1.0 Background
of the Study: The historical background of the Islamic Movement
in Nigeria was said to be dated back from the triumph of the Islamic Revolution
in Iran which culminated in the overthrow of
Shah Government led by the country`s most prominent Cleric Ayatollah Ruhullah
Musawi Khomenei in 1979. The country was all of a sudden transformed into an
Islamic republic. The revolution had changed the calculus of the world powers
about the country. The Israeli embassy in the country was ransacked and
replaced by the Palestinian embassy. The embassy of the United States of
America was overpowered by the students who led siege to the staff for more than
two (2) years, all because the youthful students thought the embassy was the
cauldron of subversion where subtle conspiracies were being devised to
sabotage the success of the revolution. The revolution set Iran at
loggerheads with many of its neighbors. It cut diplomatic ties with Egypt in
the same year because the country offered an asylum to the deposed leader
Shah Mahmood Pahlavi who evaded capture and fled to Egypt. Iran also got into
diplomatic rows with Iraq, the country, being the custodian of many holy
shrines, was coveted by Khomenei to experience the same revolution as Iran.
That diplomatic row
resulted in a bloody war between the countries for nearly ten years.
As for Nigeria the
Iranian revolution had opened a door for the penetration of Shi'a into
Nigeria because the triumph of the revolution had nonetheless inspired Shaikh
Ibraheem Yaqoub Al-Zakzaky to imitate the change of leadership in the country
and apply it to Nigeria. Despite the homogeneous nature of Nigeria, Zakzaky
thought it was still possible. Shaikh Zakzaky soon became something of a
cause celebrate in Nigeria who embarked upon a series of peaceful but
confrontational campaigns to revive the teaching of 19th century Islamic
scholar, Shaikh Usman Dan-Fodio which was eroded by the advent of colonial
intrusion into the Northern Nigeria and its subsequent transition to the
democratic system of governance.
During his halcyon
days he was incarcerated many times, he spent nearly nine years in detention,
hundreds of his followers were killed in the period of more than thirty years
he spent preaching. He was severally accused of not respecting the laws of
the land but he was never accused of killing anybody because according him we
don`t need weapons or suicide bombers to spread our creed, Islam means peace
therefore we will never stray from this noble course upon which our religion
is built. As we mentioned earlier, before the rise of Shaikh Zakzaky, Shi'a
was nothing but a shadow of its name, but his decades of unfettered and
relentless preaching has resulted in the conversions of more than 27 million
people into the fold of Shi`ism.
To sum up the case,
the genesis of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) has directly dated back
to the triumph of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 because it was the
revolution that influenced and changed the entire life of Shaikh
Ibraheem Zakzaky to
the extent that he devoted his whole life to establishing an Iran-like
Islamic Government in Nigeria
1.1
Introduction:
As recently as
12-13-14 December, 2015, an incident between the Nigerian army and members of
the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the supreme stewardship of Shaikh
Ibraheem Zakzaky occurred which turned out to be the most bloody carnage
since president Muhammad Buhari was sworn-in as the president. Despite the
fact the fact that the prima facie reason blamed for the avoidable massacre
was the refusal by the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria to allow
the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, General Yusuf Burutai, to pass. There were
conflicting narrations as to how the tragedy unfolded: the army said they had
to resort to using force to clear out their way because Shi’as wanted to
assassinate Burutai, while the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria
refuted the accusation by adamantly claiming that hours before the arrival of
Burutai, soldiers were filmed shooting unarmed members of the Islamic
Movement in Nigeria. The conflicting narrations had nonetheless polorised the
Nigerian media with the likes of the Sun newspapers surreptitiously
supporting the army because it had averted the birth of another terrorist
group like Boko Haram, while the likes of Daily Trust and other pro-Northern
newspapers accused the army for abysmally its failure to learn from previous
mistakes, a mistake of unjust massacre of Boko Haram members in 2008 after
which they metamorphosed into bloody insurgents resulting in the deaths of
over thirty thousand people including hundreds of security forces. It is
truism that the army had used a sledgehammer to crack a nut, that`s is to say
that ''the level force applied by the military was unbecoming to say the
least and if care is not taken, it could be a leverage for the incubation of
another arm group,'' writes Robin Abati, on his blog which was published by both
the Sun and Daily Trust on their websites. As outlined by the title, this
research is meant to investigate the conflict, and how the Daily Trust and
the Sun newspapers covered the incident.
