MEDIA AND PEACEBUILDING IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF ‘DEVELOPMENT TODAY’
History has shown that the media can incite people to violence. Hitler used the media to construct a worldview of contempt for Jews, gays, and other classes of minorities. RTLM radio in Rwanda encouraged listeners to pick up machetes and take to the streets to kill what they call ‘the cockroaches’. Radio broadcasters in the Balkans divided local populations, thus contributing to an outbreak of sectarian violence. The effect of the media on worsening conflict is more generally accepted than the influence of the media on building peace. Yet it is not unusual to hear experts say the media’s effect on peacebuilding needs to be given due attention given its tendency to incite conflict. However, this simple relationship must not be taken for granted and should be examined critically with a view to arriving at an understanding of how to use the media most effectively for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. This chapter attempts to shed light on the merits and demerits of exploiting the media concerning peacebuilding or otherwise, with special focus on maximizing radio broadcasting as a veritable tool for peace education and engagement. The Media and Peacebuilding Worldwide, the impact of the media in the last six decades cannot be overemphasized, especially its ability to either escalate or de-escalate possible conflicts. The media has a key role in raising awareness of trending and emerging development issues, and is expected to support civil society in this process. It is worthy of note that radio remains the best medium for reaching people (irrespective of their status or location) across the globe, despite increasing global internet penetration. “The media” refers to several mediums or channels used in an organized fashion to communicate information to groups of people, as a service to the public (Howard, 2002). Media platforms are universally acknowledged as a means of sharing information.
Mass communication is a key tool for democracy. Broadcasting news by using community radios can help reach people in different areas, even with different languages, more easily. This way, people can be addressed directly, and their personal experiences and lives can be incorporated much better, than with foreign media. The danger of manipulation and inflammation of ethnic or religious tensions, however, cannot be ignored. Another advantage of local media, especially radio is that, in border areas, it is possible to convey peace messages to passing fighters and refugees alike. (Nora Kuusik, 2010). For the media, it can be problematic to find a balance between preventing harm caused by speech and protecting individual right to expression. Being able to find this balance, however, is important especially in conflict situations. Responsible journalism does not just re-publish press releases but is truly concerned with a truthful, balanced and fair account of events. To achieve this, journalists have to avoid judgmental representations and describe reality without embellishment. (Koven, Ronald, 2004). The media is a double-edged sword. It can be a frightful weapon of violence when it propagates messages of intolerance or misinformation that manipulate public sentiment. It can also be an instrument of conflict resolution, when the information it presents is reliable, respects human rights, and represents diverse views.
The role of the media is twofold: on the one hand, the media reports and reflects on pressing issues and can help to question established concepts and ideas. On the other hand, they can be used for propaganda purposes and, instead of revealing truths, try to cover things up and by this, curtail people’s freedom and right to information. Regardless, the potential of the media in conflict and post-conflict situations remains a net positive and has been sadly underutilized to this point in time. (Nora Kuusik, 2010). In addition to media structure, dispute must be viewed in the light of their political, social and cultural angles, if we are to consider the best practices in the media. Today’s conflicts are, in many ways, more dynamic and multidimensional than ever. The bulk of violent deaths occur during civil wars and not between states conventional armed forces. There has been a rise in the rate of dispute relapse over the last decade. Conflicts are less likely to be resolved by traditional political agreements, due primarily to the rise of organized crime that continues to intensify the fragility of the state and weaken the legitimacy of the state; the internationalization of civil wars (e.g. Syria), and growing violent extremism. Interventions 1. Development Today As at December 2019, Oyo State had no less than 25 functional radio stations broadcasting on the terrestrial FM frequency. Only one had a dedicated programme for the development sector. The story is also not different across the nation as less than 5 radio stations have such dedicated programmes amongst the over three hundred stations broadcasting daily, nationwide.
