Boko Haram
Islamic terrorist group
in Nigeria
History of Religious Controversy in Nigeria
“The abduction centers around the age-old strife between
Muslims and Christians. Most of the Muslims in the north did
not have an opportunity to get an education, whereas the
people in the south did because that's where the British
settled.”
-Emanuel E. Nneji
Associate professor of communications
Worcester State University
The problem exploded after the last Muslim president, Umaru Yar'Adua, died in May
2010, during his first term, and Mr. Jonathan, a Christian, who was the vice president took over as
president. Mr. Nneji said Muslims felt that another Muslim should have finished out the term of
the president who died. It was around this time that the small group of Islamist militants stepped
up their presence. The word Boko Haram means Western or non-Islamic education is a sin.
History of Boko Haram
Multiple attacks by Boko Haram
Number of casualties by Boko Haram attacks
His most recent attack?
An abduction of over 200 girls.
The group especially opposes the
education of women. Under its
version of Sharia law, women
should be at home raising
children and looking after their
husbands, not at school learning
to read and write.
CNN News
“Dozens of gunmen stormed the
Government Girls Secondary School
in Chibok, about 130 km (81 miles)
west of Maiduguri, on Monday night
as the students slept in their
dormitories, officials said. They
engaged the soldiers guarding the
school in a lengthy gun battle and
then herded the girls onto vehicles.”
CNN News
Reporting was more for
attention purposes and
promoting their news.
First report: April 15th
“After the kidnapping of more than 200
schoolgirls from a school in northern
Nigeria, the whole world's attention was
focused on one village - Chibok -- but CNN
was the first news organization to send a
team to the scene of the atrocity.”
“The militant Islamist group has bombed schools,
churches and mosques; kidnapped women and
children; and assassinated politicians and religious
leaders. It was unlikely they would welcome
Western journalists, and those accompanying us,
with open arms.”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-chibok-journey/?hpt=hp_c1
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/15/world/africa/nigeria-girls-abducted/index.html?iref=allsearch
“'Boosting spirits'
Mr Turaki - who is special
duties minister and
chairman of a committee
set up by President
Goodluck Jonathan to find
ways of reaching agreement
with Boko Haram - said that
Shekau should send people
he trusted to meet the
standing committee on
reconciliation.”
BBC News
BBC Reporting was
informational and
supported by credible
sources. First report:
April 15th
“A team of about 30 US experts members of the FBI and defense
and state departments - is in
Nigeria to help with the search.
The UK, France and China also
have teams on the ground in
Nigeria and an Israeli counterterrorism team is on its way.
Nigerian Chief of Defense Staff
Alex Badeh welcomed such
support and described the
relationship between his country
and the US as ‘mutual and
strategic.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27398640
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27037181
The Washington Post
“Here’s what you need to know about the kidnapped Nigerian
girls, Boko Haram and how the U.S. is getting involved”
Who was kidnapped?
How were they abducted?
Who took them?
How has the U.S. government reacted?
Have the girls been seen since they were abducted?
What has the Boko Haram group done in the past?
“The kidnapping of hundreds of
Nigerian schoolgirls sparked an
international outcry, caused
protests in the United States
and across the world and drew
help from the U.S. as well as
other countries.”
Reporting was very
informational and
answered commonly
asked questions. First
report: April 15th
“Suspected Muslim extremists kidnapped
about 100 girls Tuesday from a school in
northeastern Nigeria, less than a day after
militants bombed a bus station and killed
75 people in the capital — a surge in
violence that raised new doubts about
the military’s ability to contain an Islamist
uprising.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/05/13/heres-what-you-need-toknow-about-the-kidnapped-nigerian-girls-boko-haram-and-how-the-u-s-is-getting-involved/
President of Nigeria
The girls' abduction and President Goodluck Jonathan's
refusal for weeks to accept help from the U.S. and other
countries have caused outrage throughout the world,
“Local Nigerians say they are angry and disappointed
about the way the Nigerian government has handled the
abduction of some 300 schoolgirls last month, but they
are not surprised.”
“I believe that the kidnap of these girls will be
the beginning of the end of terror in Nigeria.”
— Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
http://www.telegram.com/article/20140513/NEWS/305139938/1116
Social Media
#BringBackOurGirls seeks justice through social media
The campaign took off, achieving over one
million tweets on Twitter by May 7 and
becoming one of Facebook’s top trending topics.