The Zaria massacre
happened during an age when modern gadgets have become an integral part of
our existence. With mobile phones and smart phones becoming affordable for
all and sundry, and with mere a scroll, an incident could recorded and
uploaded to an internet, it would be difficult if not impossible to suppress
such a kind of bloodletting from reaching out to the public. This assertion
was further corroborated by the Zaria massacre which despite the claims by
the Nigerian Army for their so-called reason for the killings, the Nigerian
media and The Human Right Watch, were able to get a number of clips which
repudiated the claims. Days after the incidents, there scanty information
about the remains of the victims, there appeared footage of a disturbed piece
of land which was allegedly dug to mass bury the victims of that horrible
incident. In the interval of two weeks, The Daily Sun published on its
website photos of charred bodies of dozens of people who were burnt to cinder
in the residence of Shaikh Zakzaky, with soldiers covering their faces with
mass in a bid to fend off the nauseating smell of the dead. This development
would not have been even thought up had it not been for the success
technology. With all this becoming a tool for the print media, it is
therefore a cinch to opine that the likes of Daily Trust and The Sun
benefitted in one or another from technology which enabled them in no measure
to discover what the military tried in vain to conceal.
The print media in
Nigeria got a booming acceptance under this current democratic dispensation.
However, this has resulted in partial and impartial coverage of many
conflicts that sprouted up as a result of ethnic, religious and sectarian
sentiments. Our purpose in this investigation is to discover how the recent
carnage in Zaria unfolded by taking our cue from the Nigerian leading
newspapers namely Daily Trust and the Sun.
1.2 Statement
of the Problems:
The Zaria massacre
came about as a result of a face-off that involved the convoy of the Nigerian
Army who were set to pass-by their sanctuary named Hussainiya Baqiyatullah
Zaria. NO 1: Sokoto Road Zaria, Kaduna State the headquarters of the
Islamic Movement in Nigeria, the convoy was denied passage by the members of
the religious group who accused the army gunning down their members of IMN.
The face-off lasted for minutes before the army used heavy weapons to
disperse the protesters. Hours later, the expeditionary forces of the
Nigerian army were dispatched to Zakzaky's residence in Gyallesu area in
Zaria Kaduna State. The residence was surrounded by hundreds of the adherents
of Zakzaky who converged to prevent the security from attacking their supreme
leader. With no arms to defend themselves, the army carried out one of the
most heinous massacres in the history of Nigeria. Dozens of high profile
allies of Zakzaky and more than one thousand others were killed in the siege.
Some of the high profile figures that were killed include, Doctor Mustapha
Sa`eed, the chief of the Medical Care wing of the Movement (ISMA), Ibrahim
Usman, the Spokesman of Islamic Movement (Chairman of Media Forum of The
Mevement), Shaikh Muhammad Mahmood Turi, Zakzaky’s Deputy and three
more sons of Zakzaky Hammad, Ali and Humaid after the Nigerian
army killed his three sons Ahmad, General Hameed and Sayyid Mahmud a year
earlier during the Qud’s Day procession in solidarity with the Palestinian
Movements all over the world. His security guards were all among those killed
in the siege many of whom were burnt beyond recognition.
1.3 Research
Questions:
1. What is the
frequency of the coverage of the Sun Newspaper and Daily
Trust Newspaper?
2. What is the
positive and negative direction of the coverage by the Sun Newspaper and
Daily Trust Newspaper?
3. What is the
prominence of the coverage of the Sun Newspaper and Daily
Trust Newspaper?
1.4 Objectives of
the Study:
1. To find out the
frequency of coverage of the Newspapers
2. To find out the
direction of the coverage, positive or negative coverage.
3. To find out the
prominence of the coverage by the Sun Newspaper and Daily Trust Newspaper?
1.5 Conclusion:
Having concluded
the laconic analysis of the study, historical background of the Islamic
Movement in Nigeria and its activities, missions and non-violent movement as
well as decisive roles the media and technology play in our fast changing world,
we can deduce from the aforementioned facts that there is communication gap
between the Nigerian government and members of the Movement in Nigeria under
the leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky.
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
2.0 Introduction:
It is a well known
fact that various researches have been undertaken as to find out the causes
of conflicts that involved the security and civilians and the irony is that
nearly all the suggestions made by the committees of inquiries ended up being
ignored without executing the preventive measures that could have averted
another conflicts in future. In order to make this project more objective, it
is incumbent to upon us to review the works previous researchers who
undertook similar research as the case in Zaria.
2.1 Theoretical Framework:
Moses O, (2013),
Africa in Fragments: Essays on Nigeria, Africa and Global
Africanity. The book is incisive and it was well-written engaging
and eminently insightful book that’s meant to highlight the salient problems
that lead to seemingly endless conflicts in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
The book is a collection of essays and it is categorized into three sections,
namely How can Nigeria Survive, which details the possible
solutions to corruption, love-hate relationship with government, Federal
Character and religious conflicts. The section two, My Oga is better
than yours: this section chronicled the high rate of favoritism in the
governmental functionaries, and why the Northern Nigeria is left behind
economically and educationally. Moreover, in section three, Africa,
Corruption and Moral Consequence, discuses a wide range of issues
including the difficulty in explaining Africa, Arab racism against black
Africans, Boko Haram, African Islam, Foreign Islamic Heterodoxy and many. This
book is vital to this research because it has highlighted the causes and
solutions to entrenched impunity in the Nigerian security establishment which
irritably leads to dissension, resentment and chaos and the rise of terrorist
and rampaging militias such Boko Haram and Niger Delta militants.
