RADIO CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER AND HARDSHIP VIOLENT PROTEST AMONGST PORT HARCOURT YOUTHS: A STUDY OF NIGERIA INFO 92.3FM

Abstract

The study examines radio campaign against hunger and hardship violent protest amongst Port Harcourt Youths with a focus on Nigeria Info 92.3FM. The objectives of the study include to find out the causes of hunger and hardship violent protest amongst Port Harcourt youths, to ascertain the attendant effects of hunger and hardship violent protest amongst Port Harcourt youths on the people, to examine the communication strategies employed by Nigeria Info 92.3FM in the campaign against hunger and hardship violent protest amongst Port Harcourt youths, etc. The study employed Agenda-setting, public sphere and frustration aggressive theories to give the work a theoretical base. The descriptive survey research design was used for the study. Questionnaire was the instrument used for gathering relevant data for the study. The quota and purposive sampling techniques were used to divide Port Harcourt Youths into zones for easy accessibility to information. The population of Port Harcourt youths stand at 1,076,004 by projection while the Nigeria Info 92.3FM staff stands at 30. A sample size of 400 was randomly drawn using Taro Yamene’s formula as a guide. Data were presented and analyzed using the four point Likert Scale criterion mean. The findings of the study revealed that Hike in fuel price, transportation cost, electricity tariff, food stuff, bad governance, removal of fuel subsidy and poor representation triggered hunger and hardship violent protest amongst Port Harcourt youths. It was also indicated that the hardship and hunger violent protest amongst Port Harcourt youths caused untold hardship, unlawful arrest and detention, destruction of properties and poverty. Furthermore, the findings showed that Nigeria Info 92.3FM employed jingles, advocacy programmes, regular commentaries, public enlightenment and sponsored commercials to discourage youths into embarking on subsequent protest in Nigeria but to embrace dialogue, consultation and persuasion to press forward their demands. The study indicated that insecurity, poor funding, high handedness of proprietors of the radio stations and poor modern communication technology equipment affected Nigeria Info 92.3FM. It was concluded that radio campaign is a potent force and viable tool in changing the psychology of youths towards embracing peace, dialogue, and using persuasive communication to convince government and policy makers to come up with programmes and palliative measures to cushion the effect of economic hardship on the people. It was however recommended that governments at federal and state levels and private radio owners should fund and equip radio stations with modern communication technology that will help in the campaign against violent protest amongst youths in Nigeria in the future.