1 june 2019 edition of acce...

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Analysis of Dominant Theme in Select Newspapers Coverage of the Cattle Grazing Reserve Bill in Nigeria

IKEGBUNAM, Peter C. & AGUDOSY, Fabian I.Department of Mass Communication

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. Anambra State

Abstract The intrigues and politics of the press vis-à-vis the delicate nature of the Nigerian state in the wake of the Fulani herdsmen attack makes the media veritable tool for national integration, promotion of unity through effective and objectively guided coverage of national issues like Cattle Grazing Reserve Bill. In view of the above fact, this study examined the dominant media theme, frame and how detailed the newspapers are in their coverage of the Cattle Grazing Reserve Bill. This study examined four national dailies: the Nation, This-Day, Daily Trust and the Vanguard newspapers using content analysis research method in answering the research questions. The study was based on the framing a n d s o c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t h e o r i e s o f m a s s communication. Findings show that the select newspapers contents on the bill were dominated by ethno-religious frames. It also shows that though the regional base of the newspapers guided their reports, they were socially responsible to the unity and peaceful existence of the country. The researchers concluded that the select newspapers paid more attention to religious and ethnic views in their coverage of the bill leaving humanitarian and economic angle of the story at a very minimal coverage. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the newspapers should pay attention to the economic and humanitarian implications of the bill on the populace.

Keywords: Herdsmen, Cattle, Grazing, Fulani, Farmers, Grazing Reserve Bill, Newspapers, Nigeria

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Introduction In the past decade, the Nigeria nation had witnessed unprecedented herdsmen attack leading to loss of lives and properties worth millions of naira. These attacks are crippling the economic growth in the country believed to be the hope of the African continent in the world economic ladder. The Fulani herdsmen issue in the country had been an age long problem threatening the unity of the country and the peace of the citizens to the extent that their attacks had been a house hold problem always on the lips of the citizens. Nigerian nation has persistently been in a fierce vortex and seemingly boiling cauldron of state terrorism. While looking at the level of damages done by the countless attacks of the people by the herders, Idowu & Okunola (2017) paint a picture of the helplessness of the people in the face of the these attacks in Nigeria. In their words,

The Nigerian state has witnessed series of mind-boggling and unthinkable bloodshed and the geographical space – the terra-firma on the school atlas christened 'Nigeria' has in its earth the bones of millions of innocent people who lost their lives to avoidable clashes, the sun has dried the tears of many helpless and hopeless people who have lost their loved ones and the ground has also gulped the innocent blood of many who perished in various wars and violent movements which have characterized the state.

This is not in any way getting better as the day goes by and none of the killers have been brought to book by the security agencies in the country. The attacks by the Fulani herdsmen have in recent years taken more dangerous dimension with their acquisition of modern weapons and communication devices. Incidents of killings, robbery, rape, and kidnapping by the Fulani herdsmen have inflicted countless pains on most farmers thus creating serious security challenge in the country (Iheanacho, 2017).

According to Akevi (2014), apart from Boko Haram, one recurrent security challenge that confronts many states in the country is the scourge of Fulani herdsmen. They have all grown beyond the control of the state's security agencies to the extent that even when they are arrested; they are soon released with no punishment meted on them as a consequence for the action unleashed on the harmless and defenceless farmers whose farmlands were invaded. The attacks by the herdsmen on the sedentary communities have been increasing with each passing day. Against this background, Duroyaiye (2014) affirmed that “there have been escalations of reported attacks by Fulani herdsmen who brutally kill natives of the invaded farming communities with no exclusion of women and children in various host communities in the affected states of the federations”. According to Global Terrorism Index (GTI, 2018), these Fulani


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militants are the fourth deadliest militant group in the world with a record killing of 1, 700 people in 2018 alone.

Their day-to-day combat readiness and accessibility to sophisticated weapons give them the courage not only to attack host communities but to also confront and attack constituted authorities that are heavily protected with the state of art military convoys (Nte, 2016, p. 27). The incidence of their attack on the convoy of the former Benue State governor (Gabriel Suswan) justifies their courage to launch attack on the security agents equally (Nte, 2016).