Yakubu, U. (2007) Inside Nigeria:
This is also a collection of essays bordered on Nigerian social, economic and
political issues. As a journalist-turned lecturer, the writer has pointed out
a lot of suggestions that are vital to the success of peace and harmonious
relationship between various ethnic groups in Nigeria. He took his cue from
an example of one remote village in Kaduna, despite the presence of more than
two religious and ethnic groups the people were able to live in peace, love
and sense of responsibility. This book is also important to this research
because the book has indicated that the basis of existence in this world is
to help others not to harm them and the military and other law enforcement agencies
are established to protect people not to kill them as evidenced by the Zaria
crisis.
Lemu,
A.(20012) A Whitepaper on the Post-election Violence: This
is a committee set up by the former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to
investigate the causes of the post election carnage that resulted in the
deaths of thousands of people. And reprisal attacks were also noted in some
volatile sections of the country. The panel had found out that the security
were partly incapable of discharging their functions as a result of their
woeful failure to nip the violence in the bud. The commission of inquiry also
called for the prosecution of certain individuals who seemed to have played
parts in the outbreak of the crisis. Lemu’s panel was vital to this research
in at least two ways: the panel was discovered that excessive force was used
in stifling the violence in Bauchi, Kano Borno which resulted in the deaths
of many civilians and detained suspects. Moreover, the security forces were
also blamed for failure to prevent civilians from being massacred in Southern
Kaduna. The panel is also important to this research because it has in some
ways showed how often the military used to pounce on the civilians and
massacre them unjustifiably.
Adeyeni, S.
(2012) Power, Politics and Death : this is an anecdotal
account of the experience about how the transient tenure of the Umaru Musa
Yaradua unfolded. The book was penned by Segun Adeniyi, Yaradua’s spokesman
and he adroitly discussed the exigencies of office and despite his ill-health,
the man had managed to turn a lot of things around.
While our review is not meant to
analyze the stylish plot of the book, but there are certain areas in the book
that are worth mentioning, such as excessive force applied in the clashes
with Boko Haram. The writer has irritably admitted that, Yardua was not happy
with the way some videos indicated how the police shot physically-challenged
persons on close range. Moreover, it is against this backdrop that the group
resorted to arm struggles.
It is clear that this book is very
significant to this research, because it has at least showed that clashes
between civilians and the military is as old as a hill.
Samuel, I. (2006), The
Victims of Zaki Biam Massacre: This book details the untold hardship
faced by the victims and families of the victims of Zaki Biam massacre during
which thousands of people were reported to have lost their lives. The book
contained pictures and biographies of those who lost their lives during the
crisis. Moreover, the book described the aftermath and economic difficulties
faced by families. Despite the monstrosity of the violence, no compensation
was paid to the families. This among other reasons may be what made the
writer described the killings as the worst form of inhumanity in Nigeria’s
history.
This book is related to this
research because it involves how the military applied excessive force against
people rather than protect.
2.2. Conclusion:
This research has tried to shed
lights on some books that discussed various conflicts in Nigeria and we can
use this topic as a basis of meandering into the Zaria
conflict.
CHAPTER THREE
3.0. Introduction:
This chapter is set to explore a wide
range of topics such as methodology, population of the study, sample
techniques, instruments of data collection and qualitative content analysis.
3.1. Methodology:
It is a well-known fact that there
are methods through which every research is carried out and we are able to
carry out this research by attaching too much importance to oral interviews,
visitation to the scene of the conflicts and consulting some literatures that
discussed how similar incidence occurred.
3.2. Population of the Study:
As far as the population of the study
is concerned it is noteworthy that copacetic efforts have been made to find
out how far the newspaper in view have been covering the conflict since it
erupted down to the time of fielding this report.
The Sun newspaper is able to stand
out among the other Nigerian dailies, especially Southern-based newspapers
owing to its seemingly unwavering reports of protests by the members of the
Islamic movement to demand the release of their leader, his wife and hundreds
of his followers detained without trial and access to their well-wishers.
Since the outbreak of the clash, the Sun has published no less than 208 worth
of reports, interviews and in-depth coverage of the killings.
As for Daily Trust, the newspaper has
given much more intense coverage of the clashes than the Sun, publishing more
than 261 reports, interviews and demonstrations by the members of the Islamic
Movement to demand the unconditional release of their leader, and incisive
columns from social affairs analysts. It is against this backdrop that we are
bold to admit that both Daily Trust and the Sun have done great works by
giving fair coverage of the clash throughout the timeline it unfolded.
3.3. Sample Techniques and Sample
Size:
The methods upon which we have
followed to ensure that this research is brought to fruition is multi-faceted
but as is the case for every research, we have at last found a lot of
evidence to prove out case, and also present our findings in the most logical
ways.
