CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
In distant past, the people that lived as families and clans in villages and towns communicated among themselves with different communication media. From the Stone Age up to the present computer generation, communication has been a tool with which to interact and sustain individuals and societies in general.
Communication is the sharing or exchange of ideas, information, knowledge, attitude or feeling among two or more persons through certain signs and symbols with or without the purpose of affecting or changing the receiver either positively or negatively. Communication is central and critical to all human activities such as rural and national development as well as promoting good health habits. No community ever survived without communication.
In recent years, health professionals have developed a growing appreciation of the critical role that communication plays in healthcare. The effective communication of information on medical conditions and healthy lifestyles has played an important part in the improvement of the health status of people in the society. Communication thus plays an integral role in the delivery of healthcare and the promotion of health habits. Communication is used in creating public awareness, encouraging healthy behaviours, changing attitudes and motivating individuals to adopt recommended behaviours. This shows that communication and health are closely related and this dialectical relationship between communication and health has given rise to a specialized field of communication known as health communication.
Health communication, according to Ratzan (1194), cited by Batta and Wilson (2013), is the act and technique of informing, influencing and motivating individuals, institutions and the public on important health issues. It encompasses the study and the use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual’s and community’s knowledge, attitude, practices and decisions with regard to health. Health is not just about the absence of diseases or infirmities, but also the same condition of man, physically, mentally and socially. Without good health, not much is possible. Politics, education, agriculture, trade and commerce; all depend on an optimal enjoyment of good health (Batta, 2013).
Health promotion is in the province of public communication, which confers a responsibility on individuals toward their fellow citizens. It serves the primary purpose of softening the ground for effective take-off of individual and national development. Thus when people are adequately informed about what it means to be in good health, and how they can be in good health, there is need to further persuade them to take practical steps toward achieving this in order to live a better life. The notion of promotion therefore operates on the premise that those living at the periphery where poverty, hunger and diseases are more pronounced, need to be educated, sensitized and be motivated continually to practise and participate in programmes and projects that will help them to be aware of their actions and activities towards the achievement of good health.
Health promotion is a communication action. Hence, the message code needs to be properly conceived and delivered in order to bring about the desired attitude and behavioural change of human, community, state and the nation at large. The people in Uruan, like those in other communities in Akwa Ibom State, are people afflicted by the vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. The dominant means of communication in Uruan are those of traditional communication.
Hence the traditional media are communication channels which reflect a people’s culture. They were not introduced to the people like the mass media, but are part of the people (Nwabuleze, 2007; Nwodu and Nwanmuo, 2006). Traditional media which have been identified as folk media or oramedia (Ogboajah, 1985) include the town crier, church, village square, market place, chief in council, dance, music, native language, proverbs, folklores etc. Traditional media make it possible for message to be packaged and transferred in locally popular artistic forms which make it possible for the rural people to understand and assimilate.
Like the mass media, these traditional media also perform some normative functions in the society. Some of these functions include the education of the citizenry as well as the mobilization towards good health habits. It is in the light of the above that this study seeks to ascertain the extent that the traditional media in Uruan have contributed to the promotion of good health habit among the people of Uruan.
1.1.1 Profile of Uruan
According to Uruan historians like Dominus Essien of Uniuyo and Edet Akpan Udo of whom are Ibibios, Uruan people are believed to have migrated in different waves from East central and South Africa to Uruan Akpeh in the area now called Idombi in the Rio Del Ray near South Western Cameroun and Cross River border where they settled for centuries.
Due to the first Batanga war which caused social and economic disorder in the region, Uruan people migrated to area in the Cross River Basin called Akani Obio Uruan in about 8th century A.D. The river near the settlement was named ‘Akwa Akpa Uruan which means (Mighty River of Uruan). It is believed that in the 13th century, a kindred of Uruan people, another Iboku group also migrated through a different route to join their kindred at Akani Obio Uruan and Akpa Mfri Ukim. Due to geographical problems, such as frequent flooding, Uruan people migrated again further to the mainland and occupied South Eastern part of Nigeria which is today known as Uruan local Government Area.
Uruan Local Government Area was created in 1988 from uyo Local Government Area. It covers an approximate land mass of 449km2. Its population according to 2006 census is 118,300. It is bounded on the North by Itam, Oku Iboku and Akamkpa; on the South by Okobo and Oron Local Government Area; on the West by Cross River and on the West by Uyo and Ekpe Atai Local Government Areas. It is divided into three senatorial districts which are; Uruan Central District, Southern Uruan District and Northern Uruan District and altogether it has 52 villages and its headquarter is in Idu.
