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Research Article Open Access
Countering Boko Haram Insurgency and Terrorism: Assessment of Media Campaigns
Abstract
This study assessed selected media campaigns used in the on-going Counter
Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Operations in North East Nigeria. The essence
of this research was inspired by the renewed onslaught of Boko Haram activities
on soft targets, the use of minors for suicide mission as well as a new tactics of
‘forcefully conscripting’ youths into their fold. The war has been ideological with a
surplus application of bullet approach and suicide mission in some instances. War
with such parameters needs a more robust approach; a combination of gun and
awareness creation to conquer or subdue the spread of the ideology. The research
work therefore, sought to examine the patterns, tones and content of media
campaigns against Boko Haram. Discourse analysis and observation methods were
employed in the study. Data was collected from the media campaigns broadcast
on radio and television and placed on billboards and results showed that the
media campaigns mainly portrayed Boko Haram as anti-Islam; and emphasised on
the need for citizens to be security conscious by reporting suspected members of
the sect to the nearest security outfit. Public knowledge on security consciousness
has increased. There is clarity of information in the messages and contained
central messages like ‘stop killing, repent and surrender your weapons’. The media
campaigns were mainly produced in local languages; Hausa, Kanuri and Shuwa
Arab. This study recommended that ethical issues like portraying minors involved
in perpetrating the heinous acts and exceeding the conventional 60 seconds time
limit for radio and television jingles should be considered while producing the
media campaigns.