the expense of human rights and the overall national interest of the people to freely practice their religion.
Danjibo added that many Nigerian media houses fall short of the standards of media practice with regards to some ethical principles such as: Objectivity in reportage.
disseminating true and unbiased information and protecting national interest (Aondover & Pate, 2.
It is against this background that this seminar paper seeks to address the issue of building trust in media coverage especially on conflicts and other security challenges.
Past media coverage of conflicts reveal a distressing pattern of diversity in the media reporting especially from 1999 to 2016.
Adebanwi as cited by Olukotun et al .
posited that Nigeria does not have national media but.
AArewa mediaAo.
ANkenga mediaAo and ANgbati mediaAo corresponding to the major ethnic division in the country - Hausa.
Igbo and Yoruba.
Hence, the print, electronic and digital media reflect fratricides and fractures of the nation state which go a long way in deepening the high level of mistrust, suspicion and rejection of media coverage of conflicts deemed not to align with ethnic and religious Olukotun et al added that AiA in a plural and divided nation, such as Nigeria, there has been a longstanding debate concerning the role, orientation, and geographical location of the media.
This is particularly important, in the context of analyzing media coverage of ethno-religious conflicts.
for, obviously, the media, are not neutral institutions standing above society, but are embedded and implicated in the divisions that are dominant features of a polity.
Hence, media location, ownerships, and profile of the media have bearing on the frames which they employ in reporting conflict .
An.
A return to socially responsible, ethically administered media coverage of national security issues remains the most effective method of building trust and winning the confidence of the Nigerian people.
II.
Review of Literatures 1 Media.
Security Challenges and the Future of Nigeria: A Theoretical Overview Nwankwo, et al .
posited that the media have not been fully utilized in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria partly due to the challenges the media are facing.
They added that despite all challenges, the media should redouble their efforts to play their traditional roles in setting agenda for public discussion on the best ways to solve the security challenges facing the nation.
From their review, they concluded that Nigerians in general depend so much on the media for timely and accurate information about developments in the country especially those with security implications.
In their study, they observed that, although the nation had faced security challenges, it was hoped that the return to democratic governance in 1999 would usher in a time of relative peace (Aondover et al.
, 2.
But from various studies cited (Kwaja, 2009.
Omemma, 2.
, the nation continues to wallow in wave after wave of security challenges from religious to ethnic hostilities with devastating consequences thus essentially dashing hopes that a return to democratic governance in 1999 would abolish ethnicity and ethno-religious crises.
They were therefore equivocal in declaring that national security is a business of all, for all and by all.
As a way of achieving this, they cited Ogu and Oyerinde .
, who listed three key elements namely - .
effective communication process .
sophisticated communication facilities and .
adaptive participatory communication approach.
In citing Altheide .
, the authors noted that most wars and crises arise from the communication of fear, falsehood, propaganda and deliberate manipulation to create a feeling of Therefore, there is the need to deliberately re-examine the role of the media in terms of information dissemination as it affects security in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria (Owens-Ibie & Aondover, 2.
According to Ngige.
Badekale and Hamman .
as cited in their study, the greatest security challenge facing Nigeria presently is the AA Aiimposing impunity of terrorist activities of the Boko Haram, an Islamic fundamentalist group based in Northern Nigeria.
However, it could be argued that the threat posed by Boko Haram is dwindling with the killing of the leader and the intensified efforts of the Nigerian military but unfortunately, the emergence of the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) - a militant group and administrative division of the Islamic State (IS), a Salafi jihadist militant group and unrecognised pro-state, and bandits, as well as the unknown gunmen still makes Nigeria unsafe for the citizenry, and has rendered counter terrorism operations Hence, the media have even more tasks ahead.
An p.
The authors were firm in their belief as supported by Ngige et al .
that the Nigerian media has enough potential and should be able to contribute very effectively in resolving the security challenges facing the nation.
The authors also identified the surveillance function of the media which mandates the media to bring impending dangers to the consciousness of the public.
They however stated that the Nigerian media has not lived up to expectation in this regard.
Okpara .
cited in Hamid and Baba .
observes that the Nigerian media are yet to effectively play the surveillance function of the media in their reportage of insurgency.
