The Effectiveness of Using the Indigenous Media in Curbing Terrorism – The Nigerian Experience

Abstract

Nigeria is a country with so much turmoil even since its independence in 1960.Although, it is a country with myriad of problems ranging from corruption, extreme poverty, inadequate socio- amenities to cater for its teeming youths, bad leaders in Government, unemployment and underemployment, in fact the list is endless, none of these problems are as grievous as that of terrorism which has gulp the government  millions of Naira in order to tackle it yet to no avail and the citizens of  Nigerian have not had it funny either as it had led to countless deaths, maiming and loss of billions of properties. The mass media have over the years reported acts of terrorism in the name of keeping people informed thereby making the activities of these terror groups known in minutes to the mass audience. Terrorists must have publicity in some form if they are to gain attention, inspire fear and respect, and secure favourable understanding of their cause, if not their act. The essence of this research paper is to educate the world at large and Nigerians in particular on how important indigenous media which operates in three forms; verbal, non- verbal and esoteric modes which are familiar, available, ubiquitous and cheap to operate can be of help in saving the country, Nigeria from the mighty hands of terrorism. Programmes by Government and non- governmental agencies, religious bodies and the mass media have all tried in vain, towards sensitizing the people in embracing peace and shunning violence but these terrorists groups still become more formidable. Nigeria is an African country that still believes in communal living that is based on oral, close- knitted environs this is fostered by the people’s local dialect, superstitious beliefs, eating and dressing patterns and so on. The thematic frame work for this paper is the Source Credibility theory since indigenous media thrives best on believability for it to work and these local means of communication can help curb these terrorists tendencies thereby help to make the people embrace unity. The researcher therefore recommends that indigenous media should be used by the Government, religious bodies and the mass media in their programmes when it concerns peaceful dialogues and talk shows, and the media should report terrorists acts with caution since terrorists acts are made known by the powerful influence of their reports whether on social media, Television , print and radio. Also the country should be made state less in order to encourage oneness and discourage racist tendencies from individuals of different states, as has been for decades.

Keywords: Terrorism, Indigenous Media, Violence and Insurgency