Newspaper reportage of boko haram terrorism in Nigeria

This research examined how Nigerian newspaper columnists narrate the power relations within the country and how they reiterate and rearticulate historical and political events in their analysis of the balance of power with regard to the upcoming presidential election in March 2015. 
By analyzing the writings of three columnists from three different newspapers, the study examined how ownership and the geographic environment in which a newspaper is published influence the narratives employed by columnists in their bid to set agenda and mold public opinion.
While doing so, triangulation of Teun Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach to Critical Discourse Analysis and Norman Fairclough’s textual, contextual and social analyses in the treatment of the subject were used. Hence, the texts of the columns were analyzed within the socio-political contexts to understand their implications for the social behavior of the readers as potential voters. Three newspapers were used to cater for the north/south political dichotomy and to give a representation to each region. The study, however, views the dichotomy differently, projecting it as a division between those who support the status quo and those who oppose it. The three newspapers used in the study were Vanguard (representing the pro status quo), Daily Trust (representing the anti-status quo), and Nigerian Tribune (providing a middle ground between the two camp).
Conclusions of the study suggest that the political and economic elites use their ownership and control of the newspapers to influence the narratives of their columnists. The columnists in turn use volatile concepts like religion, and ethnicity in their narratives to divide the public and move them towards taking political decisions that favor the political elites.
Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Political Communication, Boko Haram, Ethno-religious crisis, Democracy, 2015 presidential election in Nigeria.

The Boko Haram terrorist group’s philosophy and activities have been subjected to different interpretations among the Nigerian populace. Such interpretations follow traditional lines of ethnic, regional, cultural, and religious cleavages in Nigeria. Some perceive it as war by Muslims against Christians, some as a sponsored conspiracy against the Muslim North, and others interpret it as the Northern war against the emergence of President Jonathan from the south-south geopolitical zone. A few regard it as a generic name for criminal gangs in Northern Nigeria. While overwhelming opinions in the south tilt toward a scorched-earth policy to counter Boko Haram, much of the north favors dialogue. One of the implications of these responses is the widening of already existing cleavages in Nigerian society, thereby further undermining efforts at building unity and coexistence among Nigeria’s varying
nationalities.

Nigeria has experienced protracted violence and conflicts orchestrated by the Boko Haram terrorist group. The unbridled use of sophisticated weapons among this group has led to the extermination of innumerable lives across Northern Nigeria, the displacement of individuals, and the widening of social hierarchies. Drawing on the social conflict script, this study explores how the persistent violence/conflicts facilitate the displacement of people and create/widen social inequalities across North-Eastern Nigeria. Our analysis shows that between January and December 2017, 279,000 persons were displaced because of the conflicts/violence. Between January and June 2018, additional 417,000 persons (mostly women and children) were displaced. While the number of persons displaced is increasing, the provision of food and other essential amenities is decreasing in various Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps, where they are forced to flee. For example, between 2015 and 2016, 3.9 million people were in urgent need of food and medical supplies, but less than 20 percent of the $248 million needed was provided. The shortfall orchestrated by inadequate and/or unfavorable government policies, official corruption and mismanagement of fund provided by donor agencies, facilitated insufficient food and medical supplies. This has consequently led to malnutrition, diseases and deaths of children in the camps. As part of their coping strategies, illicit drugs sale and consumption, prostitution, child trafficking and sale of new-born babies are increasing in IDP Camps. The study argues that while these conflicts and violence create social inequalities in this region, official corruption and mismanagement of fund sustain and widen social hierarchies.

El siguiente trabajo analiza, a partir del Análisis Crítico del Discurso (ACD), aquellas noticias que hicieron referencia a Nigeria durante 2014 en los principales periódicos españoles según la Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión (OJD). Los objetivos que ha perseguido el texto son los de dar respuesta a cuáles son los temas principales por los que el país subsahariano aparece en los periódicos españoles, qué acontecimientos han tenido mayor relevancia y por qué, y qué mecanismos han utilizado estos medio de comunicación, intencionadamente o no, para ofrecer al lector/a una imagen desfigurada de la realidad africana en general y nigeriana en particular. Las conclusiones a las que hemos llegado son varias. En primer lugar, la violencia es el tema que ocupa casi la totalidad de las noticias seguido de las enfermedades (el ébola en particular). Ello demuestra el desconocimiento total de la relevancia que tiene esta enfermedad respecto a otras más peligrosas como el SIDA, la tuberculosis o las enfermedades respiratorias. Un hecho que podemos relacionarlo con el imaginario colectivo de que África sigue siendo la “tumba del hombre blanco”, pues el ébola es la única enfermedad que puede afectar a Occidente ante una hipotética pandemia. En segundo lugar, la importancia que ha copado la organización terrorista Boko Haram y el tratamiento informativo que se le ha dado demuestran que esta violencia se ha interpretado en clave religiosa cuando la mayoría de víctimas han sido musulmanas y nigerianas. Durante este proceso informativo, se demuestra cómo se le otorga voz a personalidades y celebrities occidentales en relación al secuestro de las 200 niñas de Chibok, en detrimento de las mujeres africanas. Además, se olvida que este tipo de secuestros no son excepcionales, los asesinatos son mucho más frecuentes y que el asociacionismo africano femenino es anterior a estos hechos.