3.4 Instruments of Data Collection:
To be able to analyze the content of
this project, we have to discuss the processes through which we have followed
to collect our data. As is peculiar to aspiring journalists, content analysis
qualitative is the most efficient ways of showcasing the kind of challenges a
researcher has surmount before he succeeds, so to sum up the case, we have
used audio recorder to store up the interviews we have had with certain
pundits and witnesses.
Recorder is instrument used mainly by
journalists and researchers to record and store up vital information.
Therefore, a tape recorder is very helpful in this project.
Moreover, library is also vital to
this research and it is noteworthy that library is a place where books,
literatures, and other writing materials are kept. So, we have used library
to get access to newspapers with which could be used as a launch pad for this
research. We have however, visited Bauchi State library with the sole aim of
getting access to archival newspapers especially Daily Trust and the Sun
newspapers. Accessing books such as Inside Nigeria, Africa in the Fragments,
The Victims of Zaki Biam have definitely facilitated our research even though
the research is not that easy. Many of such reports are included in chapter
four.
3.5. Method of Data Presentation and
Analysis:
Method is a process through which
data is obtained and presented, and this project is successful as it has
consulted more than five hundreds worth of reports, columns, interviews,
protests, international outcry and in-depth reports about the clashes from
the Sun and Daily Trust.
The literatures reviewed certain
books such as African in Fragments, Inside Nigeria are also included to pave
the way for laying the foundation of this project.
3.6 Conclusion:
To sum up the case, it usually takes
a researcher a long stretch, to collect that data but we have at last,
managed to bring to light, the Zaria history and population, sampling
techniques and instruments of data collections.
CHAPTER FOR
Research Presentation
4.0: Introduction:
Since our return to
democracy in 1991, Nigeria has been witnessing motley of bloody conflicts
ranging from religious, ethnic to geographical background. However, as a
watchdog of society, media always serve to report extensively about them and
it is for this reason that we will delve into some of the bloodiest carnages
reported by these two dailies from 1999 to date.
4.1. Historical Overview of How Daily
Trust and the Sun Newspapers Covered Conflicts in Nigeria:
1 September, 2001 marked the first
religiously bloody carnage in Jos, Nigeria. It was a religious crisis
that culminated in the decimation of thousands of life and displacement of
thousands more people. As far as coverage by the Sun and Daily Trust is
concerned, both the newspapers were very vibrant at that time, since it was
the first crisis in decades, and it had not become a recurrent decimal in the
political landscape of the country. It was in fact as a result of the fair
coverage of the crisis by the Sun that compelled the federal government to a
drastic step in stemming the tide of the religious crisis. In this case, the
Sun has positively covered the crisis without being sentimental as has now
been the case in its recent ideological turn-round.
Three years later, another
deadly religious crisis erupted in Jos, that time deadlier than the first one
in 2001. Both the Sun and Daily Trust had given a fair coverage, and the Sun,
wrote in its editorial titled “Time for the Federal Government to Intervene”,
in the editorial, the newspaper urged the government to do whatever it took
to ensure that the heinous crisis had not been repeated. Three days after,
the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in the state, formally
removing the then governor, Joshua Dariye from his office.
Another religious crisis
erupted in Bauchi, 21 November, 2006. Scores of people lost their lives, with
hundreds of others sustaining various degrees of injuries. The crisis was the
first of its kind since the ethnic violence that rocked the state in 1991.
The coverage by Daily Trust was something of a commendation because it had
simply brought to light what has deprived us of peaceful coexistence in the
North, that’s communication gap. It could be recalled that an incidence
occurred in Government Day Secondary School, Shadawanka Barrack, when a
female teacher, in her attempt prevent noise, asked one girl, a Muslim, to be
silent. The girl refused, pretending to be reciting the Holy Quran, the
teacher snatched the Quran and put it into his desk. No sooner had he
snatched the book than news started making the round that a female teacher
had desecrated the Holy Quran and lots of people started pouncing on
Christians, burning tires in protest without substantiating the veracity of
the news. The suggestion by Daily Trust for people to shy away from taking
laws into their hands was apt. While on the other hand the Sun seemed to have
taken a more sentimental coverage, writing opinions by some ethnic jingoists
that apparently showed its sympathy with victims and the same time accusing
the security and powerful figures of not taking measures to curtail the
violence in earnest.
The most heinous
religious confrontation in Jos was the one in 2009, in which thousands of
people got massacred in cold blood. The crisis prompted the Human Right Watch
to call for full investigation into the crisis. The coverage by the Sun and
Daily Trust was both positive and negative because Daily Trust was
sympathetic to Muslims who bore the brunt of the crisis while the Sun tried
to give a balanced and detailed coverage of the crisis without being biased.
In other places like Kano, Taraba,
and Adamawa similar crises occurred in 2005, 2006 and 2009 respectively. The
coverage by the two newspapers was filled both positive and negative coverage
depending all on the situation.
This detailed overview has
highlighted the recurrent crises that sadly characterized the Northern
Nigeria and the coverage by the Sun and Daily Trust are all positive and
negative.
