Perception of stakeholders to newspapers framing of farmers-herders conflict in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the perception of stakeholders to newspapers framing of farmers-herders conflict in Nigeria. The study adopted mixed method approach of quantitative content analysis and qualitative in-depth interview to obtain data from three Nigerian national newspapersThe Punch, Daily Trust and The Guardian published between January 1, and December 31, 2018 and stakeholders including farmers, herders and traditional rulers, selected from the North-central/east and South-west of Nigeria. Systematic sampling and purposive sampling techniques were adopted to select 468 editions of the newspapers and 35 stakeholders from the population respectively. Coding sheet and interview guides served as the instruments to gather data from the two paradigms respectively. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics while thematic analysis approach was used for the qualitative data. The findings showed that the newspapers adopted violence-induced strategies to frame the conflict and the stakeholders perceived the newspapers’ framing of the conflict to have fueled the conflict by pitching one group against the other. The study concluded that newspapers framing of farmers-herders conflict escalated the conflict and animosity among stakeholders in some parts of Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommended that all stakeholders especially the mass
media organisations (newspapers) and government at all levels should facilitate the promotion of national interest as this will prompt the newspapers organisations to be conscious of framing strategies that can trigger violence among various stakeholders in Nigerian society.