He contends that this has led to the unabated insurgent activities in Nigeria.
The Nigerian media have not done well in discharging their surveillance role, particularly in the Boko-Haram crisis.
From studies conducted by Ugbegili .
and Urowayino .
as cited by the authors, security challenges facing the Nigerian nation are on the increase.
These security challenges are the offshoot of such endemic problems as unemployment among the teeming youths .
ges 18 to .
who make up about 70% of the population.
In the Niger delta region, there is militancy, in the south east region, there is the activity of bandits nicknamed unknown gunmen and extra-judicial killings, armed robbery, ritual killings and kidnappings spread all over the country from South West to North Central.
Even more devastating and always in the front burner of most media reports on security challenges are the mayhem inflicted almost on a weekly basis in the North .
ostly North east and North west regio.
by insurgency like Boko Haram.
Fulani Herdsmen, and the West African branch of the Islamic State group known as the Islamic StateAos West Africa Province (ISWAP), an arm of the militant group and administrative division of the Islamic State (IS) (Onyejelem et al.
, 2.
Arising from the foregoing, the authors stated that security challenges were at its peak in Nigeria.
They cited Okereocha .
who stated that security challenges such as kidnappings, rape, murder, bombings, assassinations, robbery, religious and political riots, are on the increase.
The failure of the various state and federal security agencies to put a firm stop to this unfortunate state of things has resulted in an increasing awareness among Nigerians that they need to take extra measures to safeguard their lives and properties.
2 Watchdogs or Captured Media: A Study of the Role of the Media In NigeriaAos Emergent Democracy - 1999 to 2016 Danjibo .
referred to media reports on security challenges as mediatized conflicts - a reference to the complex ways in which media are often implicated within conflicts while disseminating ideas and images about them (Cottle, 2006, p.
Danjibo added that strict adherence to principles of morals and ethics in the media profession is jettisoned in favour of media ownership, business, politics, ethnicity and religion (Aondover & Obasi, 2.
This brings into question the issue of building trust in media coverage of security issues in Nigeria.
How trustworthy are media coverage, reports, analysis of security issues by the Nigerian Media? In DanjiboAos view, ownership of the media in the Nigerian setting guides what gets published because news and editorial publications are dependent on the media ownersAo interests - be it ethnic, religious or political.
Hence, the media reports take a coloured slant towards the interest of the media owner and weakens their appeal as a fair, truthful and comprehensive report of going on.
Danjibo also cited the issues of poor remuneration of the workers in the media industry and corruption as major variables that impacts negatively on media reportage in Nigeria especially coverage of security challenges and conflicts (Aondover et al.
, 2.
Thus, there is a de-emphasis on the role of ethics in the media coverage of national and regional conflicts.
He further stated that religion and ethnicity have defined the identities of the Nigerian people - this has negatively impacted on the body politic of the nation with avoidable yet enormous consequences on both human lives and properties.
Despite the transition from military rule to democratic governance in 1999, there has been no respite from conflicts and insurgencies fueled by religious and ethnic It is on this basis that Danjibo averred that religion and ethnicity have become catalysts of conflicts despite the advent of democratic rule in 1999.
The rest of his study was devoted to case studies of various religious and ethnic conflicts since 1999 such as the ShariAoa crisis.
the Yoruba-Hausa Sagamu/Kano conflict.
the Miss World religious crisis.
the crises in Jos.
and the ethno-religious crisis in Maiduguri.
Kontagora and Onitsha as a result of the cartooning of the prophet of Islam in Denmark, and the effective way in which Boko Haram uses the media .
As a solution to the identified challenges.
Danjibo recommended adequate investment in investigative journalism.
He also advanced the case for continuous training of journalists and media reporters while Media bodies such as the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and the Nigeria Union of Journalists must lead the fight in ensuring ethical journalism thrives and ownership does not become an albatross to the industry.
Ayo Olukotun and Margaret Ayansola as cited in Ayo Olukotun .
, stated that Nigeria, like many African and other multicultural states are tormented by frequent religious and ethnic clashes, based on actual or manipulated identity claims .
They submitted Interestingly, one of the issues that has generated animated discussion as well as deepened ethno-religious polarities between North and South on the one hand, as well as between Christians and Muslims on the other, is the growing conflict between Fulani nomads or herdsmen and farming communities in parts of Southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.