4.2: Findings and Discussion of the
Zaria Massacre and How It Was Covered by Daily Trust and the Sun Newspapers:
In its front page,
13 December, 2015, Daily Trust reported that there was bloodshed as Shias
attempted to assassinate Burutai. In the reported the newspaper relied solely
on the statement issue by the Nigerian army spokesman who briefed newsmen
shortly after the first encounter that the army had to defend itself after an
assassination attempt was made its chief of army staff. There were no
official figures as to how many people exactly lost their lives on that day
but the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria said dozens of their
members were gunned down by the army. However, the Sun also reported a
similar story on the same date as Daily Trust, but on the caption that
“Scores Die as Shias Attempt to Assassinate COAS.” Just like Daily Trust, the
newspaper was under the impression that the clash was merely an encounter
that was borne out by decades of mistrust between the army and members of the
Islamic.
In the following day, (14 December,
2015) Daily Trust reported the killing of Zakzaky’s deputy, wife and children
in the siege laid to the residence of Zakzaky by the army, the also quoted
one resident of Gyallesu as saying that the supreme leader might have been
killed owing to the fact his house was repeatedly shelled by soldiers and the
house was set ablaze all in a bid to force their ways into the house, so his
chance of survival was unlikely. In another story by the newspaper, the
spokesperson of the military had, in an interview shed light on the encounter
accusing them of making lives hard for the people therefore, their activities
“had to stop.” On the other hand, the Sun took a different tuck by mentioning
the first word of massacre in its front page. It titled “Massacre in Zaria as
Zakzaky’s wife, deputy, aides killed.” The story was thought to have struck a
chord with many a reader because it expressed fear of another rise of
marauding insurgents like Boko Haram. Nonetheless, in it another story titled
“Why We Must Learn from Boko Haram,” it was an SOS for the Nigerian leaders
to not repeat the same mistake that precipitated the birth of Boko Haram, the
mistake of extra-judicial killings of Boko Haram members without remorse. It
was an opinion but muddling through the piece, the writer was, from all
indication horrified by the flagrant violations of human right in the
massacre.
On 16 December,
2015, was a story of the demolition of Hussainiyya Baqiyatullah Zaria, the
religious sanctuary ran by the Islamic Movement. Due to the horror, the
bloody encounter had caused, there were various condemnations of the massacre
from within and outside the countries. Human Right Watch, Nigerian Bar
Association, Muslims Association of Nigeria, and various activists were
reported by Daily Trust to have voiced concerns about the alleged human right
violations. In its page 6, Daily Trust reported that the US government
demanded an investigation into the violent confrontation. There were
widespread protests over the killings as thousands of people as reported by
Daily Trust staged various demonstrations all over the country to demand an
immediate release of Zakzaky in order to let have access to doctors because
according to the spokesman of the movement, Ibrahim Musa, Zakzaky was
seriously injured and he was in dire need of medical
attention.
In another development, the Sun
newspaper also reported in the same date that the prominent human right
lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana accused the Nigerian
army of massacre calling it “unjustified and inhumane.” In an interview the newspaper
had with him, the acclaimed lawyer said the Nigerian military would pay for
it. Pictures and various reports of demonstrations and condemnations were
reported by the Sun. Moreover, refusal by Buhari to speak on the matter was
also scorned at by Femi Falana.
In its Weekend
analysis, Weekly Trust reported an incisive analysis of how the confrontation
unfolded and lasted for at least 48 hours. The cover story also gave a brief
history of Zakzaky and his primordial animosity with the security forces. It
described him as a feisty cleric motivated by the Iranian revolution in 1979.
Despite the fact that he spent more than five years in detention, he has
never for once, embraced arm struggle against Nigeria. The newspaper seemed
to have been sympathetic to Shias as evidenced by its punctiliousness as to
support the army with a view to justifying the massacre. In this case, Daily
Trust could be said to have given the coverage a fair or rather positive
coverage in sharp contrast to the Sun which in its weekly coverage, brought a
somewhat lopsided demonization of Shias, describing the clash as solely
“Northern affairs” which was unlikely to spill to its southern border. In its
Saturday Sun, (19 December, 2015) it brought what it titled “The Untold
Hardship of Gyallesu Residents in Zakzaky’s Cesspit of Terror.” The story was
said (as the newspaper claimed) to have gone on a fact-finding mission in
Zaria in the aftermath of the bloodshed and discovered a lot of apprehension
suffered by the residents Gyallesu. It reported that Zakzaky’s adherents were
used to preventing people from entering the residential area without prior
permission from their supreme leader. This according to the newspaper
was what spurred many a resident into turning against Zakzaky, they even
accused him of “creating a state within a state,” a claim denied by Shi’a
activist, Haruna Elbinawi, who in a rejoinder to the report (26 December,
2015), clarified that before the arrival of Zakzaky, Gyallesu was a haven of
lawlessness where petty crimes, rapes, banditry thrived but with his arrival,
his followers volunteered to fend off their nefarious activities, an
initiative that restored order and people’s confidence in the area. The
activist also said that those who cheered at Shias massacre did so because
they had a primordial hatred towards Shiism and what it stands for.
