THE MASS MEDIA’S BEARING ON THE RESOLUTION OF POST-INDEPENDENCE SECURITY ISSUES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Conceptualising national security continues to be a taxing undertaking as a range of factors point up its capacity at all levels of perception, and thus, cannot be restricted to a single definition due to its changing nature from one nation-state to another. Therefore, national security remains dynamic, fluid and multi-directional, but it is critical to the survival of any nation-state. In post-independence Nigeria, security threats to its national interests not only involve conventional threats such as the ones from other nation-states but also non-state actors and activities such as terrorists, arms dealers, pirates, heists, drug traffickers, kidnappers, street gangster insurgencies, border disputes and ethnic militias. Over the past fifty six years or so, traditional threats to national security in Nigeria have metamorphosed into grave security behemoths, which apparently cannot be eliminated by military forces or security institutions alone. The mass media have been suggested to have the capacity to contribute meaningfully towards assisting security institutions in eliminating or checking the security challenges, which the country is confronted with.  Perhaps, this is because the media are an integral part of the soft power infrastructure, which could facilitate the dissemination of information in a fast and effective way, thereby helping a nation such as Nigeria to put together the appropriate political action that is aimed at entrenching the desired national security. Deploying the agenda setting and framing theories, this article undertakes an appraisal of whether or not the Nigerian mass media (specifically, Daily Trust and The Punch) have made impactful contributions toward the resolution of security issues in post-independence Nigeria, with a particular reference to the Boko Haram sect(s)’ insurgencies. It employs analytic, in-depth interviews (IDIs) and historical methods to look at some media reports on the insurgencies with the aim to evaluate their impact on the security of the Nigerian state. The study argued that in spite of the robustness of the Nigerian media, they are yet to have a significant bearing on the elimination of security problems in post-independence Nigeria. Hence, the call for, among other things, a greater synergy between security institutions and mass media outfits in the country to achieve the deliverables.