They added that A AiIn the ensuing discourse, the media have been implicated to the extent that they are sometimes accused of taking sides in the reportage and analytical discussion of the events .
An An example to drive home their argument using the Framing Theory was given:For example, it is obvious from the increasingly heated discourse on the subject that journalists and intellectuals of northern extraction are more and more sensitive to and irritated by what they regard as southern newspapers demonization of the Fulani and allegedly biased coverage of the issues.
For example, a journalist of northern extraction.
IsAohaq Modibbo Kawu argues that southern media are guilty of hate speech, stereotyping and sensationalism over their coverage of herdsmen/farmers conflict.
According to him, the FulBe .
nother word for Fulan.
people in general and Fulbe nomads in particularly have been regularly profiled within a pattern of hate speech that endangers national cohesion of Nigeria (IsAohaq Modibbo Kawu.
AiMedia Narratives and the FulBe NormadAn.
Vanguard.
May 5, 2.
Obviously.
KawuAos position is characteristic of the postures of northern, especially Fulani journalists, reacting to what they see as biased reportage on the part of the Southern In earlier years, in the wake of the crisis in Northern Nigeria over the ShariAoa controversy, several northern journalists came down on the southern media reportage of the crisis.
For example, referring to the provocative characterization of the ShariAoa by the southern-dominated media in the aftermath of the crisis of 2000, a senior northern journalist.
Muhammed Haruna went on record as saying:
I have never seen anything like the days since February 21.
when violence broke out in Kaduna.
Almost to the last, the media have portrayed Muslims and Islam as the sole and total villain of the piece.
In one particular edition of the Hallmark newspaper.
Sharia was caricatured on three different pages as a vulture, a viper and a rampaging Demon (Olukotun, 2011, p.
Olukotun et al .
gave the following recommendations as solutions to the identified problems of trust deficit in media reportage of ethno-religious crisis as follows:
AiAIn this respect, training in diversity reporting, the avoidance of stereotypes, sensational and inflammatory language, can be of help here.
That apart, enhancement of professional standards, through training in objective reporting, as opposed to opinionated journalism can assist the search for less fractious journalistic frames.
For example.
Oso .
has lamented the shortage in the Nigerian media, of factual and objective reporting and a slide towards opinionated output.
This can only make more daunting the challenges of conflict reporting, in multicultural settings like Nigeria .
)An i.
Results and Discussion 1 Media Ethics and National Security Sanda .
, explained the pivotal role of the media in national security of Nigeria which he said cannot be overemphasized.
She listed the primary functions of the media which are to entertain, inform and educate.
She also stated other core functions of the media which includes serving as the watchdog of society, agenda setting and force multipliers (Aondover et al.
, 2.
These functions enable the media to sensitize, enlighten and persuade members of the public to participate actively in developmental She however stated that the ability of the media to carry out these functions effectively will depend on the amount of freedom that they enjoy in the society where they Sanda added that:
Truth, accuracy, objectivity, fairness, honesty, independence, balance, relevance and a watchdog role are among the most important values that define journalism.
By its nature and function, mass media ethics is regarded as a moderator of human actions and protects the less privileged against the vagaries of the mass media.
But have the Mass media contributed towards promoting peace and national security by following agreed code of ethics and professional conduct? .
Sanda adopted the Social Responsibility Theory in the discourse on the role of the media in promoting national security thus: The Social Responsibility Theory postulates five specific functions for the press.
They are:
To serve the political system by making information, discussion and consideration of public affairs generally accessible.
To inform the public to enable it take self-determined action.
To protect the rights of the individuals by acting as watchdog over the government.
To serve the economic system, for instance by bringing together buyers and sellers through the medium of advertising.
To preserve financial autonomy in order not to become dependent on special interest and influences (Anaeto.
Onabajo and Osifeso, 2009: .
McQuailAos .
contribution to the discourse on media ethics based on the social responsibility theory was also highlighted by Sanda: AiThe media should accept and fulfill certain obligations to be met by setting high and professional standards of information, truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance.
