THE PRINT MEDIA LANDSCAPE IN NIGERIA AND REPORTING CONFLICT By Sharafa Dauda Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Borno, Nigeria
Abstract The influence of the nature and structure of the Nigerian print media landscape faults the ideal role and performance of the print media in conflict reporting; and is made more complex by the country's diverse identities within a democratic dispensation that permits plural exchanges. In an analytical pattern of conflict reporting in the Nigerian print media, the study argues that the implications of the print media content focus on the elites and its urbancenteredness; the non exploration of inherent advantages of publications in local languages; the weak capital base of media institutions and inherent inhibitions on performances; ownership interests and their influences on editorial policy thrusts and audience; all combine to weaken the role of the print media and its performance. It argues that inadequate knowledge existing among media practitioners about the nation's geographical identities and cultural realities partly inhibit ethical journalistic practice that upholds the principles of objectivity, truth, fairness, balance, decency, public good and public interests. The work notes that until the print media landscape is evenly spread, reflecting the values of media pluralism, heavy investments and professionally operated without interferences by external factors, it will not focus on real issues that concern the generality. Rather, their content will centre on a few and more of the 'many untold stories' would remain, while avoidable and manageable conflict scenarios could emerge.
INTRODUCTION The complex and interdependent nature of the Nigerian society makes it imperative for the print media to be representative of the collective thoughts, ideas, opinions, values, identities and realities of the people through organisational structure and editorial policy thrusts that are reflected in their content. Nigeria has an estimated population of 140million spread across 923,768 sq km. The country is divided into 36 states and 774 LGAs. The seat of power is in Abuja while Lagos is the commercial nerve centre. It operates a federal system of government with a bicameral parliament. As Africa's largest oil producer, Nigeria depends solely on oil revenues. The country is also blessed with abundant mineral and human resources. Despite these resources, the country is challenged by poor leadership. This is coupled with the excesses of past military regimes. The struggle for resource control and their allocations has also created social and political imbalances and challenges. At present, social infrastructures are inadequate and majority of the population are impoverished, surviving below one dollar a day. However, the multi-ethnic nature of the Nigerian nation with over 250 ethnic groups within a nascent democracy with a vibrant print media has provided a platform for plural exchanges on diversity issues, hence conflict scenarios. P a g e 279
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The media needs to be proactive in performing its surveillance function to prevent these challenges from assuming conflict dimensions based on its constitutionally drawn powers from sections 39 and 22 of the 1999 Constitution. While the former provides every person the freedom of expression to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference, the latter ascribes to the mass media (print inclusive) the freedom (at all times) to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people. Literary, evidence about the establishment of print journalism in Nigeria according to Ajibade (2003:1-5) dates back to 1859 with indigenous language publications for the Yoruba (Iwe Irohin) of the Church Missionary Society in Abeokuta and later the Presbyterian Church of Scotland's (Unwana Efik and Obupong Efik) for the Efik speaking persons in Calabar. Notably, print journalism was first motivated by Christian evangelical missionary quests and later aided by political developments in the Lagos colony. The path of the missionaries was treaded by nationalists' newspapers “to express strong nationalist sentiments characterised by pungent criticism of British colonial policies and vociferous demand for greater participation of the people in the affairs of their own land� (Ibid, p.3). The nationalists employed the media as a tool for raising national consciousness about the need for increased indigenous participation in governance, as well as to criticise the colonial administration; and these influenced the colonialists' accent to the attainment of an independent state in 1960. Notably, crave for opposing views, inclusive participation and the need to express ideas, opinions and fundamental rights motivated the growth of the print media. Thus, the lopsided media setting in Nigeria that locates most private media in capitals of southern states due to large economic presence; and in other state capitals and the nation's seat of power can be linked to economic considerations as well as the prevailing colonial institutional features that have great impact. Usman (2008:125-126) notes: Nigeria inherited certain economic, social, political, and institutional features which were to impact negatively on the policy context of the new nation state and the future direction of its development. These features included a satellite or dependent pattern of growth; a low level of social and political integration and, therefore, the absence of inter-ethnic trust, national society and national leadership; a dominant, hierarchical and power-centred state system with little or no room for citizen access and participation; and incipient pattern of inequality between the individuals and territorial units; and a receptive disposition towards force or violence, particularly against out group members, as a means of overcoming resistance and/or securing one's group interests. Relating the above assertions to the media as an institution can also be associated to the often urban-centered, elitist focused and rural population neglected nature of the Nigerian print media, despite the fact that about 70 percent (NEEDS, 2005:32) of Nigeria's population are resident in rural areas, meanwhile the national literacy rate is put at 57 percent (NEEDS, 2005:34). P a g e 280
