Divided by Borders, United by Crisis: Media Narratives, Historical Memory and the Communication Ecology of Insurgency in the Former British Cameroons Borderlands

Abstract

This study investigated how media narratives, historical memory and the communication ecology of the former British Cameroons borderlands explain the persistence of insurgency across historically connected territories in Nigeria and Cameroon. Anchored on Framing Theory (Goffman, 1974) and Collective Memory Theory (Halbwachs, 1992), the study adopted a qualitative historical and documentary research design. Data were generated from 65 documentary sources, comprising 9 colonial and United Nations archival documents, 18 peer reviewed journal articles, 12 scholarly books, 10 reports of international organisations, 8 policy documents and 8 newspaper/media publications. Using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis, the documents were inductively and deductively coded into analytical themes. Findings revealed that historical memory (83.1%) remained the dominant communicative resource shaping borderland identity and media narratives; communication ecology (84.6%) emerged as the principal explanatory framework linking insurgency with transnational social networks and porous borders; while media narratives, historical grievances and colonial legacies collectively explained the persistence of parallel insurgencies across the former British Cameroons. The study concludes that enduring peace in the conflict affected communities of northwestern and southwestern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria requires historically informed communication, cross border collaboration and community centred peacebuilding that transcend inherited political boundaries. It recommends a joint Nigeria Cameroon borderland communication framework, the integration of indigenous communication systems into regional security architecture, and sustained African regional support for historical memory, dialogue and borderland communication initiatives as pathways to lasting peace.