CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Despite the fact that culture has all the trappings that are visible and identifiable with a particular group of people, and exists in every facet and fibre of every society, nature can be blamed for having entrusted culture to the people, as generations are born to meet various cultures while new ones emerge due to dynamism. Culture encompasses all human activities in all areas of life. Because culture is easily and readily transmitted from one human organism to another due to its symbolic character, Shoremi (2014) believes that culture began when man emerged as an articulate symbol-using primate. As a result, Shoremi believes that culture is symbolic, ongoing, cumulative, and progressive. Because culture is a people's holistic way of life, the media play an important role in ensuring that it is not only known, publicized, harnessed, understood, and preserved for future generations, but that it is also used to foster unity among communities or nations. Because they have the ability to penetrate people's homes and everyday lives anywhere in the world, the mass media has such a huge impact on culture.

Culture is a broad term that encompasses a people's way of life. According to Osho (2010), the term "cultural" is derived from the Latin word "colere," which means "to cultivate." Because it is such a broad phenomenon, different scholars have defined it in various ways. According to Osho (2010), Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckohn compiled a list of 164 cultural definitions, which has grown significantly over time. Scholars have provided some definitions, which are listed below. Culture is defined as the sum total of a society's members' shared and transmitted knowledge, attitudes, and habitual behavior patterns. Gelles and Levina (2011) define culture as how members of a society share certain fundamental ideas about how the world works, what matters in life, how to use technology, and what their artefacts and actions mean. Oke (2012) defines culture as a group of people's distinct way of life, or their entire design for living. It should be noted that it is dynamic, learned, acquired, transmitted, or diffused from one generation to the next through contacts or communication. As a result of the acceptance and adaptation of the modernist solution to underdevelopment, Nigerian culture appears to be fading. Many of today's social changes can be traced back to the media in some way. Electronic media, in particular, provide a global perspective that has allowed us to become involved in issues that were previously out of reach. The ability of the mass media to provide seemingly uninterrupted news has had a significant impact on community life, indigenous culture, and morals.

There is no such thing as a human society without culture and values, and Nigeria is no exception. One distinguishing feature of man that distinguishes him from other animals is that he is the only one who has culture and values. Davis (1949), cited by Mezieobi and Saliu (2012), summed up man's cultural inclusiveness or uniqueness best when he said, "If there is any single factor explaining man's uniqueness, it is this: he and he alone has culture." Values, along with language, norms (laws, folkways, and mores), and beliefs, are one of the four major components of culture. Despite this revelation, values are the least considered in terms of receiving the attention they deserve, despite the fact that they guide all of man's actions and decisions, which are not value-free in any way (Mezieobi & Saliu, 2012). They went on to say that a well-articulated value education curriculum becomes very desirable in order to ensure that we start teaching children about values in their formative years and act as a catalyst for their value education. This emphasizes the importance of the media in bringing African cultural values to a global audience and, as a result, increasing tourism potential, creating jobs, reducing social vices, and educating and entertaining people. People without a history are referred to as "no people." As a result, a people's history represents their journey on Earth—where they came from and where they are going. As men progress through the ages, science and technology begin to influence their means of gathering and disseminating information, from the traditional use of gongs, town criers, colors, anon, and so on, to modern-day television, radio, magazines, and newspapers, which now include internet: world wide web (www), social media: face book, and so on. In African tradition, there are certain fundamental values that promote unity, integration, and genuine development. Every society has a set of cultural values that encompasses all aspects of human endeavor. Any society's guiding principles are found in these values. There has been agitation and clamour in Africa over the years for invigorating and maintaining durable and lasting positive values. It is undeniable that the arrival of colonialism and imperialism nearly resulted in the dethronement of African culture and values (Macaulay, 2013). “Of all the crimes of colonialism, there is none worse than the attempt to make us believe that we have no indigenous culture of our own, or that what we do have is worthless or something of which we should be ashamed, instead of being a source of pride,” said former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere (in Akinpelu, 2013). However, the purpose of this research is to look into the impact that the media has had on raising awareness of indigenous cultural practices among the Apo people in Abuja.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Information is disseminated to the public by the media. It can have a positive or negative impact, but the media must meet certain criteria in order to carry out its duties effectively and successfully. The inability of the media to break down barriers of illiteracy, as well as its inability to bring about change and reshape people’s lifestyles, is issues that the researcher would like to investigate. Apo culture must be preserved by Apo indigenes and neighbours in this technological age. Because every research study aims to solve a problem, the goal of this study is to find out how media propagate culture in the Apo community, as well as how media propagation of culture affects Apo people.

