Application of New Media in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria

The role of new media in conflict prevention, resolution and escalation is now a global concern to both peace and conflict scholars and public policy makers. The kind of information the media disseminate is critical to sustaining peace and harmony in society and vice versa. New media has a long history. The media have suffered deprivation in the hands of both military and civilian regimes. However, this has not in anywhere diminished the growth of the media in all its ramifications. Traditional media genre like newspaper, radio and television has received much recognition and seminal attention, but social or new media such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogging and other Internet based media are becoming more popular medium of information dissemination, especially in conflict situations across the country. Within this context, this paper examines the application of new media in peace buildings and conflict management in Nigeria. The paper utilizes, the descriptive research method whereby relevant literature, documents, and records were consulted and analyzed based on the existing literature. A content analysis of secondary data was done for the interpretation of the data. This allowed for the evaluation of existing knowledge for the purpose of relevance, consistency, replication and refutation. The paper argues that the role of the new media in peace building in Nigeria like most other conflict prone society is culpable of stoking conflicts and making reconciliation difficult for conflict parties. The paper concludes that the new media therefore must develop the capacity to help in the reduction of violence in the society