Escalating or De-Escalating Tool? The Media in the Herder-Farmers’ Conflict in Nigeria

Abstract

Since the launch of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in 1999 and its evolving national dynamics, a new phase of intra-state conflicts and insurgencies sprang up in varying degrees, putting the nation on the brink of collapse. The most recent and recurring communal violent conflicts are the unending clashes between the herdsmen, popularly known as Fulani and pastoral Farmers. As the conflict remains unresolved, there continues to be a deep-seated mutual enmity that has always led to blatant reprisal attacks in wanton killings and displacement on both parties. Despite the various efforts to resolve the conflict, it continues to intensify. This study, however, examines the escalating dynamics of the age-long inter-communal conflict and how much the media has impacted the escalating and de-escalating status of the conflict. The authors argue that the conflict resolution approaches have so far undermined and overlooked media power in de-escalating the conflict and thus recommend a pragmatic media engagement in terms of employing carefully prepared programmes and campaigns as and alternative resolution mechanism.