The dearth of a credible and well-designed programme on the radio to meet the yearning and demands of the teeming audience for civic education and proper citizen-government engagement in Oyo State, led to the conception and eventual activation of ‘Development Today’ on the radio. A brainchild of Shannah Initiative for Human Development (SIHD), Development Today was conceived and premiered on IBR 92.5fm in Ibadan, Oyo State on June 7, 2018, as a weekly media ‘Safe Space’ to drive the conversation on the peacebuilding work of local and international organisations. The weekly one-hour programme was broadcast live with special guests drawn from different civil society groups, covering various core thematic areas. One key area that got massive attention on the programme was the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has to do with what governments across the board were doing, as well as projects and programmes being executed by relevant stakeholders in the development sector locally and internationally. To achieve maximum media impact on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, the following strategies were employed on the radio programme as adapted from the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) Briefing, October 2008: Conflict-sensitive and Peace journalism: Basic journalism, teaching accurate, impartial and responsible reporting, remains a core component of media development. Conflict-sensitive journalism goes beyond this, by encouraging journalists to be aware of what effect their language and reporting can have on conflict — as well as how they may become victims of the violence.
Peace-promoting Citizen Media: Citizen media largely falls into two sub-categories: community media and user-generated content emerging from new technologies. Community media operates on a local level through traditional platforms such as television, radio and print. In general, it serves as a conduit for community information. The power of citizen media lies in its grassroots, bottom-up authenticity and spontaneity. Leveraging its potential, therefore, will come less from trying to “organize it” than from showing citizens, through training, how to use new tech media or how to counter hate media when it arises in community outlets. Advertising or social marketing for conflict prevention and peacebuilding: The media leverages many distribution channels and formats, ranging from soap operas to public service announcements (PSAs), to street theatre and concerts. Its dramatic, often fictional formats, offer the advantage of being able to tackle contentious and divisive issues that might be too inflammatory to discuss in real life.
2019 General Election Observation One major milestone for Nigeria was the successful completion of the electioneering process that led to the heralding and replacement of democratically elected leaders across the board in the country. Shannah Initiative for Human Development (SIHD) participated actively as a partner with a foremost youth-led governance-oriented civil society group, YIAGA. SIHD partnered with YAIGA to observe the whole electioneering process including Pre-election, Election-day and Post-election activities in Oyo State, with special focus on Lagelu local government, where the founder was the Local Government Focal Person. Regular reports from the field were collated, curated and forwarded to the centralised Situation Room of YIAGA located in Abuja, Nigeria. The process was also funded by YIAGA with support from notable donor agencies. It is noteworthy that pre- and post-election violence were moderately mitigated through the help of the consistent collection, interpretation and publication of ‘early warning signals’ from certain selected locations. Approved reports from the eventually published election observation were also shared with the audience of ‘Development Today’ radio programme regularly. Outcomes Weekly radio programmes were aired in English and sometimes mixed with Yoruba on Impact Business Radio 92.5 FM with effective reach across the length and breadth of Oyo, Osun and parts of Ogun and Ondo States in Nigeria between 2018 and 2019. The programme started in 2018 as a minimal 35 minutes programme. However, based on popular demand, it was expanded to full one-hour before the end of 2018. Aimed at creating more open state-society relations, making communities more resilient to conflict, and encouraging people to participate in public dialogue and hold their leaders to account; ‘Development Today’ sought to amplify the activities of key players in the development sector in the country.
In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on television were aired, urging Nigerians to go out and vote without violence. The producer cum presenter participated actively in several qualitative studies with public policy and media experts, as well as Civil Society Organisations such as YIAGA — a renowned youth-led organisation at the forefront of election observation — to assess the project’s impact. Conversations on ‘Development Today’ reached out to more than a million Nigerians mostly within the southwest region. The initiatives cumulatively reached an estimated 6 million individuals by extension. The conversations were effective in encouraging people to participate actively in the electioneering process, while major players and stakeholders also enjoyed hearing a variety of views and opinions without bias. To a large extent, ‘Development Today’ was successful in helping to shape the role of citizens in conflict resolution, engaging government and being part of public life. The array of well-curated and researched topics selected each week helped common citizens and politicians understand our rights and duties as well as how they could respond to the democratic processes by presenting scenarios. People who tuned in to listen to the programme either live or online submitted to have learned more, debated more and became more interested in politics, even after accounting for other factor that could have influence the survey results (e.g., age, employment, education, and policy interest). The preparation, broadcast and capacity building activities of the project have produced useful results along the line of production and editorial expertise for partners who had little or no broadcast media knowledge, allowing them to produce and distribute trustworthy and engaging content for governance.
