ABSTRACT

The major focus of this study is to find out how the audience perceives the radio programme

A Cece Su (which means Let’s Save Them in the Hausa language) as a tool for creating

awareness of girl-child developmental issues. The survey method was adopted for the study.

A questionnaire containing multiple-choice and written-response questions was administered

to three hundred (300) respondents from three randomly selected local government areas of

Kaduna state in Northwest Nigeria. Data obtained from copies of the returned questionnaires

were analysed using simple percentages and chi-square-based statistics. Analyses reveal that

majority of respondents do not see the selected radio broadcast programme as sufficient on its

own (in its present form) to bring about increased awareness on issues concerning the girlchild,

her education and development. Particular important are concerns by many respondents

in their written responses on how broadcast messages could help feed the girl-child and hence

their recommendations for functional education that translates to income generation to be a

part of the broadcast. Their recommendations are consistent with the Social Responsibility

model of the press. Furthermore, chi-square analyses of the results at the 5% level of

significance showed some statistically important demographic differences that could inform

policy in favour of the girl-child. Particularly, statistically significant (p<0.001) and strong

(Cramer’s V parameter 0.52) differences were found for radio access in favour of the male

and for opinions on equal gender opportunities and educational level (p<0.001 and Cramer’s

V of 0.47), with educated respondents showing a bias for equal opportunities. The former

could inform a radio drive to provide radios for females while the latter indicates a bias that is

consistent with the interaction and social integration aspects of the Uses and Gratification

model (one of the audience perception theories).

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study.

Population Action International (PAI) (2012) established that population growth is occurring

more rapidly in Africa, and also that the continent is lagging behind in female school enrolment.

Northern Nigeria is worse hit by this problem; in particular female literacy is much

lower in Nigeria than in countries like South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon and Ghana. The gender

ratio of population in Northern Nigeria and the gender enrolment ratio indicates a disproportionate

female representation in schools these statistics coupled with the widely held

notion that female child survival rates are generally higher than that for the male child

(Awogbade, 1990a), gives more urgency to the cause of female child education.

The legally defined rights of the female child are fully articulated in the Convention on the

Rights of the Child (CRC) (Hodges, 2001), and the Convention on the Elimination of all

forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (Hodges, 2001), which emphasize the

need for urgent intervention by all stakeholders.

The role of mass communicators for creating awareness on the need to bring and keep the

female child in school, so that she can get at least a functional education, cannot be overemphasized.

This is believed to be invaluable in helping to achieve the education for all (EFA)

goals that seek to among other things achieve gender equality in education by 2015 (Hodges,

2001).

The radio is considered to be one of the most powerful information dissemination medium

available to the mass communicator. It is considered to be one of the most effective for de2

velopment communication purposes especially in the rural areas (Ojebode & Adegbola,

2007). This is because radio waves are easily accessible and the radio is believed to be the

cheapest technology in terms of first and maintenance costs.

Daniel Lerner cited in Seers (1997) in his book The Passing of Traditional Society which

was published in 1958 wrote what is still considered today as one of the most rational arguments

for modernization. Along with other scholars like McAnany and Jamison (1987), Lerner

viewed mass media, especially radio as the means by which people of the Third World

could be influenced. His ideas had several critics who viewed his position as ethnocentric and

a ploy by the West to force capitalism on disempowered people of the Third World countries.

This study therefore seeks to examine the role of the radio broadcast programme A Cece Su

as a tool for creating awareness on developmental issues pertaining to girl child education in

Northern Nigeria. This is because development communication scholars believe that several

aspects of national development revolve around proper and adequate use of relevant radio

broadcast messages (McAnany & Jamison, 1987).

An important consideration here is how the audience perceive and are influenced by the radio

messages. It would be important to know what they use the messages for in light of the Uses

and Gratification model (a subset of Audience Theory) (Lull, 1990) or if they had a preferred,

oppositional or negotiated disposition to the broadcast messages as another Audience Theory,

the Reception Model suggests (Hall, 1980).

Radio is the chosen medium because it is relatively cheap and available, there is also an adequate

radio broadcasting infrastructure in Nigeria which has existed since the 1940’s (Umar

1997) Also, and most importantly, the Northern audience is considered to be essentially a

listening audience (Yusuf, 2003)

As a rural- oriented medium, the radio is believed to have a multiplier effect as A tells B what

he heard on radio and so on. This is especially true of rural radio which increases the capacity

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for knowledge sharing and potentially the rate of development through community involvement.

Mass Communication and Development scholars like Akinfeleye (2008) and Quebral (1973)

are of the opinion that, the mass media (in this case radio) constitute both “cause” and “effect”

of development where “cause” is the mass media programmes in terms of broadcast

media messages and “effects” is the response to the stimuli of messages (Dominick, 2010). In

addition to these radio has some unique features which include portability, cheapness, universality

and selectivity (Dominick, 2010).

This study is therefore aimed at assessing the effect of radio on listeners’ awareness.