To surmise the finding by the Sun, one needs not be told that the report was
far from being positive because it was not meant to demonize Shias per se,
but it was rather meant to deride the Northern Nigeria and vastly Muslim
population as a divided house whose decades of unity and dissension has
divided them into warring factions to the extent that they are always happy
whenever a disaster of similar sort befalls one sect.
A report on Sunday Trust (20
December, 2015), Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was quoted to have
said that Zakzaky must be arraigned. He stated that on the sideline of an
emergency meeting organized by the Northern Governors Forum. The governor took
his cue from solidarity paid to him by his counterparts which they presume
could avert the metamorphosis of Shias into another Boko Haram. This stand by
the Kaduna was challenged by Mahmud Jega, a veteran columnist for the Daily
Trust who on his Monday column (21 December, 2015) described the measure as
being premature and counter-productive to a pledge by the governor to set up
a judicial committee of inquiry and look into the causative cause of the
conflict. On the hand, the Sun came up with a somewhat bizarre report that
“Northern Governors Forum Supports El-Rufai,” the newspapers went ahead to
report that the governor would do whatever it took to prevent another
bloodshed in future by prosecuting whoever are found complicit in the crisis.
A week after the massacre members of
the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, emboldened by the international outcry over
the massacre, embarked upon street protests to force the security into
releasing their leader, his wife and hundreds of their members who were kept
incommunicado without access to their relatives and well-wishers. Both Daily
Trust and the Sun were instrumental in reporting the motley protests that
rocked different parts of Nigeria.
On Tuesday, 22
December, 2015, Free Zakzaky protests were both reported by the Sun and Daily
Trust from different parts of Nigeria. It was the following day that the Sun
interviewed Shehu Sani, a human right activist and also a senator from Kaduna
State, Shehu Sani apportioned most of the blames to the military accusing
them of various murders of innocent people for the past he ten years. The
senator was also interviewed by Daily Trust two days after.
On Thursday, 24 December, 2015, Human
Right Watch alleged hundreds of Shias, including women and children might
have been killed and buried in mass graves. The report followed an undercover
coverage by the BBC which interviewed dozens of Gyallesu residents. The
residents told the BBC with the proviso that their names would not be
exposed. The reports which were both published by the Sun and Daily contained
the detailed narrations of how the residents led soldiers to houses of people
who were alleged to be Shias and shot them to death. The watchdog also said
that attacks on Gyallesu and Darur Rahma were unjustified because no attempt
was made to assassinate any army officer there. The shocking revelations came
about when members of the Islamic Movement, in solidarity with their Shias
around the world were mounting pressure on Government to unconditionally
release Zakzaky, his wife Malama Zeenatudeen Ibraheem and his followers.
It was not until two months later the
Kaduna State formally inaugurated Judicial Committee of Inquiry to look into
the causes of the bloody carnage. The inauguration of the committee members
was witnessed and reported by both the Sun and Daily Trust newspapers but
members of the Islamic Movement rejected the committee describing it as
“lopsided and unequal” which only contained members who in way or another
were staunch haters of Shias, and who would not begrudge to see the
elimination of Shias in Nigeria.
In an interview
with the Sun, Ibrahim Musa, the spokesman stated that they would only take
part in the inquiry if they were given access to their leader, besides, they
did not expect justice from government because they were already complicated
long before the idea of inaugurating the committee was first conceived. They
were various calls for Islamic Movement members to participate in the inquiry
but the calls were met with dead ears as a result of government’ reluctant to
allow them to get access to Zakzaky. The committee was expected to submit it
finding in six weeks’ time but due to persistent call for the government and
the members to shift ground and let Zakzaky get access to his followers. The
sitting was postponed for six consecutive weeks in order to persuade the
Islamic Movement Members to submit their papers. Finally their requested was
granted, as reported by the Sun (14 February, 2016) and what Zakzaky told his
lawyers shocked the country. He asked them to simply stay away from the
committee because justice would not be expected from the government with
whose surreptitious connivance the massacre was executed.
The sitting was resumed after
the committee chairman gave a nod for the sitting to continue. It was three
days later on that the secretary to the Kaduna State Government submitted a
paper that unveiled the most terrifying details of how soldiers, with a
permission from a magistrate court, secretly buried at least 347 people,
including women and children in two mass graves.
The members also maintained their
stand that no less than 1000 members were missing. Two weeks after the
revelation by the Kaduna State government of the mass burial that the Islamic
Movement in Nigeria published the list of 750 of their members missing in the
Zaria massacre. The list comprised names, state of origin and local
governments. Ten days after, the list was updated with further 72 names
missing making the numbers 1022 people were unaccounted for.
As of the time of filing this
finding, the report of the committee has not been concluded, Shaikh Ibraheem
Zakzaky was still in detention, but a lot of people were allowed to see him.