The government of Nigeria has continued to wage (a) war on Boko Haram
(BH) terrorists in Nigeria. Previous linguistic studies on (war on) Boko
Haram terrorism in Nigeria have examined the media reportage of the BH
activities, while such studies have not paid sufficient attention to
metaphorisations in the representations of the news reports. This study,
therefore, identifies conceptual metaphors deployed by the selected
newspapers in representing the war on BH terrorism. Headline and overline
stories are purposively sampled from four newspapers, published between
2011 and 2014, from the northern and southern parts of Nigeria. The
purposively selected newspapers, Daily Trust, Leadership Nigeria, The
Punch and The Nation, widely reported BH activities. The conceptual
metaphor theory, complemented with systemic functional grammar,
provided theoretical underpinnings; and the analysis reveals that the
newspapers metaphorically conceptualise BH terrorism as war, evil and
crime. The newspapers' metaphorical conceptualisations have cognitively
tasked the readers. Readers' experience in relation to BH terrorism has been
linked to the understanding of one thing in terms of the other.
Keywords: Boko Haram, conceptual metaphor, systemic functional
linguistics, Nigerian newspapers, war on terrorism

This paper explores the relationships between terrorist disengagement and de-radicalisation by examining the dynamics of terrorism and terrorist radicalisation. Against the background that not all terrorists are radicalised and not all disengaged terrorists are de-radicalised, this paper brings to fore the urgent need to reexamine the nature of terrorist disengagement and de-radicalisation in Nigeria, particularly, and Africa in general. It is the position of this paper that rather than treating terrorists as " outcasts " worthy of punishment, they should be treated as helpless individuals in need of rehabilitation. More so, the government at all levels, should incorporate genuine programmes of de-radicalisation that ensures a change of perceived self-identity and skilful reintegration for the disengaged terrorists. In addition to ensuring that the citizens have sense of belonging and meaningful participation in the government of the day, it is hoped that terrorism will be reduced to the barest minimum if not eradicated completely.

Boko Haram in the northern parts of Nigeria has always been understood as a mockery of the Yoruba word for “book” which is “buku”. According to some lecturers from the BUK, Daga book ne aka samu ya zama boko, Yorubawa sune suke cewa bukku, su kuma al’ummar Hausawa da book ta zo musu suba su san wani karatu ba, sai na addini, a saboda haka sai suka kwaikwayi abin da Yarbawa suke cewa bukku maimakon suce bukku sai suke cewa boko (Bala Volvo yakasai,Wai Shin, Boko Haramun Ne? not dated p. 8).

The Boko Haram terrorists have consistently attacked Nigerians in different parts, especially the northern part, of the country. The actions and inactions of this group have been covered, visually and verbally, by different media outlets. Extant studies on Boko Haram (BH) terrorism in Nigeria have gained attention from scholars from other non-linguistic fields. Hence, sufficient attention has not been paid to BH terrorism by linguists. Some of the linguistic studies that have examined the coverage of the BH actions and inactions have emphasised the verbal representations, neglecting the visual representations of the reports. This study, therefore, examines the pictorial representations in selected newspapers in representing BH terrorism. In gathering data, BH-related pictures and images are purposively selected from four newspapers which were published from 2011 to 2014. The four purposively selected newspapers, that is, Daily Trust, Leadership Nigeria, The Punch and The Nation are representative of the northern and southern parts of Nigeria. The newspapers allocate space to the pictorial representation of the BH activities. The analysis is mainly guided by van Leeuwen's (visual) representation of social actors; and complemented with other relevant multimodal models. The newspapers' visual representations cognitively and imaginatively influence readers' experiences in relation to the activities of Boko Haram terrorists.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of poverty, unemployment, inequality, corruption and poor governance on Niger Delta militancy, Boko Haram terrorism and Fulani herdsmen attacks in Nigeria. Using annual data over the period 1980-2017, this study applied fully modified OLS (FMOLS) method of estimation. The outcomes of the estimations showed that poverty, unemployment, inequality, corruption and poor governance were significant causes of Niger Delta militancy, Boko Haram terrorism and Fulani herdsmen attacks in Nigeria. In line with theories of deprivation, the study found that the various deprivations in the country led to violence and conflicts in the form of Niger Delta militancy, Boko Haram terrorism and Fulani herdsmen attacks. Thus, violence was a result of the prevailing unpleasant socio-material conditions pertaining to survival, economic deprivation, structural inequities, environmental degradation and governance deficits. Violent conflicts are largely responsible for the backwardness of nations. They hinder active participation in the social, economic and political progress of the country. The effects are evident on schools, churches, mosques and displacements of people. Obviously, the effects of this phenomenon in Nigeria are seen in the losses as a result of militants, terrorists and herdsmen attacks, which are major setbacks for development (Evans and Kelikume, 2018). The first incident of violence in Nigeria is the slave trade which degraded and deformed human dignity on a large scale. Nigeria was a victim of this inhuman trade as introduced and championed by the West. After the abolition of the slave trade, Nigeria has been a victim of many other incidents of violence ranging from imperialism (with its offshoot-colonialism), neocolonialism, coup d'état of 1966 (organized by some Nigerian majors), corruption galore, armed robbery (in the homes, streets, markets, and highways), religious crisis, and communal or regional crises (Ideyi, 2008). The latest in the list of violence in Nigeria are the Niger Delta militancy, the Boko Haram terrorism and Fulani herdsmen attacks. The Niger Delta militancy arose in 2004 over tensions between foreign

