Abstract:
The spate of communal conflicts in Nigeria has become a nightmare for
citizens. In Benue State, the farmers/herdsmen conflict has become a cause
of concern as armed herdsmen continue to openly graze, destroy crops,
maim and kill citizens on daily basis despite the implementation of the Open
Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law in 2017 which forbids
open grazing in the state. Efforts by stakeholders to address this problem
has failed to yield positive results. This study assesses the role of peace
journalism in managing herdsmen conundrum in Benue State. Premised on
the agenda setting theory, the survey research design was implemented with
questionnaire to collect data for sample size of 120 respondents. Findings
from the study indicate that herdsmen conundrum in Benue State is caused
by encroachment and destruction of crops by herdsmen. Further findings
indicate that the role of peace journalism in managing herdsmen
conundrums in Benue State ranges from exposing the root cause of
conflicts, encouraging parties involved in the conflict to shun violence and
embrace peace. Also, the dissemination of truthful information can turn
public sentiments towards peacefully resolving these conflicts despite the
limitations of peace journalism in the form of inadequate information,
language barrier and security reasons respectively. The study recommends
that peace journalism should be employed in order to encourage the parties
involved in communal conflict to shun violence. Additionally, security
agents in the state should intensify efforts to prevent herdsmen from
encroaching into farmlands to destroy crops.