1.1.1a Political and Cultural Division In Uruan
The political organizations of Uruan are based on social organizations and consist of six administrative divisions which are;
- Idip Ete which is the first foundation of political unit in Uruan
- The Ufok consists of the collection of families which traced their origin to one father.
- Ekpuk is a collection of Ufok which also traced their origin to one father
- Obio or Idung is made up of the lineages which varied in number from village to village and also have the overall authority which is the Obong Obio
- Oduk(the village group or sub-clan)
- Ikpa Isong: This denotes a clan which symbolizes a group of villages that traced their descent to one ancestor. The head of the clan is called Obong Ikpaisong
1.1.1b Traditional Leadership in Uruan (Nsommship)
Uruan founding fathers had an institution of Edidemship. The head of the institution was addressed by the people as Edidem Atakpor and he was believed to be a symbol of unity for Uruan people and was regarded as the living personality of the Uruan ancestors. The office of Edidem was hereditary through the male descendants of the Edidem. Due to some internal and external factors, the institution was modified and the office instead of being hereditary was modified to be rotatory among members of the Ofri Essien Uruan Council which was the highest traditional body in Urruan land.
1.1.1c Nsommshipe
In colonial Uruan, a new traditional title known as Nsomm was introduced and was more frequently used instead of Edidem Atakpor. The Nsommship title was adopted when Obong Nyong Essien ascended the highest traditional stool in Uruan and as such, he was referred to as Edidem Atakpor Nyong Essien, the Nsomm 1 of Uruan. When Nyong Essien the Nsomm of Uruan passed on, Obong James Udoo Affia was selected as paramount traditional rural for Uruan and he was referred to as the Nsomm11 of Uruan.
1.1.1d Qualification for Selection of Nsomm
Before anybody is selected as the Nsomm title holder, he must be able to trace his ancestry back to the royal stock in Uruan. He must to be a person of good moral conduct and should be free from corruption, he must also be an individual who could hold his people together
1.1.1.e Occupation
The main occupation of Uruan people is fishing, individuals can join and own fishing materials such as net, hook and or canoe. Uruan fisher men do their fishing both in the local and open seas in Cameroun areas, the fish caught are for commercial use and for consumption. They also engage in both small and large scale farming. The cash crops include; cassava, palm tree, rubber, kolanut etc.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Traditional media and modern channels of communication operate independently and also complement one another in the communication network that exists in rural society. Nevertheless, it is clear that the presence of modern media in all sections of the society both rural and urban has not diminished the role of traditional channel of communication. Rather they are increasingly used together to promote good health habits. These traditional media are not merely a form of art expression, but are a way of expressing knowledge in manner which is acceptable and functional.
In a typical rural area such as Uruan Local Government Area, there seems to be more reliance by the people on the traditional media of communication than the mass media in terms of information, education and mobilization. Knowing the importance the people place on the traditional media in the promotion of good health habits, one wonders the extent that the traditional media of communication have helped in the promotion of good health habits among Uruan people. The question is, to what extent does the traditional communication assisted in the promotion of good health habits in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study were to:
1. Identify the traditional media used by the people ofUruan;
2. ascertain the extent that the traditional media are used for the promotion of good health habits in Uruan;
3. determine the effectiveness of the traditional media in the promotion of good health habits in Uruan;
4. ascertain the hindrances to effective utilization of the traditional media for the promotion of good health habits in Uruan.
5. find out the perception of the people of Uruan on the use of the traditional media to promote good health habits.
1.4 Research Question
The study sought answers to the following questions.
1. What are the traditional media used in Uruan?
2. To what extent are the traditional media used in the promotion of good health habits in Uruan?
3. How effective are the traditional media in the promotion of good health habits in Uruan?
4. What are the hindrances to effective utilization of the traditional media in the promotion of good health habits in Uruan?
5. What are the perceptions of the people of Uruan on the use of the traditional media in the promotion of good health habits in Uruan?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The findings of the study would assist health worker and other agencies to select the right channels and make adequate budget that will enable health programmes and projects targeted at the rural area to record immeasurable, unquantifiable success. The findings would assist health workers to discover the perception of the rural people about the use of traditional media in communicating with them and the importance people attach to their language and culture and will enable the health workers to make effort to improve in their ways of their usage of traditional media.
The findings of the study could be generalized for other communities in Akwa Ibom State that share the same culture with Uruan. The findings would determine if government can further develop or invest in traditional media for the objective of promotion of good health habits. The findings will add to the existing literature on the subject.
