A Discourse on Mass Media and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria

Abstract

There is a consensus among media scholars across the globe that the media usually take on the colouration of their operational societies. Media scholars also agree that the media can either make or mar the society depending on what use they are put to. Against this backdrop, this study interrogates the extent to which the mass media fan the embers of ethnic polities in Nigeria. This study which relies basically on extant literature and documentary analysis of published studies by media scholars is anchored on the Agenda Setting Theory. It argues that the media fail to de-thnicise themselves and be dispassionate in their reports, an act which translates to championing ethnic agenda and promoting disunity among the constituent parts of the country. The study concludes that it will amount to academic fraud or dishonesty for anybody to claim that Nigerian media champion national integration and cohesion without emphasizing their dysfunctional roles of championing ethnic agenda and division among the various sections of the country. On the basis of he foregoing, the study recommends among other things that the media put  national interest above personal, ethnic or pecuniary interest for the purpose of national integration.