Considering the mode of operation of the herders in the country, some tribes in the country have had some certain level of suspicion following the historical antecedent of the 1804 conquest of the Northern part of the country by Uthman Dan Fodio, a Fulani who subtly enslaved the host communities and instituted his pattern of leadership in the area till now. After analysis of the attacking style of the Fulani herders, many farming communities in Christian dominated areas now fear that the ultimate aim of the Fulani is the total Islamisation of the country.

One of the claims that has gained traction among leaders of the Igbo people (a large ethnic group with an estimated population of 30 million people in southern Nigeria) is that the country's president, Muhammadu Buhari (a Fulani), is pursuing the Islamisation of Nigeria by allowing Fulani herdsmen to murder Christians (Ogbeche, 2016; Buari, 2016) without any viable effort to stop them nor bring the killers to face the wrath of the law. This claim was rejected on October 10, 2016, by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III, a Fulani and one of Nigeria's leading Islamic authorities who reacted to the claim by saying “The problem with herdsmen and farmers is purely about economy. In his words, “the herdsman wants food for his cattle; the farmer wants his farm produce to feed his family” (Daily post, 2016).

From the above claim and counter claim by the leaders of the two ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Fulani herdsmen attack had been made an ethnic and religious issue where everyone strives to save and favour his tribe or religion with little or no attention being paid to the waste in the economy and the lost of human lives occasioned by the menace of the herdsmen. Little attention is being paid to who is guilty of the action leading to the attack and counter attacks in the affected areas.

The case of the herdsmen attack on farmers and host communities at the dead of the night had made waves in the national assembly. Early 2018, two members of the lower chamber of the national assembly, one from Fulani and the other from Benue were engaged in one-on-one verbal disagreement following the former's vehement acceptance and position that the herders value the lives of their cattle more than those of human beings including their own lives because that is how God created them to be.

The action taken by the two house members in the national assembly lends

The Nigerian Journal of Communication (TNJC), Vol. 16, No. 1, June 2019

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credence to the believe held by Ekeanyanwu (2013) that “Nigeria is a conglomeration of forces, each buried within its frame of reference, sworn to its various eccentric ideals and exerting pressure and demands from the totality of the populace or the various institutions within or outside the government”.

While considering the heterogeneous nature and the ways that each of the two national assembly members above strive to protect the interest of their ethnic people, one can easily agree with Nwankwo (2016), who argued that, Nigeria has consolidated a dubious political culture that emphasises the primacy of sectional interest over and above the national interest in 56 years of its existence as a nation.

In the face of this challenge and the subsequent resurfacing of the Grazing Bill in the floor of the Senate, this study examines the dominant media theme used by the select newspapers in their coverage of the Cattle Grazing Reserve Bill in Nigeria.

Statement of ProblemNigeria had experienced and is still experiencing a lot of administrative, religious, and security challenges owing to its heterogeneous nature and composition. The manner and ways in which justice is being administered by the successive machineries of government had created a worrisome situation in the country to the extent that every one suspects the nearest neighbour. The subsequent return of the grazing reserve bill which died in the floor of the 7th Senate when it was presented for deliberation by Senator Zaynab Kure representing Niger Central leaves much to be desired. It casts a shadow and ignites the consciousness of the people basically on the ethnic origin of the current Nigerian President and the speculated Islamisation agenda purported to have gradually being initiated by the Muslims in the country.

thSince the representation of the bill in the 8 Senate, different reactions have thrived in the media. Given the threat and challenges such reactions are bound to unleash on the national unity, there is need for the media to provide information that can save the impending danger that the country is about to fall into. The intrigues and politics of the press vis-à-vis the delicate nature of the Nigerian state make the media veritable tool for national integration and promotion of unity through effective and objectively guided coverage of national issues such as the proposed grazing bill saga. How the newspapers carry out these functions with a view to protecting the unity of the country in the face of distrust among the personalities of the government had not been verified.

