Abstract

The motivation for Gun violence in Nigeria include ethno-religious rivalry, criminal activity and agitation for grazing land amongst many other reasons. Radio is a predominant source of news and information. Therefore, public enlightenment on the immediate and collateral impacts of gun violence could be propagated through the radio. The study was to assess the prevalence of radio listening, associated correlates and potential for use of radio as a resource to improve knowledge on gun violence and to propose effective ways of violence prevention in Nigerian youths. A radio series ‘Bringing peace to the people’ on Nigeria Info 95.1 FM Abuja-Nigeria was re-launched in November 2017. Prior to the start of the radio show a pre-survey was done of which 237 persons randomly selected from areas in Abuja, spread across the rural settings (Gwagwalada, Kuje, Suleja and Masaka) and urban settings (Wuse Market, Garki Market, Wuse 2, Nyanya, Karu and Gwarimpa) were sampled.

Respondents sampled were 65% (154/237) males and 35% females, with an average age of 30 years (SD: 6.8). Of these, 61% resided in urban areas and 39% in rural areas. Nearly 51% listen to the radio daily, 28% listen once weekly, 11% listen less than once a week and 11% never listened. On average, daily radio listeners were more likely to also read newspapers and watch TV daily despite being of similar age, gender, socioeconomic status; and having similar knowledge, experiences and attitudes to gun violence compared to those who listen to radio less frequently.

Radio could serve as a useful resource to improve knowledge on gun violence. Despite social media clutter, there still exist high radio listening habit among the youth population, hence radio still provides a cost effective, round-the-clock and accessible medium for disseminating educational campaigns to mitigate gun violence.