An Inductive Evaluation of the Power of Radio Information: A Retrospective Study of the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War
Abstract
This study evaluated the efficacy of the messages that were aired over the radio during the 1967-1970 Nigerian civil war. It further aimed to investigate whether modern radio broadcasts have the potential to be used in the same manner and to the same degree of success as their historical analogues in the service of the cause of sustainable development. Hence, the study employed the inoculation theory and Hugh Rank’s model of persuasion in its theoretical framework. The research was conducted using an inductive methodology, and the interview inventory served as the primary research instrument. The sampling method used is convenient sampling, and the collated information was examined based on central themes and then discussed. The results of the research provide novel information on the function of radio in the broadcast of safety information during the civil war, as well as its use for the mobilisation of military forces at that time. The fact that there is so little academic material about media communication and radio engagement during the civil war in Nigeria presented the current research with a challenge that was empirical in nature. This shortage also played a key part in amplifying the essence of the study, which is aimed at bridging the existing vacuum within the academic discourse. According to the study, listening to radio broadcasts during the Civil War saved the lives of most people. It became clear from the study that radio broadcasts throughout the Civil War provided a deliberate, well-thought-out, and very compelling framework for the distressed population that was designed to defuse rather than escalate tensions. The study further found that the radio is a helpful companion because it can reach many people regardless of where they live; this suggests that the radio could be used to disseminate strategic information that would inspire people to comply with sustainable development goals
Downloads
References
Abubakar, D. (2002). The North and the Nigerian Civil War. In E. E. Osaghae, E. Onwudiwe, & R. T. Suberu (Eds.), The Nigerian civil war and its aftermath. John Archers.
Akingbulu, A. (2010). Public Broadcasting in Africa: Nigeria. African Books Collective.
Akingbulu, A. & Hendrik B. (2010). Public Broadcasting in Africa Series: Nigeria. Johannesburg: Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa.
Akingula, A. (2006). Building Community Radio in Nigeria and Challenges. Lagos: Institute for Media and Society.
Akinyemi, A. B. (1972). The British press and the Nigerian civil war. African Affairs, 71(285), 408– 426. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a096282
Apochi, O. E. (2007). Organisational Communication as an Effective Tool in Radio Benue new Directorate System. A Research Project Submitted to the Department of Mass Communication, Benue State University, Makurdi.
Armand, A., Atwell, P., & Gomes, J. F. (2020). The reach of radio: Ending civil conflict through rebel demobilisation. American economic review, 110(5), 1395-1429.
Bryman, A. (2014). Samhällsvetenskapliga metoder. Stockholm: Liber.
Callejas, Z., & López-Cózar, R. (2009). Designing smart home interfaces for the elderly. ACM SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing, (95), 10-16.
Crompton, J. (2013). Inoculation theory. The SAGE handbook of persuasion. Developments in theory and practice 2, 220-237, 2013
Davies, P. E. (1997). Use of propaganda in civil war: the Biafra experience. London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom).
Dominick R. (2009). The Dynamics of mass Communication. Media In the Digital Age. McGraw Companies Inc. 1221 America.
Doron, R. (2014). Marketing genocide: Biafran propaganda strategies during the Nigerian civil war, 1967–70. Journal of Genocide Research, 16(2-3), 227-246.
Elaigwu, J. I. (2005). Nigeria: yesterday and today for tomorrow. Jos: Aha Publishing House.
Ihunna, O.I. (2002). The post-civil war Igbo integration question: Between rhetoric and realism. In Osaghae, E.E, Onwudiwe, E. & Suberu, R.T. (Eds.), The Nigerian civil war and its aftermath. Ibadan: John Archers.
Ikime, O. (2002). The Nigerian civil war and the national question: A historical analysis. In Osaghae, E. E., Onwudiwe, E. & Suberu, R. T. (Eds.), The Nigerian civil war and its aftermath. Ibadan: John Archers.
Joshua, A. & Michael, P. (2005). Inoculation theory of resistance to influence at maturity: Recent progress in theory development and application and suggestions for future research. Annals of the International Communication Association, 29(1), 97-146.
Krause, A. E. (2020). The role and impact of radio listening practices in older adults’ everyday lives. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 603446.
Kristilolu, Y. (2007). Business as Usual: Britain, Oil, and the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970’, African Economic History Workshop 25 April. London: London School of Economics. Retrieved from http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/economicHistory/seminars/
Kumar, D. (2006). Media, war, and propaganda: Strategies of information management during the 2003 Iraq war. Communication and critical/cultural studies, 3(1), 48-69.
Mainasara, A. M. (1982). The Five Majors: Why They Struck. Zaria: Hudahuda Publishing Co
May, A. (2013). Why Radio is Still Relevant in a Digital Age. Just Media. Retrieved from http://justmedia.com/2013/08/why-radio- is-still-relevant-in-a-digital-age/
Moemeka, A. (1985). Local Radio Communication Education for Development. Zaria: ABU Press.
Morgan, D. L. (2002). Focus group interviewing. Handbook of interview research: Context and method, 141, 159.
Minahan, J. (2002). Encyclopaedia of the stateless nations: S-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group
Ngoa, N. (2011). A review & analytical narrative of propaganda activities: A Nigerian perspective. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(16), 237-248.
Ojebode, A. (2005). Tested, trusted and yet frustrating: an investigation into the Effectiveness of environmental jingles in Oyo state. Applied environmental education and Communication. 4 (2). 173-180
Okorie, P. U. (2006). Communication challenges of reform policies in Nigeria. Aba: POU Ventures.
Okusan, L. (2005). Who is afraid of community radio? Akoka: University Press
Omaka, A. O. (2017). Conquering the home front: Radio Biafra in the Nigeria-Biafra war. SAGE Journals, 25(4), 555-575
Onuoha, G. (2011). Contesting the space: The “New Biafra” and ethno-territorial separatism in South-Eastern Nigeria. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 17(4), 402-422.
Opejobi, S. (2015). Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu Apologizes to Buhari, Jonathan, Retrieved from: http://dailypost.ng/2015/12/30/director-of-radio-biafra-nnamdi-kanu- apologises- to- buhari- jonathan/.Accessed
Osa, E. A. (2011). Public Service Broadcasting in Nigeria: From Monopoly to Deregulation. A thesis submitted to the Centre for Media Studies, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a Master of Arts Degree in Radio and Television Production
Owuamalam, E (2006). Introduction to broadcasting. Owerri: Top class Agencies Ltd. Pember, D.R. (2004). Mass media law. New York: McGraw-Hill
Oyero, O. S. (2003). Indigenous language radio for development purposes. Communicating for Development Purposes. Ibadan: Krafts Books, 185-195.
Rank, H. (1991). The pitch: How to analyse ads (Vol. 365). Counter-Propaganda Press.
Shoemaker, P. J., & Reese, S. D. (2013). Mediating the message in the 21st century: A media sociology perspective. Routledge.
Stremlau, J. (2015). The international politics of the Nigerian civil war, 1967-1970. Princeton University Press.
Ugochukwu, F. (2010). The Nigerian civil war and its media: groping for clues. Media, War & Conflict 3 (2), 182-201, 2010
Copyright (c) 2023 Essien Oku Essien, Adegboyega Daniel Eniola, Eyesiere Aniefon Essien, Babatunde AbdulRaheem Lawal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