In a nutshell, it remains to be seen what would come out of that Judicial
Committee of Inquiry, whether Zakzaky would be free or charged to court,
whether justice would be done to murdered members of the Islamic Movement.
Having brought the
detailed chronological timeline of Zaria conflict as well as their coverage
by the Sun and Daily Trust Newspaper, we will now strive to delve into the
direction of the coverage in order to discover which newspaper gave a
positive or negative coverage. We will also try to discover the prominence of
the coverage by two newspapers, that is to say, the newspaper that gave an
extensive coverage of the conflict.
4.4: Zaria Conflict 2015:
Between the Sun Newspaper and Daily Trust Newspaper:
Despite the fact
that the Newspapers have shared in common the interests of the nations, but
whenever an incident like transpired, they hurriedly seek to propagate
certain furtive agendas in order to please their subscribers. In a nutshell,
this investigation will dissect the coverage in details with a view to
finding out how they reported it. For example, in its front page of 16th
December, 2015, Daily Trust captioned "Score Killed as Zakzaky
Arrested", the newspaper stirred up fear for another crisis in Northern
Nigeria because people had not fully recovered from the Boko Haram insurgency
and the newspapers apportioned most of the blames to the security because
they failed to learn from their mistakes. But on the same day, the Sun
newspaper published a report on page 6 raising the possibilities yet another
birth of militias. Both reports indicated fear, however. the salient problem
is Daily Trust is here to protect the northern interest while the Sun tilts
towards protecting the interests of the Southern Nigeria, so it could be
deduced from their reports that the Daily Trust concerns more about the
danger of slipping into another bloody carnage in sharp contrast to the Sun
which gives little concern about the whole issue because it might not reach
the South.
As we aim to also
determine which newspapers between Daily Trust and The Sun covered the
incident most, it is worth noticing that each newspaper tried to bring up its
own version of findings and both the newspapers have repeatedly and
extensively reported the subsequent events such as demonstrations against the
killings and Zakzaky’s continued detention, who until the filing of this
investigation has been kept incommunicado without access to lawyers and
well-wishers. Moreover, despite the copacetic efforts to cover the incident,
we will have to choose and determine which newspaper covered the incident
most and what it achieved with that.
It is a well known fact that for the
first three month since the Zaria conflict unfolded, Daily Trust has reported
extensively about the bloodshed, with hardly a day passing without one
headline reporting on the face-off that existed between the government and
members of the Islamic Movement who have refused to partake in the Judicial
Committee of Inquiry in view of the order by Zakzaky to avoid the panel.
As for the
prominence of the coverage, it is also a well-known fact that when it comes
to journalism in Nigeria, regional snobbery and interests take precedence
over national interests. As noted by James Olewole in ‘Inside Nigeria’ (2006)
dearth of robust journalism, introspection and cavalier attitude towards
national interests have virtually destroyed the fabrics of Nigerian
unity so much that some newspaper recklessly, without compunction, resort to
promoting negative propaganda with a view to achieve certain objectives.
In this case, when the Zaria conflict
unfolded, Daily Trust has positively covered the crisis with high sense of
altruism, calling on the government to set up an investigative panel in order
to bring to book whoever found complicit in the massacre.
In its Two Page Comment, editorial
titled, ‘The Night is Tired of Violence’ the newspaper briefly commented that
religious crises are prevalent in Northern Nigeria than any other place in
West Africa, and it is the government failure to make a dent in arms
proliferation as well as incessant killings of innocent people by the
Nigerian army that usually give rise to the rise of insurgency in the region.
It called on the government to fast-track the inauguration of a panel to
investigate the crisis because the “North is simply tired of violence.”
Moreover, in a nutshell, Daily Trust
Newspaper has seemingly given too much attention to the crisis because it is
there already to protect the interests of northern Nigeria unlike the Sun
which after a month of fair coverage, it soon changed its stance in regard to
the crisis and started spewing out unsolicited propaganda against Northern
Nigeria. Following the report by Thisday that linked the
abduction and eventual assassination of a Nigerian soldier by unknown gunmen
to BVCmembers of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in retaliation for the
massacre of their members, despite the denial by the members that their
movement would never resort to arm struggle, the Sun did not even report the
press release by Ibrahim Musa that denied their involvement in the abduction.
The newspaper went ahead with its smear campaigns and constant
demonization of the North and everything that has to do with it.
As far as fairness and journalistic
objectivity are concerned, we can, after a thorough research, conclude that
Daily Trust has given a fair coverage of the conflict while the Sun has
slightly or rather woefully lagged behind.
4.5: Conclusion:
In every society media seem to play a
significant part in promoting national unity, as we can see the coverage of
the Zaria conflict by the two major Nigerian papers, namely the Sun and Daily
Trust has brought to light how divided we are in moment of national crisis
like this. If the Sun had followed the likes of Daily Trust in positively
reporting the coverage, our opinions would not have been divided along
regional boundary.