1.2 Statement of the Problem:

The mass Media particularly the radio is the most important medium for creating awareness

on so many issues such as education (Moemeka, 1981). Radio therefore is an indispensable

medium for rural development. Some of the obvious advantages of radio over other mediums

of information exchange are that it is portable, cheap, and accessible and the signals can be

transmitted over a long distance. In this instance therefore, development experts in the field

of education are beginning to realize this advantages and are beginning to utilize them. Radio

is a useful medium especially in creating awareness about health. Health communication is

no longer kept at the back door but creating awareness on health related matters is gradually

gaining momentum. The populace no longer relies on information from health officials for

their wellbeing, but they seek information from the media on issues relating to their health.

People seek information on so many other issues such as education especially as it pertains to

the female gender. Also, the millennium development goal outlines the development of girlchild

education as a very important issue and it is on the front burner of all government policies

and objectives. Education is a catalyst for growth, but unfortunately, the girl-child educa4

tion in Northern Nigeria has been politicized and given lackadaisical attitude by the government.

The Dakar Framework on Girl-Child education agreed to among other things to eliminate

gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achieve gender equality

in education by 2015. This document sets out what is also known as the Education For All

(EFA) goals, with a focus on ensuring that girls get full and equal access to good quality

basic education. In view of this and with available statistics which show a wide gender biased

margin in primary and secondary school enrolment figures in Kaduna State (NDHS, 2008),

Nigeria which is a signatory to the EFA agreement did not achieve the 2005 and may almost

certainly fail to achieve the 2015 goal.

Figures made available by the Centre for Regional Integration and Development (CRID)

show that the North West has the lowest youth female literacy rates of 48.3% compared to

that of the South West and South East (Yusuf, 2010).

The radio is the most popular medium of mass communication in Africa, and at least one set

is found in every household irrespective of how remote it is (Best, 1997). The radio is therefore

the medium of choice in campaigns that seek to create, promote and sustain awareness. It

is not known if the radio has been a useful tool in creating awareness on girl-child education

in Kaduna State. This study therefore seeks to establish if the Hausa radio programme “A

Cece Su” has been able to significantly improve awareness on girl child education or not.

1.3 The Research Questions

The research questions are therefore as follows:

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1) To what extent does the target audience listen to the Hausa radio programme “A

Cece Su” on KSMC (Kaduna State Media Corporation) Kaduna?

2) In what ways has the Hausa radio programme A Cece Su helped to improve the extent

of awareness creation on girl-child education in Kaduna State?

3) In what ways can the programme be improved upon in order to impact girl-child

education in Kaduna state?

4) What are the opinions of the respondents as to the best options for improvement of

the programme on girl-child education in Kaduna state?

5) What are the opinions of respondents on the best options for improvement of enrolment

and retention rates for the girl-child in Kaduna State?

6) Are there any demographic (e.g. gender and level of formal education) differences

in the opinions of the respondents?

1.4 The Objectives of the Study

1) The overall aim of the study is to find out the role of the radio programme A Cece

Su in girl- child education and it is guided by the following objectives: Determine

the frequency of listening to the programme A Cece Su by the specific audience.

2) Determine if the messages from A Cece Su have been useful for creating awareness

on girl-child education and related developmental issues in Kaduna State.

3) Determine if there are significant demographic differences in the opinions of the

respondents about girl-child education in Kaduna State.

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4) Proffer the best options for improving awareness of girl-child education issues in

Kaduna Proffer options for improving enrolment and retention rates for the girlchild

in Kaduna State.

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study’s significance lies in the fact that it will provide invaluable data for administrators

of education to plan for the girl-child education especially in areas such as Northern Nigeria

where there is dearth of information on media and girl-child education. Perhaps, programme

planners in media houses often misconstrue the fact that their programmes have a wide reach

and acceptance, but unfortunately the reverse is the case. Therefore, this study will provide a

fish eye view of the problems affecting some programmes in the radio station under study.

This will inarguably assist them to plan their programmes better. Besides, this kind of study

has rarely being done in Kaduna state especially as it concerns the state itself. Therefore,

studying it will provide a fish eye view of the lacuna that exists in the study of this nature

such as the media and girl-child education.

Also, this study is rights-based in the sense that it tries to assess the situation of the girl-child

in Kaduna State North-West Nigeria as it concerns her education especially when compared

with her counterparts in the Southern parts of the country. This assessment is based on the

legally defined rights of the girl-child as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the

Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against

Women (CEDAW) (Hodges, 2001). These rights include equal access to nutrition, education

and employment (Hodges, 2001). All these resolutions were adopted by the United Nations

General Assembly in 1989 and 1979 respectively; these were reinforced by the African Charter

on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopted by the Organization of African Unity

(OAU) (now African Union or AU for short) in 1990 (Hodges, 2001).

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In addition certain specialized conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO)

relating to child labour were also approved most importantly Nigeria ratified CEDAW in

1985 and CRC in 1991 (Hodges, 2001).

The study therefore derives its significance from the fact that it aims to find out how relevant

the radio is (specifically the radio programme A Cece Su) in the creation of awareness on the

need to educate the girl-child programme. Increased awareness on this developmental problem

is potentially an avenue to help reduce the gap in gender enrolment ratios, which is one

of the EFA goals set during the Dakar summit in 2000. Communication scholars like Ebo

(1997); Soola (2002) agree that the mass media can make significant contributions

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