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There are 75 newspapers (daily and periodic) and 27 magazines in Nigeria (2009 Survey; see appendix), most of which are published in the Lagos-Ibadan axis, the Federal Capital Territory and in state capitals. Mu'azu (2008:310) and Akingbulu and Hendrik (2010:8) corroborate part of this finding. The former notes that “…presently, there are a significantly large number of newspapers operating at the national, state and local/regional levels, with the national ones appearing to be economically stronger and more consistent in publication. There are also several news magazines that are published on weekly basis with nationwide distribution…”; while latter note “there are over 100 newspapers and magazines, most of them owned by private commercial interests…”. Thus, considering the huge rural population with little or no western education, there is the need to know how many Nigerian print publications are published in local languages, to satisfy public interests, as well as, one of the basic tenets of communication, which demands the dissemination of information using the lowest common denominator that can appeal to the interest of the majority. There are just a few compared to the English versions. There are the Hausa folds (4), Arabic script (1), the Yoruba folds (6) and Pidgin English (1) (See appendix). In comparison to the entire 102 publications, there are only ten publications in other languages. This figure represents ten percent of the entire country's print publications. This is unrepresentative of Nigeria's indigenous population. But Akinfeleye (1995) in Adamu (2008:178) while highlighting the role of a performing media system for effective communication reasons that: “One thing that is very clear is that effective governance in any society is built on solid communication network, whether in a democracy or military, therefore, effective mass media system is always the central control mechanism for meaningful peaceful and sustainable democracy.” Put differently, the print media can not meet the demands of majority of the non English literate population if it neglects local languages as channels to reach them. Though not oblivious that media ownership are patterned after some perceived ideological, political or economic interests and that editorial policy thrusts by their nature are meant to reflect the opinions and perceptions of media organisations about certain social issues that affect the society, it is sad to note that print media organisations have misused this privilege to sometime engage in partisanship by portraying segmented interests. These are at times evident in the interpretations or painted scenarios in news reports, features and analysis. These further the divides that exist as a result of the nation's diverse identities. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND This work adopts McQuail's proposed basic communication values model of Freedom, Justice/equality and Order/solidarity as a framework for assessing the Nigerian media in reporting conflict. “These seem to be the basic principles which lie at the heart of most expectations concerning public communication, just as they shape the discussion of most other fundamental public issues” (McQuail, 1992: 67). Because of the need for peculiarity in discussing media performance, cognisance is taken of realities in practice of the Nigerian media system's structure, ownership and control as well as the corresponding theoretical ideals. Additionally, the dominant ideology of the contemporary Nigerian society, which is somewhat confusing and in-between capitalist P a g e 281
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and developmentalist in nature, is considered. The adoption of McQuail's proposal is guided by the plurality of exchange driven by the complexities arising from the duo of democracy and diversity. Freedom is conceptualised as communication rights of belief, speech, movement, assembly, association, access to information that invariably defines identity and integrity of individuals. Justice or equality is seen as potentials to receive and transmit valuable information that is fairly distributed for public good and the rights to express objections and improve participation in political processes for public welfare. Order/solidarity is seen as peaceful co-existence and abiding by the rule of law, which McQuail (1992:68) notes “are regarded as a central communication value according to the definition of communication as increasing commonality and sharing of outlook and experience”. PERSPECTIVES ON REPORTING CONFLICT IN NIGERIA Reporting conflict requires identifying the underlying factors and histories of conflict that are peculiar to an issue, individual or group. The need for knowledge on past and present contextual background to understand the nature of the conflicting issue from diverse sources; in depth knowledge and application of media law and ethics, good sense of judgment; and factual absorption and coherent presentation in widely acceptable manner that visualises the audience's perception have been provided by Pate (2002:136138) as the necessary strategies required for reporting conflict by the media within the context of a democratic Nigeria. Evidently, conflicts are not episodic, they are reoccurring phenomena. It is only when they manifest into a crisis situation that they become episodic. So reporters have to be cautious while reporting these issues of varied interests that are a manifestation of fear. As “fear of the future, lived through the past” (Pesic 1994 in Adedeji, 1999), conflict is pre-conditioned by the existence of differential values, scarcity of rewards and opportunities, as well as differential distribution of power (Usman, 2008:129). As a consequence of fear, conflict becomes one of the most difficult subjects to comprehend. Yet, the only option available to the media is to master and comprehend it. Else, the media could trigger or aggravate conflict. Obviously then, the imperative for reporting conflict by the media, though underscored by its sellable nature, can be problematic. Pate (2002:140-142) notes problems arising therefrom: First, there is the possibility of exaggeration due to imbalance in presentation of facts. This can be cited with The Nation newspaper of Friday 13, 2009 (p.33) on the recent internecine crisis in Jos. The story was a leader from the front page titled “Fresh tension in Jos over planned attack”. The lead and following paragraph read: There was palpable fear yesterday in Jos, the Plateau State capital, following reports of fresh hostilities by the Hausa community in Jos North. This followed a rumour that the state 'Joint Islamic Committee' was calling for a total jihad against the government because of the failed promises it made to the Jasawa Association in the past. P a g e 282