Media should be self regulating within the framework of law and established institutions and should avoid whatever might lead to crime, violence, civil disorder or give offence to minority groupsAn .
In defining media ethics, the author quoted Nosike .
who summarized them into three broad categories:
That the public is entitled to the truth and that only correct information can form the basis for sound journalism and ensure the confidence of the people, .
That the moral duty of every journalist is to have respect for the truth and to publish or prepare for publication only the truth to the best of his knowledge, .
That the duty of the journalist is to publish only facts, never to suppress such facts as he knows, never to falsify either to suit his own purposes or any other purposes .
Sanda then listed five ethical aspects that every media report should adhere to Truth.
Fact.
Accuracy.
Fairness and Integrity.
Arising from the above, mass media of communication ought to be socially, politically and economically, responsible in carrying news stories that will ensure national security.
However.
Sanda was very definite that journalists have created an environment of mutual distrust and cited examples to buttress his point.
For instance, the Civil War of 1967-1970 had its root in distrust, which journalists helped to nourish.
So also the Kaduna riot which, was provoked by a reporter of This Day Newspaper (Isioma Danie.
resulting in the destruction of lives and properties.
Other unethical practices by Nigerian journalists border on over exaggeration and outright sensationalism, suppression or outright distortion of facts, political partisanship and bias, ethnicism and religious insensitivity.
Such actions not only make the media lose credibility, but also serve as avenue for increasing conflicts .
AiThe press owes society the responsibility of promoting unity and decency.
Media practitioners should refrain from using offensive or vulgar language as well as avoiding statements or reference to people's tribe, sex, religion and other mental or physical Thus, applying the principles of media ethics will assist journalists to do the best job possible thereby providing a mandate to act independently and courageously when seeking and pursuing the truth (United States Department of State, 2.
An p.
In defining security.
Nwabueze and Ebeze .
pointed out that once the word AiinsecurityAn is mentioned while referring to Nigeria, the first words to come to mind are Boko Haram insurgency.
Niger Delta militia, kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling, farmers/herders conflict, political violence and ethno-religious crises among others.
Various reasons have been adduced as the root cause of violence across the nation.
Among these are the multidimensional, multicultural personality of Nigeria, corruption, poor governance, unemployment, mismanagement of diversity and conflict issues in the They expressed the view that the Nigerian media have been accused of contributing to worsening the state of insecurity and conflicts in Nigeria due to reportage primarily aimed at maximizing profit and increasing audience base.
Specific practices of the media that result in escalation of security conflicts include Aiselective reporting of prejudicial stereotypes about groups and individuals.
An Aireporting inter group conflicts out of their fundamental sociological, economic, political and other contexts.
An Aishallow and episodic An Aitotal blackout on some groups, individuals or communities.
An Aiuse of inflammatory, misleading and sensational headlines to attract sales.
An Aipublishing inflammatory statements against some people or groups as letters to the editor.
An Aiattributing statements by individuals to groups making generalized statements not supported facts,An etc.
These are activities that the media need to desist from to make meaningful impact in combating insecurity in Nigeria.
otherwise the mass media will continue to be seen as fueling insecurity .
Sanda therefore recommended thatA Aiin a democratic society, the media have a responsibility to subject political leaders and security agencies to public scrutiny and to question their policies and competences.
It is important, therefore, that the media and the security agencies work together to educate the public, question government about security policies, and hold leaders to account.
Independent and socially responsible media facilitate democratic governance.
The media can help expose wrongdoings, identify policy alternatives and enable a society to make informed choices about contending issuesAn .
2 Social Media and National Security: Issues.
Challenges and Prospects Eze .
writing on the issues, challenges and prospects arising from the interplay of Social Media and National Security posited that terrorists and militant groups have exploited the opportunities prevalent in the social media space to unleash mayhem on the Nigerian nation.
In his view, for some couple of years now.
Nigeria has been faced with severe security challenges that have threatened the very existence and continued unity of the nation (Owens-Ibie, 2.
Places of worship are either attacked or bombed by the dreaded terrorist group.
Boko Haram.
Countless thousands of lives including innocent school children have been wasted.
the recent being the nefarious calculated attacks of the Fulani herdsmen in various parts of the country.
