Mass media reportage and herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria

Considering the increase in violent confrontations, death, force displacement, and the destruction of livestock and agricultural produce as a result of herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria, this paper interrogates the micropolitics of the mass media in the contexts of language choice in reporting the conflict and the public perception of the reportage. Using mixed method, the study relied on Matthes and Kohring’s (2008) approach to critically analyse the media reportage of four newspapers in Nigeria. These newspapers were purposively selected as they represent the publishing hubs in Northern and Southern Nigeria. The scope was limited to January 2021 and September 2022 because the period was regarded as the ‘story moment’ for the herders-farmers’ conflict. Triangulating this with the content analysis of the observation and informal discussion with 30 members of the Free Readers Association of Nigeria and semi-structured interviews with two journalists, two academics, 12 representatives of Fulani ethnic groups, and 12 representatives of farmers, the study assessed public perceptions of the various media reportage of herders-farmers conflicts in Nigeria. The study showed that at the climax of the crisis between farmers and herders in Nigeria, the media failed to handle the reportage of herders-farmers’ conflicts in a balanced way. The study concluded that media coverage influences the actions and reactions of the public. Consequently, the Nigerian government should play a role in managing media coverage of the conflict. The media should also strive to report what is professionally acceptable at all times to engender peace and harmony.