1.6 Delimitation of the Study
This work is restricted to the study of traditional communication and promotion of good health habits. The study is limited to Uruan Local Government. The channels of communication studied were also limited to the indigenous media of the rural communities in Uruan.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
The remarkable problem encountered by the researcher in the course of this study, was the unwillingness of some respondents to fill the questionnaire, as the demanded for some pecuniary rewards. However, this was overcome through perseverance and persistent explanations to them that the work was for academic purposes only.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Drug abuse has since been recognized as global problem that bother every country in the world today. Different nations across the world including Nigerians abuse the use of drugs and large percentage of these users are our youth in various institution of learning. A drug has been define as any substances that when aborted into a living organism may modify one or more of its physiological functions (Croen, Woener, Harm and Reichgott 1997). The term is generally used in reference to a substance taken for therapeutic purpose and as abused substances (Kwamanga, Hiombo and Amukoye, 2003).
United states of America (USA) study further revealed that excessive illicit drug use rate among high school students and young adults increase with age with a prevalence rate 19.60/0 between the age of 18-20 years as indicated in Kwananga, etal (2003). A quotation from the (substance Abuse and mental Health service Administration (SAMHSA) 1997 in the USA.
According to the United Nation Officer on Drugs and Crime (UNODC-Wito,2005 world Drug Report, 2005), some 200million people or 50/0 of the total world’s population age between 1.5 and 64 years have used drugs.
The report further says that no nation has been immune to the devastating effects of the drug abuse. The officer of the national agency for the campaign against drug abuse (NACACA, 2004B) commissioned the first ever national baseline survey on the abuse of alcohol and other drugs in Kenya in 2001. The study targeted Kenyan youth aged between 10-24 years. The report which was released in 2002 revealed that substances abuse, both illicit and licit was forming a culture amongst Kenyan youth. Drug abuse among the youth especially in secondary schools has endangered their lives and this has caused a lot concern as the vice indeed has been identified as major causes of problems experienced in secondary schools in Kenyan (Gikonyo, 2005). The United Nations international drug control programme (world drug report 2000) ranked Kenya among the four African nations notorious for either consumption or manufacture of narcotics in the world.
In Nigerian studies have consistently shown that there is considerable prevalence of drugs and substances use, with varying prevalence rate found for both overall and specific drugs and substances abuse (Abdulkarim, Mokuolu and Adeniyi, 2005). According to Adelekan,Makanjuola, Nelom, fayeye and Amusan (2005) student may start using illegal drugs because the drugs are available from their schools. School related factors can also influence students to drug use (Ngesuetal, 2008) how the school administration manages student affairs may led to drug abuse. Prevalence of drug use and abuse are therefore major public health problem in the young adults, especially among the secondary school students.
Previous studies show that more than a fifth (22.7%) of primary school children takes alcohol, and also a figure that rises to more than three-quates (68%) of students at the university or other tertiary learning institution in Kenya take alcohol (siririgi and waihenaya 2001);ngesuetal (2008) Otieno and Offulla (2009). Therefore, a large number of students across all age groups have been exposed to alcohol, tobacco, miraa, glues sniffing, marijuana and even hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH
Most media campaigns focused on college, students drinking which have been campus based, using a mix of posters, flyers, electronic mail messages and college newspaper advertisements. More recently, a few regional, state and national media campaigns have begun to address this issue as well.
Therefore, this study is out to make a study on three selected newspaper on their coverage against drug abuse.
THE VIOCE NEWSPAPER
The Benue printing and publishing corporation publisher of the voice and Sunday voice newspaper emerged from the defined Benue –plateau printing and publishing corporation and the government printing department.
The Benue state executive council had its conclusion dabet march 3,1977 approved the establishment of the corporation, the establishment was made by the amendment of the Benue plateau printing and publishing corporation edict no 6 of 1972 to the Benue state edict no 1 of 1976.
The responsibility of corporation was to operate news and feature service to encourage good administration, effective promotion and commitment to the interest of Benue people to defend the state its government and its indigenes scurrilous attack from any quarter.
To give publicity to and encourage the art and industries of the state to serve as a forum for a meeting of the mind and exchange of ideas between government and the people, finally to uphold the secularity of the entire nation, the industry engages in the publication of Sunday voice, weekend express, and voice sport apart from the daily edition of the voice and commercial jobs being carry out, the page of now the voice was increased from eight to sixteen and column from four-six while the Sunday voice weekend express and voice sport all published weekly maintain the same pages and column respectively.
