Ethno-Religious Conflicts, Mass Media and National Development: The Northern Nigeria Experience

Abstract

This study has examined the extent to which the mass media serves as instrument of escalation, generation and de-escalation of religious-related conflicts in the Northern part of Nigeria and the consequent effects of the role of the mass media in the development of the region and the nation as a whole. The secondary sources of data were the main method employed in the collection of data. The study examined critically news reports and analysis, editorials, advertorials and special columns’ contents of some newspapers and news magazines. Also radio broadcasts, television news and International News Agencies’ reports on ethno-religious conflicts were examined. From the analysis, the study showed that the role of the mass media during the period under study did contribute immensely to the escalation of these conflicts which consequently affected the socio-economic development of northern Nigeria in particular and the nation at large in the past three decades. The study has in addition, established that even in some instances when conflicts arose as a result of other factors, they usually assumed religious colourations thus making them intractable. The study further discovered that the mass media in Nigeria in these instances of reportage of ethno-religious conflicts played roles as diverse as the interests of their owners and editors, geographical locations, ethnic and religious affiliations of the owners or editors. The study therefore recommends a paradigm shift in ethno-religious reportage by the mass media in order to play down conflict situations rather than escalating them in order the promote national development. This is because, conflict generally is complex in nature and so its reportage should be handled with care to avoid the generation and escalation of further conflicts.