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The word 'palpable' in the above quotation mean an 'intense visible tensed scenario'. The use of such misleading adjective pointing accusing fingers at one party in a conflict can only heighten tension rather than douse it. Just as well, the account in the second paragraph was based on rumour of a purported jihadist movement against the Plateau State government. What happened to the principles of objectivity in social responsibility and public interest? The 'Joint Islamic Committee' is a constituted body that is run by individuals. Couldn't the reporter have contacted the members of the committee to verify or debunk the purported claims? And even if the reporter is guilty of the negative bias, was there no editor responsible for the publication? Second is the pressure on reporters to beat deadlines resulting in the neglect of uncooperative or manipulative sources. This situation can also be buttressed with the above example. Third is the urge by authorities to control the flow of information for reasons of state interests or otherwise. In a bid to narrate the origin of the Jos crisis, the Daily Trust newspaper of December 2, 2008 in a story titled “How crisis began, by two sides”, notes on the running page thus: …All efforts to speak to the Chairman of the Plateau State PDP, Professor Dakum Shown were not successful. His Secretary was also not available for comments. Obviously, the PDP being the ruling party in the state coupled with the fact that the party's proclaimed victory was the latent cause that lead to the carnage could have responsibly provided valuable information to help douse the tension rather than playing hide and seek with the media. Ojo (2000) in Pate (2002:140-141) adds a fourth: public perception of the reporters' objectivity and impartiality, while noting that division in society often resulting in ethnic or religious conflicts can be reflected in pattern of media ownership and practitioners' influence on 'framing' and 'priming' discourses, and eventually, audience perception. For example, Tribune newspaper (December 1, 2008) on a banner headline titled: “Plateau poll crisis latest: People still trapped in Churches”, and a rider, “CAN calls for a 3day prayer and fasting” is partisan, probably emanating as a result of the ownership inclination and interests. Readers who are informed about the origin, interests and audience represented by the Tribune newspaper from the other side of the conflict could easily misinterpret such accounts and react. There is also the issue of labeling that becomes stereotypical with wrong choice of words. It has to be understood that those which the stereotypes refer to are subjected to negative bias. The bias aggravates rather than heal wounds. In this case, the example in the Tribune newspaper (December 1, 2008) on the above quoted banner headline is apt. The narration by Tribune, without mincing words, right from the headline is biased and suggestive that the so-called “settler community” are the “aggressors”, while at the same time presenting a one-sided account of the event. At such a time, in such a volatile case of multi-dimensional political, inter-religious and ethnic conflict, misinterpretation by the P a g e 283
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other party could be catastrophic. Structurally, McQuail (2005:193) reveals that “freedom of communication has a dual aspect: offering a wide range of voices and responding to a wide-ranging demand or need.” He notes that absence of censorship, licensing or other controls mechanism by government; equal rights and possibility to communicate; independence from excessive control and interference by owners and outside political or economic interests; competitiveness with limits to concentration; and cross-ownership and freedom to obtain information from relevant sources are the structural conditions for effective media freedom. The contemporary influence that the structure of media organisation has on the performance of journalists as echoed in Pate (2008) are enormous. According to him, “The reoriented journalist can only work optimally under a reoriented, digitised and motivated environment managed by an equally understanding, digitalised and highly focused management team whose vision, goal and sense of drive are in tandem with the challenges of the time. Nothing can be more frustrating in an environment characterised by crude regimentation, lack of freedom, penury and low drive.” Today, the media industry is 'big business', hence its capital intensive nature. Proprietors of media organisations must strongly consider this factor before establishing media organisations. It is unacceptable to have a half-funded, half-stocked and half-performing media organisation and expect it to be rated at per with heavily-funded and highly professionalised international media organisations. Critics say that reports from international media organisations about Nigeria are negative and bias, but the truth is: how many local media organisations have tried to verify some of the sources attributed by the international media in their reports? For instance, Andrew Walker of the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC) World Service in a report of eyewitnesses and accomplices accounts of the internecine crisis in Jos brought out revealing confessions about how community members and acquaintances (on both sides) shed innocent blood and destroyed property worth billions, taking sides on the basis of religion, ethnicity and political interests. What did any local media do to ascertain those revelations? Again, to uphold its responsibility to its