Abstract
This paper examined the extent to which the mass media narrative serves as an instrument of the escalation, degeneration and de-escalation of religious-related conflicts in Nigeria, especially in the Northern part of the country and the consequent effects of the role of the mass media in national development. Thus, the media narrative is seen as a factor constructing religious conflicts which occur so often. The sources of the literature reviewed were the main method employed in the collection of data. Grounded in the mediatisation theory perspective, this paper examined news reports and analysis, editorials, contents of newspapers, radio broadcasts, television news and international news agencies’ reports on ethnoreligious conflicts. From the analysis, the paper highlights that even in instances when conflicts arose as a result of other factors, they usually assumed religious colourations thus making them intractable and the mass media in the country during reportage of inter-religious conflicts play roles as diverse as the interests of their owners and editors: geographical locations and ethnic and religious affiliations. This paper, therefore, recommends a paradigm shift in the inter-religious narrative by the media to play down conflict situations rather than escalate them for national development. This is because conflicts, generally, are complex and so their narrative should be handled with care to avoid generation and escalation of further conflicts. This paper also proposes that ethnic identity, political identity and religious identity influence media narrative of religious conflicts in Nigeria. Policy recommendations were offered at the end. Keywords: Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, Media and ethnoreligious conflict in Nigeria, Media and inter-religious conflict in Nigeria, Media and conflict resolution, Media narrative of conflicts, Mediatisation of religious issues DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/91-04 Publication date: June 30th 2020
Highlights
Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has suffered some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnic identities
Theoretical Framework This paper focuses on the links between religion, the mass media and national development in Nigeria
Attempts have been made to discuss the adverse effects of inter-religious conflicts in Nigeria, especially in the past three decades, from 1990 to 2020
Summary
Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has suffered some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnic identities. It is an age of communication technology and information revolution At this stage of development, the mass media are more pervasive than ever before. The instrument of mass communication in the modern world has an enormous potential for inducing newer images in shaping global politics, culture and the public believes. Mass media are both a force for integration and dispersion and individuation in society. Due to their tendency to spread into other areas after an early stage in one area, religious conflicts have gained notoriety as the most violent crimes in Nigeria Most of these conflicts occur in the middle-belt and along with the culturally borderline states of the predominantly Muslim North, and take place between Hausa-Fulani groups and non-Muslim ethnic groups in the South In conflicts of this nature occurring along with the convergence of ethnic and religious lines, it is often very difficult to tell the differences between religious and ethnic crises because the dividing line between them is slimmer than thin
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