Since it had been accepted among media scholars that media frames and themes adopted in the coverage of an event guide and direct the views held among the people on the issue, it becomes pertinent to examine the themes and frames used by the newspapers in the coverage of the cattle grazing reserve bill as part of their duty to protect the unity of the country.


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Research Questions The following research questions will serve as guide for this study: 1. What is the dominant media theme used in the coverage of the Cattle Grazing

Bill in Nigeria? 2. What are the dominant media frames used in the coverage of the Cattle Grazing

Bill in Nigeria?3. What is the major media source of information used by the select newspapers in

the coverage of the Cattle Grazing Bill Nigeria?4. To what extent do the select newspapers provide detailed information about the

pros and cons of the Cattle Grazing Bill in Nigeria?

Scope The scope of this study spanned two years: 2013 when the proposed bill was first introduced in the Nigerian Senate and 2016 when it was resubmitted to the Senate for the second time. The months of May, June and July were studied in 2013 while the months of November, October and December were selected for 2016. All the editions of the select newspapers and their contents within the six-month period were examined for the study. The newspapers studied are: Daily Trust, the Nation, Daily Sun, and Vanguard newspapers. The choice of these newspapers was based on their regional base, wide coverage of national issues in their contents and readership among Nigerians.

Framing Theory It is the believe and views of the proponents of the theory that the media through their means of designing and sending out media messages, could influence how the media consumers see and perceive a particular issue. As one of the media effects theories, framing is largely used in analysing how the mass media filters information and, thus, influence the public's reactions to a whole range of external stimuli (De Vreese, 2004). In a related view, Azlan (2012) sees framing as how public attitudes are shaped as a result of media style adopted in the reportage of a subject. The summary of all being that the way the media frame or the style adopted in their coverage of the proposed cattle grazing bill, can distort or give a different views of the bill to the audience to whom the information is given.

In this sense, the predetermined position of the media channel, to a large extent controls the contents that come out from their channel. There is a pre-existing view of the Fulani herders among different religious groups or ethnicities in Nigeria. This means that there is a relationship between what is reported and the previous views held


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among the people on the issue of the proposed grazing bill under media coverage. Considering the relationship between media framing and media audience attitudes, (Azlan, 2012, p 320) concludes that framing effects are not independent; they are subject to pre-existing attitude of the target audience. What matters here therefore is the audience pre-existing attitudes about the cattle grazing bill policy.

The interpretation of any media content on the proposed cattle grazing bill cannot be divorced from media slant in which it was reported by the select media. So, if the media frame issues on the proposed cattle colonies grazing bill to be positive, it will attract positive views from the public and vice versa.

In the words of Tankard (1991, p. 5) cited in Griffin (2000, p. 366); Oso (2006, p. 68), media frame is “the central organising idea for news content that supplies a context and suggests what the issue is through the use of selection of events, emphasis on the event, exclusion of other events, and elaboration on the selected events”. Therefore, to frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in communication text, in such a way to promote a particular problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation (Entman, 1993, p. 52 cited in Vladisavljević, 2015) and or treatment recommendation for the item described. The basis of this theory according to Okugo, Onwukwe, Ihechu & Okereke (2015) is that the media focus attention on certain events and then place them within a field of meaning in which light they want the people to understand it. This field of meaning can exert some significance effects (influence) on the audience's beliefs, attitudes and behaviours by conferring a particular field of meaning or interpretation to the issue under media coverage (Igboeli, Ikegbunam, Ikinimore and Nwanolue, 2016) herein represented by the proposed cattle grazing bill.

Framing of the Fulani herdsmen problem and the proposed grazing bill are therefore contextualised as a function of the agenda setting and framing aspects of journalists' coverage of the issues (See Wilson, 2001; Littlejohn, 2002; Sanchez, 2002). As a communication theory, framing explains the inevitable process of selective influence over the individual's perception of meaning to words or phrases (Dunu, Ukwueze and Ekwugha, 2015). Furthermore, Maher (2003) vehemently affirmed that framing centres on the relationship among elements in a message because those elements have been organised and arranged by the communicator in a way that it can produce the desired effect as predetermined by the writer rather than the reader. This means that the writer's personal subjective mind can play a significant role in the media content that his media outlet sends out to the people.