At the time of the research the industry publishes only the voice and Sunday voice edition, other are off the newsstand plans were put in place as early as AUGUST 1,1985 to change the status of the corporation to thus of a limited liability company, in 1992 the REV Fr MOSES ADASU administration actualized this dream, however the company never assumed that status and march 14, 1992the company was closed down because the operation of the company was at a loss, staff were retrenched in the process while other were on compulsory leave and yet other willingly resigned their appointment ironically, the edition of the voice newspaper was of the newsstand in march 1995 and reappeared in December, 1996 the daily edition is now published on Wednesday and Friday –weekly while the Sunday voice is published on Sunday the voice have super lithographic until, modern computer section an equipped art studies web and modern printing machine with colour facilities it has also edition and department , which serve as nerve center of the industry or organization other include administration commercial, technical and financial .
Staff strength of the organization is not static at contain period ,they had on heir pay roll 120 staff at other 100.
THE PAVILION NEWSPAPER.
The pavilion newspaper is a privately owned newspaper industry it made its debit in February 1997 having two directors and nine staff with a staff of strength of nine the aimed and objectives of the company is to promote developmental, marketing and production .
The pavilion newspaper is published forth nighty in 16pages and serve column respectively with about 1,00 copies forth nighty, Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa states are the intended target audience of the young newspaper distribution of the newspaper is done through commercial vehicles it has three freelances and no outsider on its edition board.
The company is currently carrying its printing jobs which include commercial jobs on contract basis to private printer this is to say that the company is yet to acquire its own printing machine it has.
THE TIGONS NEWSPAPER
The Tigons newspaper was conceived and established in 1994 with its first edition on the newsstand on the 25th November 1996, the aim of the newspaper are to publish textbook, poster handbill, post card, gathering and dissemination of news particularly on people of middle best of Nigeria
The newspaper is funded through the solar of product loans and personal saving they are 16 staff all in editorial with each performing assigned function there are three major department including administration, marketing and editorial
As a private newspaper industry, the autonomous power is conferred and enjoyed by the management, they Tigons newspaper is published forth nighty with its first edition in 2 pages in magazine size and subsequent copies on broad sheet size which is in four pages and two column a total of about 1,00 copies are published forth nighty and are sold in Benue Taraba and Nasarawa state including Abuja no outside on its editorial board and freelance come and go on vehicles the company has no vehicle to circulate and distribute its publication similarly production is connected out to private print in the town.
1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
The continuous abuse of drugs lead the researcher to embark on this study, so as to evaluate the extent at which the newspaper media is going about the incidence of drug abuse in the country, their coverage concerning drug abuse and drug addiction.The effects of drug abuse is detrimental not only to the individual but to the society as a whole. Yet this problem is on the increase especially among those in higher institution of learning. Which is a serious threat to our national sanctity. How well can print media as a vehicle for information dissemination be relied upon to perform its role in the society, to join hand in the battle against drug abuse?
Drug abuse menace has strangle youthful population reducing them to dummies zombies and drooling figure as well as wasting their lives at the age which they are most needed in the society (Ngesu, Ndiku and Masese dangers 2008) Despite the worldwide concern and education about the of drug abuse most of the citizen have limited knowledge of how dangerous the habit is (Ngesuetal 2008).
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The focal objective of this research work is to examine and evaluate the coverage of the newspaper against drug abuse and analysis its impact it has create.
1. To examine whether newspapers educate and enlighten the general public on drug abuse?
2. To know if newspapers awareness campaign on drug abuse have reduced the unlawful use of drug in our society?
3. To know the extent at which the media – newspaper have gone to, in educating and their coverage on drug abuse?
4. To know if newspapers contribute to drug abuse through advertisement and alcohol promo or not
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study has important contribution to make in the education of drug abuse among our youths and society in general.
The government and other agencies of education will find this study useful in directing their efforts towards the identified factors with the view of controlling drug abuse among the people of our nation. It will help schools; guidance counselors to identify cases of drug abuse, the associated problem and treatment to be applied.
Government through the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) will benefit from the study to know the harmful effect of media drama showing lots of drinking and alcoholic programme, advert and marking on print media to the society.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION
The researcher formed some research question which the research work will answer and address in the course of this study.
1. Do the newspaper educate and enlighten the general public on drug abuse?
2. Has mass media awareness campaign on drug abuse reduced the unlawful use of drug in society?
3. Does newspaper promote drug abuse through advertisement and alcohol promo?
4. Does newspaper educate and enlighten the general public on the bad effects of drug abuse?
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
