PRINT MEDIA AND CRISIS RESOLUTION IN THE NIGER-DELTA REGION
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PRINT MEDIA AND CRISIS RESOLUTION IN THE NIGER-DELTA REGION
ABSTRACT
The project examines the effectiveness of the print media in crisis resolution in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. The objectives of this project are to discuss the print media and its role of information dissemination, to investigate the background of Niger Delta avengers and their modus operandi
and to make recommendations on how the print media can effectively carry out its role in conflict resolution even in the face of constant threat and intimidation by the Niger Delta For this study, the researcher used a survey research strategy to collect data from the study area.
The reason for selecting this strategy is to allow the researcher to provide subjective opinions to respondents. The survey required collecting pertinent data, which was then analysed to answer the researcher’s queries. In conclusion, the project recommended that the Federal government should re-integrate ex-militants into civil life through re-training and rehabilitation
the speedy provision of the social and economic infrastructure required by the devastated Niger Delta region to develop with its natural resources should be a top priority, the people of Niger Delta should be educated on the importance of maintaining peace in society, youth empowerment programs should be pr
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
The Niger Delta of Nigeria has piqued the interest of both indigenous and foreign journalists, not only for the high-profile economic and industrial activities that take place there, nor for oil exploitation and exploration, but also for the crises that occur there, which are frequently violent and fatal.
Despite being natives of the region that hosts Nigeria’s petroleum oil and gas industries, which account for more than 80% of the country’s GDP (Dode, 2011), the people of the oil-producing Niger Delta have frequently considered themselves marginalised – politically disenfranchised and economically impoverished.
Although the agitation in the region has been based on claims of injustice, inequity, neglect of the area, and exclusion from the benefits of oil wealth, print media coverage has frequently excluded the issues at hand and focused primarily on what Umaru Pate refers to as “crisis behaviours” (Pate, 2002).
These crisis behaviours include oil sites being clamped down and closed, oil wells and drilling platforms being bombed, oil workers being kidnapped or otherwise abducted, oil workers and security personnel being killed or maimed, and inter- and intra-community feuds.
According to Levi Obijiofor (2008), print media coverage of the Niger Delta is usually intermittent and episodic. He observes astutely: “If there are no explosions, abductions, shootings, or killings in the Niger Delta cities, the region will almost certainly disappear from the radar of journalists.”
But if a schoolchild is kidnapped in Port Harcourt, Warri, or Yenagoa, the media would encircle the city and cover the incident until it loses currency or another event breaks out in the region or elsewhere.”
This study found that the sporadic coverage of the crisis is influenced by the Nigerian print media’s concept of news value, the intensity of the drama, media ownership, and logistical challenges of accessing the swampy sites of conflict in the Niger Delta, resulting in an overreliance on official government sources for news information.
Nwagbara (2010, p.19) describes the scenario, stating that “the aftermath of partisan journalism, sponsored news programmes, commercialised media enterprise, political reporting, and propagandistic reportage” have created a grotesque picture of information dissemination in the Nigerian print media, particularly in its coverage of crisis.
As a result, Nigerian print media not only chronicles violent crises, but also from the perspective of government sources, who are continuously attempting to control information flow for the benefit of the governing elites.
Despite the continuous suppression of their voices, opposing groups in the Niger Delta have found a way to infiltrate the media realm. This is accomplished through peaceful demonstrations or violent crackdowns.
Placard-carrying men, women, and youth are frequently seen in government offices demanding one thing or another, ranging from better environmental policies by oil companies to increased welfare packages as recompense for the impact of oil exploration on their lives and towns.
On the other hand, masked gun-toting young men infiltrate oil installations, causing havoc, misery, and death in their wake; these incidents are immediately recorded.
It has been common for some opposition organisations to claim credit whenever such attacks occur, and to use the occurrences as a pretext for threatening more attacks if the cause of the initial attack is not handled as intended.
This is evident in the claims of blame for the ongoing attacks on oil sites and the regular kidnapping of oil workers, particularly expatriates, in the Niger Delta.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a typical example, as depicted in this report: “We would like to reiterate our cautions to oil firms still operating in the Niger Delta, and particularly to their employees, to leave while they still can.
Our attack halt was more of a tactical suspension, which has already ended. We will continue attacks at our leisure, with greater damage and less mercy for those who chose to ignore our warnings” (The Vanguard, April 20, 2010, pp. 1-2).
Perhaps the most major element influencing crisis reportage in the Niger Delta is the concentration of much of Nigeria’s mainstream media in Lagos, the country’s commercial metropolis in southwest Nigeria.
This solitary characteristic has consequences for good crisis coverage. The first is that the city’s capitalist worldview permeates all activities, since bottom-line (profit) considerations impact all decisions, including news judgements.
So a Lagos-based newspaper proprietor prioritises profit over public duty. As a result, news evaluation is ultimately based on the prospect of financial gains. This applies equally to media companies run by Niger Delta-born entrepreneurs.
Second, as previously stated, the distance between Lagos and the Niger Delta creeks, as well as the logistical challenges that this presents, limits effective coverage of conflict in the area.
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