Relating this concept to our current study, literature have revealed that the media have both positive and negative frames through which they report or present issues to the public. Sincerely, these frames may have one kind of influence or the other


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on the audience to a large extent either negatively or positively depending on the swing of the nature of the coverage given to the issue under investigation. If the coverage of cattle colonies grazing bill in the select newspapers reflected an ethnic or religious media themes, the audience will perceive it from the ethnic and religious point of view that the bill is ethnically or religiously motivated. The same thing happens if the cattle colonies grazing bill is framed in negative or positive frames. This is because, media framing controls audience perceptions of realities concerning issues of public concern especially among those who rely on them for an informed decision making. It was against the backdrop of the above views that this theory was considered very apt to the current study.

Social Responsibility Theory of Mass Communication This research is premised on Social Responsibility theory of the press which places press on the duty to ensure that the people are well informed (Nwabueze, 2012). Social responsibility according Ekeli (2008, p. 338) originated from the moral philosophy that is directed at protecting the small, poor, the helpless and the underprivileged against any form of unknown and impending danger. The case of the Fulani herdsmen had presented a clear picture of defenceless and helpless nature of the victims of their dreaded attacks. This places the media at the fore of providing real information about the herders' attacks on different local agrarian communities in the country. From the look of things, Fulani herdsmen crisis poses serious economic, security, and unity threat to the Nigerian state. In this respect, the media are expected to inform the people of the modus of operation of the herders. This may scare the people away from engaging the herders in any duel. Reporting the level of damages done to the people by the herders around the country may attract the attention of government at all level to the need to provide a law that will manage this Fulani herders' crisis.

In doing this, the unity of the country, her economy and security of the citizens may be achieved. The media therefore should not shy away from this role because it is humanitarian in nature and concerns the people's economy and the country's existence. Relating this theory to the current study, it is pertinent to note that it is the duty of the media especially the newspapers to challenge the government at all levels for accountability and protection of the lives of the citizens they are meant to serve. Making the government to accept the responsibility of curtailing the Fulani farmers' clashes every now and then is what makes the media an institution of social unity and means of democratic sustenance.

Still, in many fledgling democracies, the media have been able to assert their role in buttressing and deepening democracy (Coronel, 2011). Investigative reporting, which in some cases has led to the ouster of presidents and the fall of corrupt


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governments, has made the media an effective and credible watchdog and boosted its credibility among the public (Tokunbo and Talabi, 2016). Investigative reporting has also helped accustom officials to an inquisitive press and helped build a culture of openness and disclosure that has made democratically elected governments more accountable (Odionye, 2016). So, it is the media that can serve as the intermediary between the peoples' security need and the modus operandi of the Fulani herders with a view to providing a better solution to end the killings by the herdsmen. Against this backdrop, Social Responsibility theory was considered relevant to the study.

Cattle Colonies Grazing Routes and Reserves Bill in Nigeria: Engaging Alternative Means The problem of allocating arable land for crop farming and livestock production is an age long one that is very popular among Nigerians. In much of the rest of the world, it has been addressed by doing precisely what the AU and IIED experts oppose: compelling herders to abandon the pastoral way of life and thus making cattle as well as sheep breeding a sitting occupation among herders (Okeke, 2014). This was one of the major achievements of the agricultural revolution in Europe. With enclosures, lands for crop farming and animal farming were separated, and land was used more efficiently for both crop and livestock production.

It is the position of the opposing views of the people of Nigeria that, rather than create grazing routes and reserves for Fulani herders outside their states of origin, the federal and, more importantly, the state governments of Fulani states should make livestock production a sedentary occupation in their areas leaving the other regions for those who occupy it. With this in vogue, cattle rearing like every other business should be basically on personal bases and anybody who wants to engage in it will be aware of the challenging task ahead. They should establish ranches in Fulani states and on lands owned or leased (not seized) by the Fulani and confine cattle breeding within the enclosed areas for security of the lives of the herds and the crops of the farmers within their state.