CHAPTER FIVE
Summary
5.0
Introduction:
Having
completed the in-depth research about the historical background of the
Islamic Movement in Nigeria, and how it has grown into a force to reckon
with, we will now summarize our findings in details.
5.1
Summary of the Study:
In
chapter one, we have discussed vigorously how the movement under the
leadership of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky was influenced by the Iranian
revolution as well as how he had become something of a cause célèbre as a
result of his seeming defiance with the Nigerian governments which led to his
incarceration for years.
It is in chapter
one that we have adumbrated and outlined the questions with which we can
build the basis for the research. These questions are:
1. What is the
frequency of the coverage of the two newspapers? 2.
What is the positive
and negative direction of the coverage by the two newspapers?
3. What is the
prominence of the coverage of the two newspapers? We have, after outlining
the research questions, brought out what we intended to find out about the
research.
These objectives:
(1)To find out the
frequency of coverage of the Newspapers (2) to find out
the direction of the
coverage, positive or negative coverage.
(3) To find out the
prominence of the coverage by the two newspapers.
In chapter two, we
have managed to bring to light literature review, and analyzed some books
that discussed conflicts especially religious ones in Nigeria, and their
possible solutions were also discussed in order to make sure that similar
crises are nipped in the bud.
In chapter three,
we have reviewed the extent to which Daily Trust and the Sun newspapers
covered religious conflicts that resulted in deaths of a large number of
people. Their propagandas and hagiographic defense of their geographic
locations were also highlighted.
In chapter four, we
presented the research findings of the study, detailing the timeline of the
killings by mentioning various reports from the Sun and Daily Trust
newspapers. The findings consulted the newspapers since the clashes broke out
on 12-13 December, 2015 up to as recent as June, 2016.
5.2 Conclusion:
It is against this
backdrop that we come to the end of this journey, but it is high time Nigeria
came to terms with the fast changing world in which human rights are integral
parts of their existence. Apart from Syria which is ravaged by civil war,
there is no country whose military massacred hundreds of its citizens to such
a large scale in recent history. But the massacre was carried out and despite
international outcry, the hubbub of the massacre, despite the inhumane way of
burying the victims in mass graves, despite the killings of dozens of infants
the impassioned outcry is met with deaf ears by the presidency which is rare
and uncommon in every responsible country. Another area that has shown Nigerian
growing tolerance with the minority is the way their sanctuary painstakingly
built with their own money was razed down, and the reason given for the
demolition was building permit was not given before it was built. It is
however noteworthy that the building had been built long before the clashes
but no such issue was brought until the killing. It is also so disheartening
that a graveyard which serves as a place of eternal sanctuary be desecrated
by without any reason to back up their arguments. But our hope is one day we
will live in a country where people of different religious groups will come
together and live and let live.
Media are also
biased in this crisis because the likes of Daily Trust’s coverage are too
biased to say the least. The way they allow some vainglorious analysts who
nurture visceral hatred towards Shias to paint them black while denying
members or restricting them to respond to the intellectual blackmails is
always lopsided to some extent. This unfair reportage is inimical to the ethical
standard of journalism.
5.3
Recommendations:
It is a well known
fact that religious crises are as old as the Nigerian political history of
the country, and various panels have been set up in the aftermath of
virtually every religious violence, but no decision has ever been taken to
avert further occurrences of the conflicts that is why the religious violence
and ethnic crises continue to claim the lives of many innocent civilians. In
order to divest ourselves of further losses of lives, the following recommendations
should be taken into consideration:
1. Religious
leaders should be asked to preach love and brotherhood between one another on
the basis of live and let live because peace and unity can only be actualized
if people of different faiths realize that we have a lot more important
things in common in terms of humanity than we have in difference.
2. In case of any
inevitable crisis, the perpetrators should be brought to book in order to
serve as deterrent to others which would also go a long way in averting
further occurrences of the massacre.
3. Recommendations
made by panels should be implemented without delay because many of similar
white papers have been ignored and brushed under the carpet.
5.4
References
- Moses,
O (2014) African in Fragments, Farafina, Lagos.
-
Yakub, O. (2008) Inside Nigeria, Logman, Ibadan.
-
Daily Trust Publications from 14th December, 2015 to as
recently as July, 2016.
-
The Sun publications from 14th December, 2015 to as recently
as July 2016
-
Skinner, N. (1980) An Anthology of Hausa Literature, NNPC, Zaria.
-
Ibrahim Y. (1983) Hausa a Rubuce, NNPC, Zaria.
Tuesday, 20 September 2016 15:08
By
Khalid Idris Doya from
Department
of Mass Communication,
Federal
Polytechnic Bauchi, Nigeria
07069724750
, 07063672623
|
The Insider(14)> Press Coverage Of Conflict Under Democracy In Nigeria: A Study Of How Trust And Sun Newspapers Covered The Zaria Army Attacks, November 2015- June 2016.
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