ABSTRACT The Boko Haram terrorist group’s philosophy and activities have been subjected to different interpretations among the Nigerian populace. Such interpretations follow traditional lines of ethnic, regional, cultural, and religious cleavages in Nigeria. Some perceive it as war by Muslims against Christians, some as a sponsored conspiracy against the Muslim North, and others interpret it as the Northern war against the emergence of President Jonathan from the south-south geopolitical zone. A few regard it as a generic name for criminal gangs in Northern Nigeria. While overwhelming opinions in the south tilt toward a scorched-earth policy to counter Boko Haram, much of the north favors dialogue. One of the implications of these responses is the widening of already existing cleavages in Nigerian society, thereby further undermining efforts at building unity and coexistence among Nigeria’s varying nationalities.

Terrorism is a global phenomenon that has led to enormous loss of lives and properties. In
Nigeria, the terrorist activities of the Boko Haram sect have greatly affected the economy of
the North-East and the people, and it is having a ripple effect on Nigeria as a country. The
media, being the eyes through which people view the society, have been reporting these
terrorist acts; are these reports in any way helping to counter terrorism? This paper, therefore,
gauged the perception of newspapers` readers in Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria, with the
objectives to determine if the reportage has helped the government to defeat Boko Haram, to
inquire if respondents perceived newspapers to be involved in counter-terrorism with their
reportage, and maybe it has helped to create awareness and educate the populace about
terrorism. This paper, anchored on the Social Responsibility Theory, adopted the survey
method of research. The study found that the Boko Haram sect still carries out attacks, and that government is yet to completely defeat the sect. The study concluded that newspapers have
significant role to play in counter terrorism, and recommended that newspapers should be more
cautious in reporting terrorism stories so that the reports won`t be cheap publicity for the
terrorists. It further recommended that government and the armed forces should work in
synergy with newspapers in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents.

Now, it is no longer any news that Boko haram is dreaded because of its brute acts of terrorism — killing everybody indiscreetly, regardless of faith, gender, age or social status despite the group’s claims that it’s activities are for Islamic proselytization, a claim that most orthodox Muslims the world over have unanimously condemned. However, over the last four years, whatever killing the group perpetrates is perceived by the public as comparatively less dreadful as a boom of a successfully perpetrated suicide attack. This is because following the weakening over the last couple of years (2016 to 2018) of the terrorists by Nigerian joint military troops, they resorted to using a subtler guerrilla war tactic: laying ambush to Nigerian troops convoys (mostly in remote areas), overrunning and pillaging military camps, bases and even barracks as well as attacking and sometimes laying ambush to motorcades of humanitarian aid personnel zigzagging vulnerable communities in the area. But this subtle war tactic seldom yields large number of casualties as the group would want (given the nature of the targets) compared to suicide bomb attacks which often occur in crowded public places like markets and mosques; hence, people tend to be scared more by suicide attacks, and hence the terrorists’ infatuation for girl captives and their preference for suicide bombing as a tool for terrorism.

The government of Nigeria has continued to wage (a) war on Boko Haram (BH) terrorists in Nigeria. Previous linguistic studies on (war on) Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria have examined the media reportage of the BH activities, while such studies have not paid sufficient attention to metaphorisations in the representations of the news reports. This study, therefore, identifies conceptual metaphors deployed by the selected newspapers in representing the war on BH terrorism. Headline and overline stories are purposively sampled from four newspapers, published between 2011 and 2014, from the northern and southern parts of Nigeria. The purposively selected newspapers, Daily Trust , Leadership Nigeria , The Punch and The Nation , widely reported BH activities. The conceptual metaphor theory, complemented with systemic functional grammar, provided theoretical underpinnings; and the analysis reveals that the newspapers metaphorically conceptualise BH terrorism as war, evil and crime. The new...