“I realized recently that a hashtag is like a call,” said Ramaa
Mosley, a Los Angeles director heavily involved in the
campaign. “It’s like a call out to the world and it’s also an
amalgamation so you can pull together information, put that
information in and get information back.”
See more at:
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BringBackOurGirls&src=tyah
Social Media
See more at:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100
008316073313&fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/bringbackourgirls
A Facebook page compiling information
about the story and offering suggestions
to viewers about ways to take action has
gathered more than 185 million likes.
Analysis
Through the use of media, I have shown how different sources covered the terrorist attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria. This also
leaves room for interpretation for the viewer as I present actual quotes, pictures, and videos from the sources. In addition, I used the first
reports each source gave so the content would theoretically be the same and thus the differences in reporting style would be evident. To
orient the audience, I began my project with background knowledge about the controversies that have taken place in Nigeria as a result of
religion. The north is primarily Muslim and military based while the south is primarily Christian and has opportunities for education. Around
2010, a group of Islamist militants, called Boko Haram, emerged. Boko Haram translates to Western or non-Islamic education is a sin.
The next slide contains two maps of previous attacks by Boko Haram. The viewer is able to obtain a lot of information from the
maps. The first displays where Nigeria is in the world and what countries surround it. The map also shows where the highest concentration
of attacks by Boko Haram has been. In addition, the location of the latest attacks are explained. The second map displays the number of
casualties by region from Boko Haram attacks. After explaining the history of the country and the militant group, I focused on the most
recent attack; an abduction of over 200 school girls.
The video was from the first source I examined- CNN. The video displayed the leader of Boko Haram confirming he abducted the
girls and is planning on selling them. Along with the quotes from their news articles, the CNN video clearly was playing on peoples’
emotions. There is clear disbelief and bias in the voice of the reporter. The quotes also used attention-seeking language. For example, “the
gunmen stormed,” “as the students slept in their dormitories,” and “herded the girls onto vehicles.” In addition, CNN almost prided
themselves on how they obtained the news. This was clear when they said, “But CNN was the first news organization to send a team to the
scene of the atrocity” and “It was unlikely they would welcome Western journalists, and those accompanying us, with open arms."
BBC News was the next source I examined. While analyzing BBC, I noticed their news contained credible sources like the Nigerian Chief of
Defense Staff and the special duties minister and chairman of the agreement committee. While their reporting style seemed to be more
factual, they supported their stories with profound pictures.
I also looked at how Tkhe Washington Post covered the news. The reporters seemed to focus on important questions their viewers
wanted or needed to know. The Washington Post also focused on what was being done about the attack and assistance from other countries.
However, the quotes from their articles use harsh language for a sensitive topic such as “extremists, bombed, killed, and uprising.” The
Washington Post also included a picture of the mothers to show how this abduction is effecting the families.
Next, I decided to examine what the president had to say. I wanted to hear directly from him more than going through another
source so I viewed videos from this talks. The first video is President Goodluck Jonathan’s first speech after the abduction. He tried to keep the
hope of his country high as he promised he would find the girls. The second video is after receiving help from other countries. The quote found
on this page, while bias, exemplifies the frustration of Nigerian’s citizens with their government.
A huge source this attack has had an impact on is social media. The first social media slide focuses on Twitter. A campaign called
Bring Back Our Girls has magnified through the use of Twitter. The abduction occurred April 14th and by May 7th the campaign received over
one million tweets. The biggest impact and possibly a controversial one is Michelle Obama’s tweet using the #BringBackOurGirls. This surely
gained lots of attention around the world.
Lastly, I looked to Facebook on the attack. The Facebook page Bring Back Our Girls has received more than 185 million likes. On this
page there is the latest information about the abduction, ways to rally for support, and pictures of rallies that have happened around the world.
Two pictures I used were from rallies held in Panama and Paris. Lastly, I provided a picture of Malala Yousafzai holding up a sign supporting the
Bring Back Our Girls campaign. This is a powerful picture as she is known for her activism for women’s right to education.
In conclusion, throughout this project my goal was to present media from different sources. In doing so I allowed the audience to
interpret the multiple styles and tactics used by media to gain attention. Whether its promoting their news, reveal “shocking” news, or
supporting the victims, media sources portray the same event in multiple way depending on what they are trying to accomplish.