This project was mostly funded by the CRIBAP fellowship of ‘Youthhub Africa’ with support from ‘Malala Fund’. Challenges The conception of ‘Development Today’ as a full-fledge programme for broadcast on the radio was completed as at February 2018 but due to a couple of constraints, it did not go live until June 7, 2018. Funding was a major challenge in that the radio stations that were approached failed to see the immediate and or long term commercial viability of such a novel radio programme though, they acknowledged its quality. Suffice to say that well over 80% of the radio stations in the state were barely managing to meet up with their monthly wages and salary obligations, hence they found it costly sacrificing a minute off their most precious airtime for a novel programme that was not coming with full sponsorship. It is on record that the producer cum presenter had to resort to bargaining for a ten thousand naira per 30 minutes slot with the only radio station willing to tag along (IBR 92.5FM). This lasted for well over 3 months before the station decided to expand the allotted time to a full hour while retaining the same amount for 30 minutes. To make ends meet, NGOs that had upcoming events were encouraged to come and feature on the programme for a subsidized fee. The entire financial struggle ended when the producer cum presenter was selected to participate in the 2018/19 CRIBAP fellowship of ‘Youthhub Africa’ with support from ‘Malala Fund’, which ensured that the programme was supported financially. Another challenge faced, was that of acceptance. It was a tad difficult to get people to tune in for a radio programme that is neither entertainment, religious nor political. However, within the first quarter (3 months) of airing the programme, prospective players in the development sector and even government agencies started taking interest in the programme. The populace also gradually warmed up to ‘Africa’s numero uno development programme on the radio, ‘Development Today’. Lessons/Opportunities for Expansion It is however unfortunate that by December 2019, the programme was rested following the end of the fellowship programme that provided funding coupled with the institutional challenges facing the radio station hosting the programme. At the moment, a reliable and consistent funding source is being sought via the coordinating NGO, Shannah Initiative for Human Development (SIHD). The programme by design is meant to cater to the needs of the citizen via amplifying the activities of the numerous hardworking civil society organisations across the country. ‘Development Today’ is hence designed for the national audience and by extension the whole continent of Africa, with a plethora of underdeveloped and developing nations.
Development Communications is still quite untapped in Nigeria and ‘Development Today’ wished to help change that when it was fully supported especially by international donor agencies. We wished to ensure smooth and unhindered broadcast schedule, with live streaming from a specially designed studio. ‘Development Today’ was also designed to convene monthly conferences where key issues would be discussed at a town hall gathering with relevant members of the development sector, civil society as well as government agencies being present. We hope that we will get adequate financial, technical and logistic supports from local and international donor organizations, interested in bringing development issues to the grassroots and local people, in order to bring these lofty agenda to fruition through the resuscitation of ‘Development Today’. Media and Conflict Management
Recommendations.
a) There is the need to ensure that all media for peace interventions reinforce shared identities and not differences between opposing groups.
b) Stakeholders and practitioners must develop ways to better understand local audiences.
c) We must examine the drivers of violent extremism in details, and how the media can influence certain drivers in the long term.
d) Stakeholders and media practitioners must be fully informed of changes to ensure that implemented programmes take advantage of — and are not foul with — ‘new’ ways of communicating. This might include establishing a forum for exchange of information on new developments and producing regular country and sector updates.
e) We must work together to create a stronger evidence, based on what works in this field.
f) There is the need to provide capacity building for media practitioners to develop their technological, editorial and management skills to deliver trustworthy and engaging contents, aimed at minimizing all types of violence. Such content should promote governance based on the rule of law, while upholding the principles of justice and human rights.
g) Stakeholders should support projects aimed at increasing awareness of the need for responsible and fact-based communication among people — including opinion leaders such as politicians, religious leaders and others in public life.
h) Media practitioners should not underestimate the strength of mass media (radio and television) in reaching the most excluded of the populace, especially the young and weak. These may also include radio and television drama and entertainment.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Ogunbowale Oladayo is a multi award winning media professional, involved in youth development; a peace, democracy and good governance advocate and social media buff. His experience spans across project incubation, execution and management, developing social media campaigns for social causes and policy development for youth organizations and government agencies. He is a 2018 & 2019 fellow of the Youthhub’s Africa Child Right Media Advocacy Fellowship supported by Malala fund. He is the founder of Shannah Initiative for Human Development (SIHD) — formerly known as ‘Change Alliance Initiative’ — a youth focused non-governmental organisation. A frontline development communicator, Oladayo currently works with the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) as a News and Current Affairs analyst/presenter on the corporation’s major channels (BCOS TV and Oluyole 98.5FM).
