| Abstract: |
Following the trend of recent happenings across the country, it is arguable that the agitation for or against the actualization of Biafra state constitutes one of the major agenda that dominate media discourse. This also constitutes one of the major concerns to national peace and security. Meanwhile, how the Mass media frame the public debate for or against the agitation appear seemingly underexplored. This study investigated the general characteristics and framing of Nigerian national newspapers (The Daily Sun, the Punch, the Daily Trust and the Guardian) coverage of Biafra agitation from June 2015 to May 2019. The study employed content analysis research method. A total of 367 Biafra stories were collected from the newspapers’ websites and analysed for general features and dominant frames. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings show that the newspapers published an average of 91.8 Biafra agitation stories within the period. More than half of the stories (52.6%) were presented in the form of straight news, while editorial has the least. This implies that the newspapers denied the readers detailed interpretations needed for well informed decisions and reactions on the matter. The Daily Sun newspaper has the highest publications on Biafra agitation (38.4%), while The Punch has the least (6.3%). The analysis suggested strong preference for Peace Journalism (64.9%) among the newspapers. This was projected using 4 distinct indicators: win-win orientation; causes and outcome of conflict violence; humanising all sides; and proactive reporting aimed at preventing any violence/war. The paper concludes that Nigerian newspapers predominantly presented peaceful solutions to the Biafra agitation and recommends that Nigerian newspaper should further de-emphasize: zero-sum orientation; closed-space orientation; US vs THEM orientation; reactive reportage; and effects of Violence orientation in the coverage of Biafra agitation. These could be better achieved when more space are devoted to interpretations, editorials, etc, than straight news stories on such crucial matters of national interest. |