The mass media has served and continues to serve as a means of disseminating and propagating information around the world through printed and non-printed channels such as television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. These channels broadcast a great deal of information to the general public. Because of civilization, the majority of information in the media, particularly broadcast media, is from the Western world. This information is broadcast without regard for the impact it will have on the masses. The type of information that people watch and hear can easily change the culture of a group of people. In Nigerian history, the Apo community's culture and tradition is one of the most unique and respected.

There have been allegations that media programmers project bizarre images and violence that erode Nigerian cultural values. As a result, it is necessary to assess how the media presents programs that reflect Nigerian culture and traditional heritage in order to propose solutions for improved performance. As a result, the study sought to determine the role of the media in promoting cultural values, heritage, and cultural integrity among Apo community residents in Abuja.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this study was to investigate the role of media in promoting cultural integrity among residents in Apo community, Abuja. Specifically, this study is aimed at

1.      Identifying the efforts being made by local media to promote indigenous cultural integrity in Apo community, Abuja

2.      Assess the popular culture adopted in Apo community, Abuja

3.      To examine the functions of media in promoting Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community

4.      To ascertain the relevance of media in promoting Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community

5.      To find out which media have been promoting Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community.

6.      To find out the extent how media can promote Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.      What are the efforts being made by local media to promote indigenous cultural integrity in Apo community, Abuja?

2.      What is the popular culture adopted in Apo community, Abuja?

3.      What are the functions of media in promoting Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community?

4.      What is the relevance of media in promoting Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community?

5.      Which media have been promoting Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community?

6.      To what extent can media promote Nigerian Culture and that of Apo community?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no role of media in the promotion of cultural integrity among residents of Apo community, Abuja.

H1: There is a role of media in the promotion of cultural integrity among residents of Apo community, Abuja.

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no significant relationship between media role and promotion of cultural integrity among residents of Apo community, Abuja

H1: There is a significant relationship between media role and promotion of cultural integrity among residents of Apo community, Abuja.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research will help in propagating a domestication of the African/Nigerian culture characterized with good neighbourliness, respect for elders, virtuousness, communal living and collectivism.  It will help remove the idea of unhealthily imitating western cultures or ways of life in Nigeria. The research will help improve media contextualization in protecting the culture of a people. From this result of the study, which is to identify the role played by media in promoting cultural integrity in Nigeria especially in Apo community it will to help in determining whether the media has any effect on Apo people of Abuja. It will be of immense benefit to the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism in the identification development and marketing of diverse cultural potentials which will help in promoting culture. The journalist will also benefit from promoting culture and it will also act as material for student. This documentation will also help the people of Apo community in knowing what lapses that should be covered in regard to their cultural heritage. Finally, this study will be useful to intending researchers as it will act as reference to guide others.

1.7    SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

The study is based on the role of media in promoting cultural integrity among residents in Apo community, Abuja.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Culture: This is the way people live and coordinate their lives as individuals and as members of a society. They include language, religion, dress code etc.

Mass Media: Obasanjo and Babogunje (2012) refer to mass media as "an agency, modem or traditional that operates for the articulation and dissemination of ideas, and information generally with intent to influence or control an audience or institutions that constitute power and authority". Mass media are those channels or vehicles through which information, education, entertainment or general people- oriented messages are conveyed to the masses.

Media: Refers to various channels of communication through which information (messages) are conveyed to audiences. They are the vehicles which transmit messages from the sender (encoder) to the receiver (decoder). Different professionals in the field of communication have proffered various definitions of media. Nwosu (1990) refers to traditional rural communication media as gongs, town criers, drums, market and village for rituals and festivals.

Cultural Value: This is a value within the culture of a particular people.

Cultural Integrity: Is the practice of respecting and honouring the ownership of materials, traditions, and knowledge’s that originate from a particular culture or community.