CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
This chapter presents the background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, brief descriptions of media selected for the study and justification of media.
Background to the Study
The media, globally, are important and strategic agents of socialization. In most instances they are referred to as the fifth estate of the realm, playing watchdog roles while at the same time shaping people’s perceptions about the issues surrounding them. The role of the media, therefore, in helping to construct or deconstruct our understanding of ongoing phenomena cannot be undermined. Consequently, the media, as both content and tools of communication, have been subjects of scholarly interest since time immemorial. For instance, there have been debates, especially on the global media landscape, regarding coverage of people and of nations. These debates could be traced to the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) mainly championed by developing nations in the early 70s following imbalances in the global flow of information coupled with the biased media coverage that so-called third world nations received (Gerbner et al; 1993).
While, generally, both local and international media often stand accused of biases in their editorial priorities on issues, international media often stand more accused especially in their coverage of news on developing nations. Indeed, media scholars have often observed that international media coverage of the African continent is woefully low, and in the few instances
that the continent has been covered, the issues generally represent war, disease, poverty, hunger including all such negative stereotypes that western countries have about Africa (Kalyango and Onyebadi; 2012, Golan; 2008, Domatop; 1994). Nordenstreng (2011) puts it more candidly that not all countries are created equal when it comes to news coverage. The core countries dominate the news flow while the news about the periphery is often more negative noting that the NWICO debate is still relevant in contemporary times. One can then infer that in setting the agenda for global discourse, international media do not take into equal consideration coverage of third world nations and for that matter Africa. As highlighted by Ogunyemi (2011), Africa has been under- represented, misrepresented and misunderstood since time immemorial. Thus, one would expect a varying news agenda from both local and international media on same issues involving developing countries as may be in the case of Boko Haram.
Who are the Boko Haram?
Boko Haram is an Hausa expression which translates as ―Western Education is Forbidden‖. Formed in 2003 under the teachings of a radical Islamic cleric, Mohammed Yusuf, in northern Nigeria, the group, however, insists to be called Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad translated as ―People Committed to the Prophet‘s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad‖. One of their core objectives is to make Nigeria an Islamic State.
It first began as a congregation of young Muslims, isolated in a little town in north-eastern Nigeria, Maiduguri, who found solace in the radical ideological propagation of their cleric, Mohammed Yusuf. The group, however, came under the radar of the public in 2009 when the Nigerian military intervened in their activities leading to the arrest of most of their members, and subsequent killing of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf. This sparked further violence as Abubakar Shekau, assistant to Mohammed Yusuf, emerged as new leader of the group. Their demand,
among others, has been for the release of their members held captive by the military. Consequently, they have increasingly become more violent, and were declared a terrorist group in 2011 by the US following a bloody attack at the UN headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. There have been a number of video releases in which Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to the terrorist group, ISIS (Islamic State) in Iraq and Syria.
