CONFLICT, FOOD SECURITY, AND CRISIS COMMUNICATION: SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The conflict between herders and farmers, often highlighted by violence, resulting in food scarcity and security is a longstanding issue in Nigeria. This study therefore examined conflict, food security, and crisis communication from the experience of southwest Nigeria. The objectives are to: find out the prominence of the coverage of the farmers and herdsmen crisis in the Punch, Tribune, and Daily Trust; identify the sources of news in reporting the crisis; investigate the extent to which Nigerian newspapers engaged in investigative journalism in coverage of the crises; find out the language used in the stories; assess the framing patterns adopted by the selected newspapers and identify are the factors that influenced the selected newspaper in framing the farmers and herdsmen crisis in the South-West. Framing and Gate-keeping theories are used for the study. The study adopted the content analysis method and key informant interviews. Coding and interview guides are used as research instruments. Three national newspapers: the Punch, Nigerian Tribune, and Daily Trust Newspapers are purposively selected from 2020 to 2021. This study established that reports on farmers-herdsmen conflicts are still largely framed in ethnic slants and such frames do not support peace and conflict-sensitive journalism. Based on the findings, this study recommends that Journalists always cover both sides of the farmers-herders conflict to ensure fairness while newspaper owners and stakeholders in the newspaper industry should intensify training programs for journalists on conflict reporting.