Farmer-Herdsmen Conflict and the Economy
Do Newspaper reportage of herdsmen-farmers conflicts neglect the economic impact?
Abstract
This study examined newspaper reportage of the herdsmen-farmers conflict in Nigeria and how such reports reflect the impact of the conflict on economic development. Three research questions guided the study. Content analysis was used for the study while a total of four newspapers namely the Guardian, Vanguard, ThisDay and Punch newspapers were sampled for the study. The study covered three years. The result of this study showed that most of the stories about herdsmen-farmers conflict paid less attention to the economic impact of the conflict. It was also found that that most of the newspapers studied did not give adequate prominence and volume to the economic impact of the conflict. These results were discussed with particular attention to the theoretical relevance, conflict reporting and economic development in Nigeria. Based on the result of the study, the researcher recommends, among others, that newspapers should improve on their frequency, prominence and volume of stories focusing on the economic impact of conflict in general and herdsmen-farmers conflict in particular.