ROLE OF BROADCAST MEDIA IN ERADICATING ELECTION VIOLENCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

On a daily basis, acts of political violence take place across the world for a variety of motives, which include political fanaticism, ethnic hatred, religious extremism and ideological causes. Such incidents of violence have been at the centre of political awareness because they have explicit or implicit political motivation. Political violence has existed for many years; what distinguishes current political violence is the disturbing frequency and variety of events and the expanded opportunities available to the perpetrators of such violent acts in the political system (Alanamu, 2005). Political violence can be seen as all forms of collective attack within a political system. In fact, as espoused by Anifowose (1982), political violence is the use of threat or physical act carried out by an individual or group of individuals within a political system against another individual or individuals, and/or property, with the intent to cause injury or death to persons and/or damage or destruction to property; and whose objective, choice of targets or victims, surrounding circumstances, implementation and effects have political significance which tends to modify the behaviour of others in the existing arrangement of a power structure that has some consequences for the political system.

As a geopolitical entity, Nigeria has historically been characterized by series of altercations and social eruptions that more often than not threaten its corporate existence. It is often taunted that the 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by Lord Fredrick Lugard was a mistake or a grand error of a sort, which needs to be revisited (Oladesu, 2002). The problems that ignite the prevalent and persistent crises often range from the real to the superficial, depending on the ethnic divide one belongs to. However, as a matter of fact, issues that border on marginalization, resource control and allocation, religious and ethnic sentiments, political rivalry and domination, misrule or abuse of power have always had violent consequences of great proportion (Adedimeji, 2005).

Since the first legislative elections in Nigeria in 1922, the mass media has always taken a keen interest, and played a key role in the politics of the Nigerian state. The media refers to the totality of organizations and agencies that provide information for the members of the public. Otherwise known as mass media or mass communication, it is described as “the art of transmitting ideas, opinions, words and attitudes from one person or some persons to the masses” (Akinfeleye, 1988:85). The media also comprises both print and electronic such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. The role of the media lies in making information a common knowledge or facilitating effective communication of ideas.

Violence has been a feature of the country’s electoral process since the colonial era. But during colonial rule, it was easily curtailed due to the nature and scope of participation, characteristics of the politicians and electorates and the nature of colonial domination. However, after independence, electoral violence became intense as struggle for power among politicians intensified.

Successive elections in Nigeria since the colonial period lacked the essential ingredients of democratic electoral process, which are transparency, fairness and freeness. Instead, elections in the country were characterized by:

i.manipulation of the decisions and activities at the various stages of electoral process by the governments and politicians;

ii.corruption of officials and electorates,

iii.violence during campaigns, polling and collation;

iv.rigging through the stuffing, snatching and destruction of ballot boxes and falsification of results, and

v.ineffective electoral dispute resolution mechanisms.

According to Alemika (2011), violence, corruption and lack of transparency are embedded in the aims and strategies of Nigerian political parties and politicians. Past elections in Nigeria were characterized by both psychological and physical violence. Generally, violence involves the threat or use of physical force with the intention of injuring, killing and intimidating another person. It also involves destruction of property with a view to inflicting emotional or psychological injury and economic loss on another person.

According to Chiluwa (2011), sociopolitical crises have been frequent in Nigeria while the much anticipated recovery associated with democracy has so far eluded the country. The media provides a critical platform for evaluating the state of affairs in a nation. It occupies a prominent position in contemporary social systems while its relevance to the study of political and sociocultural change is not in doubt.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The dislocations in the sociopolitical environment directly affect journalists, but more importantly, journalists could also become victims in the context of a politics of acrimony (Abati, 2006). The media has always been involved in the politics of Nigeria and often at a great cost. It has always defended the people and championed their aspirations. But it can also be manipulated to serve interests that can prove counter-productive. This manipulation of the media through ownership control contributed most negatively to the ethnic crisis in Nigeria because the media ended up at various times playing ethnic politics. The implication of the kind of power politics experienced in Nigeria is that the media often ends up, particularly during moments of sociopolitical transition, in a very vulnerable situation such that the lives of journalists are often at serious risks and sometimes a lot of compromises are made including corrupt practices, all of which negate media professionalism.

According to Abati (2006), in the emergent power equations and in the face of the gross violation of national interest by successive governments, the media is drawn into a competition for power. Suppressing, gagging and intimidating the media and the rest of civil society have proven to be a necessary condition for the achievement of this agenda. Restrictive laws and anti-media mechanisms have proven to be most convenient, the general purpose of which has been direct assault on press freedom.

The mass media sometimes instigated conflict through biased reporting, deliberate distortions, criminal partisanship and unprofessionalism confounded by influences of tribalism. Thus, as the fourth estate of the realm whose job is to maintain the highest level of professionalism by acting as a watchdog over the three arms of government which include the legislature, executive and the judiciary, this paper examines media reporting of how those in authority try to perpetuate themselves in power; and how they try to eliminate perceived enemies including their inability to fulfill campaign promises. In addition to this, there are issues concerning the hijacking of the media by political office holders to create falsehood and political propaganda while also circumventing the ideals and work ethics of the media thereby compromising press freedom.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to examine the role of broadcast media in eradicating election violence. Specifically, other objectives of this study are:

i.          To determine the extent broadcast media is used during elections.

ii.        To examine the types of broadcast media used during elections.

iii.      To determine whether broadcast media can be used to eradicate election violence.

iv.      To examine ways broadcast media can be used in eradicating election violence.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in this study:

i.          To what extent is broadcast media is used during elections?

ii.        What are the types of broadcast media used during elections?

iii.      Can broadcast media be used to eradicate election violence?

iv.      What are the ways broadcast media can be used in eradicating election violence?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The role of the media has always been a controversial issue depending on whether that society is authoritarian or democratic or communist or libertarians, opinions differ and vary widely as to the specific role of the journalists in the society.

The media should be free from state control and ownership as against or a opposed to the accepted credo of the Eastern world. Many press and hardened critic are of the view that journalism could only be considered good and proper, if it keeps the government or administration on its toes with spate of criticism.

Nevertheless, some journalists writing in Eastern journals such as Pravda believe that the press is really free and democratic only when it is edited by the people themselves and represented by their various mass organizations. The point worth noting is that many developing countries can not easi1ftt well into the four theories of the press, which are authoritarian, libertarian, social responsibility and communist theories.

As the press is an essential organs of the democratic set-up; an important vehicle of communication and instrument in the creation of public opinion, the journalists should regard their profession as a trust to serve public interest. In pursuance of this objective, the council demands that the press should provide a truthful, comprehensive and reliable account of events in a context which gives meaning, project a representative picture of the constituent groups of society, regarding itself as a forum for comments and criticisms and discharge its social responsibilities by clarifying good and values of societies.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the role of broadcast media in eradicating election violence. Specifically, this study focuses on determining the extent broadcast media is used during elections, examining the types of broadcast media used during elections, determining whether broadcast media can be used to eradicate election violence and examining ways broadcast media can be used in eradicating election violence.

Selected staff of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, Gold F.M, Unique F.M will serve as enrolled participants for the survey of this study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

Moreover, the case study method utilized in the study posed some challenges to the investigator including the possibility of biases and poor judgment of issues. However, the investigator relied on respect for the general principles of procedures, justice, fairness, objectivity in observation and recording, and weighing of evidence to overcome the challenges.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Broadcast media: Broadcast media involves electronically and simultaneously sending information containing signals, print messages and audio or video content to a vast group

Election: Is a process of selecting one person or more for an office, public or private, from a wider field of candidates.

Violence: Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy.