Media Representation of Boko Haram in Some Nigerian Newspapers

Abstract

This paper examines the media representation of the socio-political discourse that centres on the activities of Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based militant Islamic group that has been responsible for violent attacks on individuals and institutions in the country. The data for the study was derived from newspaper reports published in July and August 2011 in the wake of the bombing of the nation's police headquarters and the United Nation's House in Abuja, Nigeria. The theoretical framework employed for the analysis is Critical Discourse Analysis. This interdisciplinary and inter-discursive approach made the application of historical and ideological analysis possible. The authors were able to elicit the media representation of Boko Haram as a militant Islamic group with allies and members outside Nigeria. The group is also represented as one that has an international socio-political agenda that could threaten regional peace and the continued existence of Nigeria as a peaceful and stable polity. The paper concludes that contrary to scepticisms about daily newspapers as purveyors of misery and libel, Nigerian national newspapers serve as a source of accurate information and perceptive analysis on Boko Haram, a socio-political group whose actions are inimical to public peace and Nigeria's political stability. The paper concludes that the bombing of the Nigeria Police Headquarters and the United Nations House in Abuja by the group exposed the ill-preparedness of Nigerian security agencies to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.