It is in the midst of such complexities that a nagging question may be posited, is the social media a threat to national security? p.
Eze .
established the fact that a AiA 21st century terrorist group such as Boko Haram are in use of the social media for their information and communication needs and other ulterior purposes.
It cannot be over looked that the Boko Haram shares pictures on YouTube, send messages through unauthorized websites, make calls ceaselessly and exchanged contacts and alert with other ancillary groups and fellow terrorist gangsAn p.
He considered it a welcome development that the Nigerian senate has passed the cybercrime Bill into an Act to be fully enforced in the country.
Eze recommended deploying ICT in certain aspect of the national transformation agenda and the ICT policy of the nation as this will play a vital role in combating the current national security Surveillance, intelligence gathering, public enlightenment using social media networks, coordination to avoid duplication among the various security outfits for better management of national security through ICT, intercepting communication between and within terror groups and emergency response to provide medical attention for terror victims were some of the solutions provided by the author to swiftly put an end to national security challenges through the deployment of ICT (YarAoAdua & Aondover, 2023.
Msughter et al.
, 2.
3 Findings In the course of putting up this paper, several past research works bothering on media and national security were consulted.
Content analysis approach was adopted for this seminar paper and the major findings are listed below:
Nigeria has a rich history of vibrant media institutions - print, broadcast and social Majority of the media houses especially print are located within the Lagos/Ibadan axis though ownership cuts across the entire southern states - not just the south west.
From pre-independence era.
Nigeria had faced several national security issues, conflicts and incidents fueled by ethnicity, religion and politics.
There is a very real and noticeable distrust between the media reports from the southern press and northern press coverage of security challenges.
Despite the return to democratic governance in 1999, the nation is still battling with several security challenges such as Boko Haram insurgency in the North East and North West regions.
Unknown gunmen activities in the South East.
Niger Delta militancy in the oil-rich Niger delta areas, kidnappings.
Fulani Herdsmen/Farmers conflicts in the Benue/Plateau States, among several others.
The media landscape at present is very unfavourable for sound, ethical media practice due to poor remuneration, interference of media owners, corruption, harrassment of media practitioners by state actors.
Social media misuse has further compounded the precarious security situation in the Evidence abound of militant groups like Boko Haram making use of Social Media to recruit members and co-ordinate attacks and cause mayhem.
There is a general disillusionment by the public with the ability of the government to address the security challenges thereby leading many to resort to self-help in protecting themselves - family, communal, local and state levels - e.
launching of Amotekun by the South West governors - Lagos.
Ogun.
Oyo.
Osun.
Ondo and Ekiti.
Evidence abounds of several instances where media reports have impacted on the negative security situation of the country.
A glaring example is the November 16, 2002 report by Miss Isioma Daniel of ThisDay newspaper on the Miss World Beauty Pageant where she wrote thus: AiThe Muslims thought it was immoral to bring ninety two women to Nigeria and ask them to revel in vanity.
What would Mohammed think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from one of them.
An This report was seen as blasphemous by the muslim population based in the North and it led to a major religious riot that left over 250 people killed and several churches destroyed.
Also, when security crisis occur, the media are often accused of fueling such conflicts through biased, false, sensational, reporting without due regard for ethical journalism that is anchored on truth, fact, fairness, objectivity and balance.
IV.
Conclusion Attempts have been made in this seminar paper to review the state of media coverage of national security challenges using the content analysis method.
From the data gathered and analyzed, the following conclusions are presented.
There is an urgent need to empower media practitioners such that they will be able to invest more in investigative journalism which is at a low ebb.
Emphasis needs to be placed on ethics of media practice to ensure reports that are credible, truthful, factual, balanced and in the interest of national security and development.
Owners of media houses should give unfettered access for media practitioners to practice based on the principles of media ethics.
The security agencies should see the media practitioners as partners in progress rather than adversaries as the case presently is.
Governmental agencies should support the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) and co-operate with the media to ensure the citizens receive the required information that will speed up national development.
Adequate investments in communication technology in the fight against terrorism, kidnapping, militancy, should be put in place to make the work of both the security agencies and the media easier.
Media practitioners need to be intentional in building trust in media coverage of conflicts and security issues across all divides - religious, ethnic, social and political.
References