listernership, obviously in a bid to neutralise potential conflict scenarios, the BBC Hausa Service, in March 2009 instituted a three weeks grassroots news and current affairs programme, titled 'BBC a Karkara', meaning 'BBC at the Grassroots' with the aim of ascertaining grassroots development problems and drawing attention to their plight. Daily, the BBC broadcasted reports in all four segments from the survey population of 11 northern states of Nigeria, covering 45 villages. Real issues cropped up. Erring elected leaders were held accountable. Notably, lack of schools was striking, and where there are, teaching aids were non existent. Competent teachers were lacking, and the girl child is denied the right to education unlike her male counterpart. This could fault the possibility of attaining education for all by the year 2015 as targeted by the UN's Millennium Development Goal Number Two. The healthcare sector is also in a state of total collapse no qualified medical personnel, no drugs even where there are health centres. There is also non-strategic situation of health facilities in most locations, lack of modern medical facilities and alarming P a g e 284
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maternal and child mortality rates. The roads are in dilapidated conditions, with obvious economic consequence to farmers and traders. Water for domestic/livestock use and lack of electricity are also noted among others, while the rampaging effects of polio, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases cropped up too. For such scenarios, McQuail (2005:171) notes that a responsible press should “provide a full, truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the day's events in context which gives them meaning”. Accordingly, the press would then “serve as a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism' and be a 'common carrier of the public expression' and give a 'representative picture of constituent groups in society' while presenting and clarifying the 'goals and values of society”. No doubt, the print media express their opinions in editorial and commentaries on some issues before or during their manifestation stage. An example is the November 2008 outbreak of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis that have at the end of April, 2009 recorded over 40,000 cases and more than 1,700 deaths (BBC World Service) in 12states of the Northern Nigeria traditional Meningitis belt, including some states in the Niger Delta region. It was reported by almost every media organisation in the country. The current epidemic, against that of 1996 with over 100,000 cases could have been curtailed. Agreed, the print media highlighted the subject with editorials, commentaries and news stories, but couldn't the media have done more? A segment of an editorial by the Daily Trust (February 24, 2009), reads: …Governors of states within the traditional Meningitis zone should have come together since the initial outbreak in November, last year and synergised towards a combined effort to fight its spread. To this end, they could have embarked on immediate immunisation exercises in all communities prone to the outbreak. Apart from giving the all-important advice on sleeping in an airy environment and stopping overcrowding in rooms, a special clean up campaign should have been embarked upon by these states. Sanitation exercises in order to rid our dirty streets of their never-ending rubbish heaps and fetid gutters should have been a priority of the states' health and environmental ministries… Could the case have been different if the print media started priming, framing and directing the perception of Nigerians from the first case or even as the dry season approached by running features, commentaries, opinions, among others in English and other locally understood languages on the intervention efforts suggested above by Daily Trust? The impact of such an intervention would be more effective.. After all, it is common fact that these crises situations have a pattern of occurrence, historically and by nature. We can follow the pattern of the occurrences rather than wait for them to manifest before using them to set agenda. The emergence of professional journalism in itself that led to the formation of associations and press councils, ethical codes and public regulatory bodies was a response to failure in commercialisation and lack of political independence of the press. P a g e 285
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APPENDIX Nigerian Newspapers and Magazine 2009 Survey NEWSPAPERS S/N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41.
English Daily Abuja Mirror Business Day Complete Sports Confidence Newspaper Daily Champion Daily Independent Daily Trust Desert Herald Financial Standard News Global Star Leadership Legacy National Mirror National Point New Age New Nigerian News Star Next Niger Delta Standard Nigerian Compass PM News Soccer Star Sports Day Standard Voice The Abuja Inquirer The Beam newspaper The Guardian The Mark The Nation The Nigerian Standard The Punch The Scope The Spectator The Sun The Tide The Vanguard ThisDay Tribune Triumph
Weekly Business 360 O Fresh Facts Guardian Weekend Leadership Sunday Leadership Weekend Life Muslim World Review National Daily National Network Newspage Weekly Nigerian Telecom News Peoples Daily Saturday Champion Saturday New Nigerian Saturday Punch Stockswatch Sunday Guardian Sunday Trust The Game The Graphic The Viewer ThisDay Sunday ThisDay Weekend Weekly Trust
Other Languages Daily Periodic Alaroye (Y) Akede (Y) Alaroye Odua (Y) Almizan (H) – Religious Alawiye (Y) Aminiya (H) Atoka (Y) Eko for Show (P/E) Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo (H) Leadership Hausa (H) Oniroyin (Y) Triumph Arabic (A)
MAGAZINES S/N 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.
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English
Other language
Best Lover Broad Street Business Eye Complete Football Economic Confidential Health Booster Healthcare Hints Insider Weekly National Standard Nest News Global Newswatch Nigeria Newsworld Ovation She World Supple Tell The Business The Family The Market The News The Source The Week Top Elegance Tozali (The Eye Liner) True Love
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