As envisaged by this author, each ranch would contain grazing fields, and especially in arid areas, artificial sources of water, like boreholes, dams, canals, and aqueducts supplying water from rivers and lakes. Pasture is usually inadequate on large ranches. The problem is addressed in the world today by bringing cattle feed from outside. Cattle feed that is brought into ranches from outside is usually produced by crop farmers. According to Pardee (2008), forage-crop farming serves as the basis for much of the world's livestock industries. Forage crops are mowed, dried, and stored as hay; chopped and stored wet as silage; or fed directly to cattle as pasture or as freshly chopped forage. Forage-crop or hay farming is a major farming activity in many


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countries of the world (Microsoft Encarta, 2008).Drawing from the above point of view, the inhabitants of the northern Nigeria is

not lacking in arable land. Therefore, it can profitably engage in forage-crop farming on a large-scale and save the country from this incessant killings and destruction of food crops of farmers which in turn places the farmers in the country poor irrespective of their hard labour after a whole year. This will also create more employment opportunities for the people of the area who will engage in the growing of forages for the feeding of the cattle. Indeed, it has the potential to produce enough forage for domestic consumption and as well for export.

Empirical Literature Olabode and Ajibade (2010) use the Fulani-farmer's conflict in Odo-owa, Oke-ero, Kwara State, Nigeria in explaining the relationship between conflict and resource use, considering environmentally induced conflict and sustainable development in Nigeria. The study examined the description of parties involved, previous conflict occurrences, identification of the source(s) of Fulani-farmers conflict, and the impacts of the conflict on agriculture production. Using the survey research method, the study collected data through questionnaire and oral interview with a reconnaissance visit to the sample groups which include the seven communities and three Fulani settlement within the study area.

The study found that frequent causes of Fulani-farmers' conflict in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State are the destruction of crops by cattle. Unfortunately, this study failed to put forward a means of controlling the Fulani herders attack on farmers in the country having observed that the crisis usually ensued as a result of farmers' revolts occasioned by the inversion of their farmlands by the herders. This study has a relationship with the current one because of their subject matter “herdsmen” but differ in the research method used. As the previous study adopted the survey research method, the current one adopted the content analysis research method and questions the ways in which the newspapers in Nigeria cover the cattle grazing policies in the country. As the previous study had provided the people's views on the herders attack, this study is set to provide the newspapers dominant themes of coverage on the grazing bill in the country.

In another study, Ajibo, Onuoha, Obi-Keguna, Okafor, and Oluwole (2018) adopted the descriptive research design with systematic review method in examining the menace of Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. The researcher also seeks to identify the implications of the herders attack on the people to national security and unity of the country. The study demonstrated that the attack by the Fulani herdsmen militates against food security, encourages destruction of lives and properties and results in


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massive unemployment. The paper recommended that the government should encourage the wealthy owners of the cattle to set up cattle ranches in different parts of the country where the animals should be properly cared for and advocated the need for compulsory registration of Fulani herdsmen operating in every local government of the federation to enable the security agents and the host communities monitor their activities.

Unfortunately, these authors did not consider the consent of the land owners whose land will be used for the development and enhancement of other people's “private” business. It failed to seek the interest of business men in Kano, Nassarawa and other Northern states who use their money to pay for their house and shop rents to their northern landlords. This very axis to the study is a very strong lap that the study failed to address for there to be peace.

This study is related to the current study because it bothers on the Fulani herdsmen's crisis in the country but they differ in method and focus of the study. As the previous one bothers on the menace of the attacks, the current study looks at the newspapers themes in their coverage of issues forming the major debate on the cattle

th thgrazing bill as proposed in the 7 and 8 National Assembly in Nigeria.In a similar study, Abass (2012) contends that the major source of tensions

between pastoralists and farmers is basically economic, with land related issues accounting for the majority of the conflicts. This can then be situated within the broader context of the political economy of land struggle, traceable to a burgeoning demography in which there is fierce competition for fixed space to meet the demands of the growing population (Olabode and Ajibade, 2010; Solagberu 2012). Unfortunately, earlier scholars who have found the causes of Fulani herdsmen attack to include cattle theft (Odoh and Chigozie, 2012); invasion of farmland by the herders (Solagberu, 2012), religious discrimination between the host communities and the herders (Audu, 2013, 2014), ethnic stereotyping (Bello, 2013) and assault on non-Fulani women by herders (McGregor, 2014) were not considered by the government for implementation of their recommendations which would have ameliorated the rate at which this crisis thrive in the country.

In a closely related study, Okeke (2014) through secondary sources looked at the stands of the proponents of the grazing bill alongside that of the people opposing the bill. After a detailed library and theoretical explications on the bill, the authors came up with a view that cattle rearing must be specifically sedentary if peace must be sustained in the country.

This study differ from the current study in the sense that rather than look at the literature on Fulani herders crisis, this study is concerned with newspapers coverage of the grazing bill paying special attention to the responsibility role of the press in a


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situation of this nature especially when an issue bothers on national interest. The studies reviewed above were all concerned with either survey or

theoretical explanations to the Fulani herdsmen activities in Nigeria with little or no consideration given to the press coverage angle to the grazing bill in particular and the Fulani herdsmen attack of farmers in general. Against this backdrop, the current study uses content analysis to determine how the media, in this instance, newspapers frame the issue.

Method of Study Drawing from the fact that the study set to examine the manifest contents of select newspapers, the best research method suitable to achieve the research objectives is the contents analysis research method. This method allows the researchers to analyse the manifest content of the select Nigerian newspapers that constitute the sample of the study. These newspapers' contents concerning the proposed grazing bill are carefully examined, coded and analysed.

Population of the StudyThe population of this study is all the editions of the four national dailies; Daily Trust, the Nation, Daily Sun and Vanguard newspapers published within the months of May, June and July of 2013 and November, October & December of 2016 selected for this study. The criteria for the choice of these newspapers were informed by their wider circulation, readership and accessibility. The reason for the choice of the months and the years above was informed by the fact they were the years and the months the proposed grazing bill were mostly reported. The four newspapers gave a total of 184 editions per newspaper and a population figure of 736 editions. From the above population figure, the sample size of 259 editions was drawn for the study. The 259 editions were selected as sample using the Rakesh (2013) formula for estimating sample thus:


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The 259 editions mean the selection of 65 editions per newspaper. Given that not all the newspaper editions contain information about the proposed grazing bill, the researchers resorted to using the purposive sampling techniques in selecting the editions studied in the paper. The technique helped them to select only those editions of the selected newspapers that contains information about the bill

Units of Analysis and Contents Categories This study employed the following units in analysing the media coverage of the proposed cattle grazing bill in Nigeria: media frames, media sources, slant of the story and the details of the story. The units were categorised. The authors described as ethnic, any media message that views the grazing policy as an ethnic issue while those that have the religious angle with Islamisation as the secret agenda for initiating the policy were classified as religious. Any story that views the grazing issue from the waste and cheat it will cause to people and the gain it will give to others or see grazing as a private business were classified as economic. The authors also classified as violence, any story that presents the views of the people on the grazing policy from the violence angle by stressing that it will lead to more crises. On the other hand, the researchers classified as government source, any media message on the grazing issue that emanates from government officials or its representatives. In the same vein, any media source that comes from clergymen is termed religious source while any story that came from an expert view were classified as expert source. The study also classified as negative slant, any media message that preaches against the signing of the proposed grazing bill into law while those that are providing solutions without either supporting the move for the adoption of the bill or killing it were seen as neutral and classified as same. Meanwhile any media message that supports the adoption of the proposed grazing bill was considered positive to the bill. Stories that were equipped with photographs of sources and paid attention to facts on the issue under study were


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seen as detailed while those without attention to details were seen as shallow stories or un-detailed stories.

The study used the Coding system as a means of data collection for the study. On this note, the authors developed a coding guide and sheet that directed the understanding and classifications of the manifest contents of the select newspapers concerning the proposed grazing reserve bill in the country. Inter-coder reliability was assessed using Holsti's inter-coder reliability formula. The Holsti's inter coder reliability test was calculated thus:Reliability R=2(M) N +N1 2

Where:M= the number of coding decisions which two coders agree. N & N = the number of coding decisions by the first and second coder respectively.1 2

Therefore Inter-coder reliability R = 2(24) 48 33+27 ꞊ 60 ꞊ 0.80 The figure above is an indication that the instrument of data collection is reliable and can measure what it was designed to measure.

Data Presentation Table 1: Showing the dominant theme of newspapers of the proposed cattle

grazing reserve bill in the country

Variables Daily Trust

The Nation

Daily Sun

Vanguard Freq %

Ethnic theme 19 17 16 19 71 25.5 Agricultural theme 8 6 7 6 27 9.7 Economic theme 10 14 17 4 45 16.1 Religious theme 11 17 21 17 66 23.7 Political theme 9 10 9 15 43 15.4 Humanitarian theme

7 8 4 7 26 9.3

Total 64 72 74 68 278 100

Table 1 above reveals that rather than the humanitarian and agricultural themes which one would supposed to be the leading themes in media coverage of the proposed cattle grazing reserve bill, the ethnic and religious theme dominated the media theme used in the coverage of the subject in the select newspapers. The


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implication of this table is that the media pay more attention and drive issues from the normal frame of reference to a frame that best suits their interest through involving political and religious personalities to the issues of the moment.

Table 2: Showing the dominant media slant used in the coverage of the propose cattle � grazing reserve bill in the country


The Nation

Daily Sun

Vanguard Freq %

Negative slant 34 41 38 33 146 52.5 Neutral slant 18 16 19 14 67 24.1 Positive slant 12 15 17 21 65 23.3 Total 64 72 74 68 278 100

Drawing from the above table, it have been revealed that the proposed cattle grazing bill policy in Nigeria which was designed to ensure there is peace in the country secured more of negative media slant in its coverage among the select newspapers. The implication of this finding is that it the proposed grazing policy does not augur well with the masses in the country.

Table 3: Major Media Source of Information Used By the Select Newspapers in the Coverage of the Grazing Reserve Bill in the Country


The Nation

Daily Sun

Vanguard Freq %

State Government 21 16 19 20 76 27.3 Expert source 12 7 10 11 40 14.3 Victim source 10 21 15 9 55 19.7 Security agents 9 11 9 13 42 15.1 Federal government 12 17 21 15 65 23.3 Total 64 72 74 68 278 100

The information from Table 3 revealed that the dominant source of information on the proposed cattle grazing reserve bill in Nigeria was the state government source which secured the highest number of publications above with the federal government coming a close second position. The implication is that the agitation for and against the proposed bill was between the state and federal government. That the machineries of government at every point in time should endeavour to agree on a policy before issuing same for public consideration to avoid encouraging violence among the citizens


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Table 4: Extent the select newspapers provide detail information about the �pros and cons of the grazing reserve bill in Nigeria


The Nation

Daily Sun

Vanguard Freq. %

Very Detailed 34 36 29 26 125 45 Not detailed 12 12 14 10 48 17 Partially detailed 18 24 29 32 108 37 Total 64 72 74 68 278 100

Based on the information on Table 4, the media are said to have played their social responsibility and investigative role by providing detailed and balanced information on the proposed grazing bill to enable the people take an informed decision on the matter.

Discussion of Findings On the first research questions posed to ascertain the dominant media theme mostly adopted by the Nigerian newspapers, we found that the ethnic and religious themes dominated the media frames used in the coverage of the proposed cattle grazing bill. Instead of seeing the bill from the humanitarian angle, economic waste and agricultural destructions which it was, the media engaged the politicians and the clergies in different kinds of interviews only to move the issue to political and religious directions. This finding corroborates the views among media scholars (Ngige, Badekale and HammanJoda, 2016; Abdulbaqi and Ariemu, 2017) that the media trivialize issues and frame them in a direction that can generate greater evil among the people, thus making religious and political crisis the bread and butter for the survival of journalism. This is a breach of the social responsibility trust placed on the media in a society that preaches peace and unity. Having covered the proposed cattle grazing policy in the above themes, the people are likely to see the grazing bill in such direction and reject same.

Considering the second research objective which looked at the dominant media slant, empirical data proved that the slant was dominated by negative media frame which secured 146 of the total 278 items found in the newspapers in the two periods under study. This finding reflected the view expressed by Nwodu (2007) who questions the media power of agenda setting in the society. In his views, Nwodu argued that the media rather than set agenda to the public reflect the agenda of the society just as a mirror. It shows that the media are just mirrors of the entire society not agenda setters.


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This, however, underscores the relationship between the media and the society which according to Nwabueze (2014, p. 107) is based on the mutual relationship where the media report the society as it is as a means of reciprocating the enabling environment to practice given to them by the society. The above finding implies that the people who are exposed to these newspaper contents are likely to nurse negative perception of the proposed grazing bill. This is in line with the postulations of the framing media scholars (Tankard, 2001; Shah, Watts, Domke, & Fan, 2002; Papacharissi & Oliveira, 2008; Azlan, 2012; Eti, 2012; Odoemelam, Okeibunor & Adibe, 2012) that the direction in which the media shape a particular incidence through selection and repeated reporting of such incidents commands the opinion of the masses to whom the contents are exposed.

Looking at the third research question posed to find the dominant sources of the stories published on the incidents, it was found that sources were basically the state and federal government sources (see, table 3). This implies that the issue of the proposed cattle grazing policy is more rampant among government sources. This sends a glaring signal to the relationship between two tiers of government in the country. This finding proves the claims laid by earlier media scholars and professionals who blame the problem of the Fulani and other insecurity problems in Nigeria to lack of good governance. Unfortunately, those blaming the government may not be too far from realities. This is glaring because of all the reports in the newspapers, no single report stated that those behind the killing have been given any serious punishment by the government and their security agencies in the country. This was captured more clearly in the words of Buhari (2016) who argued that reports are awash in the media without any revealing any viable effort by the government or its agencies to stop them or bring the killers to face the wrath of the law; rather the government keeps giving promises of bringing the killers to book.

On the last research question probing whether the media provided detailed reports on the proposed grazing policy, empirical data revealed that they lived up expectation of the people given the attention they paid to the proposed cattle grazing reserve bill (see table 4 for details). This finding agrees with the proponents of the social responsibility theory of the press which issues the press with the duty of getting the people informed and educated about different national issues to enable them take an informed decision (Nwabueze, 2012). Providing the people with investigated information on national matters of interest according to (Tokunbo and Talabi, 2016), is one of the cardinal roles of journalism in a democratic state as a response to the enabling environment given to them by the government.


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Summary and Conclusion From the data obtained from the field study and available literature reviewed in this study, the researchers affirmed that the newspapers naturally trivialize issues to reflect some themes that will make them more attractive to readers. It was also among the findings that the proposed grazing policy received higher negative slant in media coverage among the select newspapers under study. From the findings and the positions of previous literatures, it is the position of this study that every society gets the kind of media that it desires. For any country to get good media contents, that country must be built on good governance because good governance creates no or worse still less room for insecurity, poor economy, indiscriminate killing of its citizens, political violence, ethnic sentimentalities, tribal and religious wars, unemployment and the host of others which breed the bad news that the media survive on.

Recommendations Drawing from the findings of the study, it is recommended that:

1. The media should stop driving issues away from its real frame of reference. Covering cattle grazing reserve bill mainly from the ethnic, religious and political themes as against the human lives and economic waste it cost Nigeria negates their respect for human lives and economy of the nation.

2. Since media reports on the cattle grazing reserve bill had shown more of negative slant than positive, legislatures should device another solution to the herdsmen crisis in the country. From what majority think, the grazing reserve is not a generally accepted option.

3. Considering the disagreement between the state and federal government as observed in Table 3, it was recommended that the machineries of government at every point in time should harmonise every policy issue around the grazing bill before issuing conflicting statements that could incite the people to violence.

4. The media should always struggle to provide the people with more detailed information on happenings around them especially on issues of national interest like the cattle grazing reserve bill. This will help the average citizen to take informed decisions on major national issues.

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