Elections and Social Media in Nigeria
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this research is to investigate the rapidly increasing momentum of prominence social media is gaining in the political sector, which is aimed at exposing its contributions to the sector using the analysis of the roles it played in the 28th March 2015 Presidential elections in Nigeria.
Other objectives of the study will include;
- To appraise the political parties of PDP and APC’s incorporation of social media in their pre-2015 presidential election campaigns.
- To expose if social media in any way contributed to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s winning of the election and Dr. Goodluck E. Jonathan’s loss.
- To investigate if social media in any way acted as a check on electoral malpractices during the 2015 presidential elections.
- To evaluate whether the implementation of social media in the political sector especially elections has any effects on the political relevance of the mass media.
- To evaluate the reliance on social media as an instrument of political campaigns.
- To examine the extent to which social media supporters of a candidate or party exercise the same support on Election Day by coming out to vote.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
The gradual switch from traditional media to social media use in mobilizing and campaigning to voters by politicians is a reality that has come to stay in today’s modern world, and if taken advantage of can open up the possibility for politicians to structure their campaigns to address voters with different beliefs on a more personal level and consequently influence voter’s attitude and behaviour offline. As social media use for political activities gradually increases in popularity and scope, it is of utmost importance to know if there are changes in voter attitudes and behaviour based on online information and interaction. It is also of necessity to investigate the influence of various political campaign sites and other social media sites over voters’ political and cultural perceptions and the way that they communicate and act afterwards.
It is a known fact that social media has significantly altered the accessibility and availability of information on political parties and candidates in recent times. Instead of gathering basic knowledge from news stories and websites, users of social media gather information, and at times, opinions, using interactive sites where communication is continuous between voters and politicians and where information flows directly from politicians’ themselves to voters’ via Facebook and Twitter pages etc. It therefore remains a fact that most voters are likely to change their minds, beliefs and behaviors based on information they get from these sites.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This research study is situated within the limit of Media Systems Dependency Theory
Media Systems Dependency Theory
Considering the impact of social media on the public and the public’s relationship with social media, it becomes clear that social media have become a part of the way we talk, socialize and spend our time; social media has begun to take precedence over other communication and traditional media outlets due to its heightened accessibility and usability. Hence, dependence on social media to provide individuals with rewarding interactions has become greater over the years. This makes social media a particularly effective communication tool, enabling succinct communication with individuals who have already expressed an interest. More importantly it enables public figures “to build deeper relationships” with the public on a more personal level (Comm, 2009) with clients, partners and individuals, creating an easy, far-reaching campaign tactic for modern day politicians.
Media system dependency theory (MSD), developed by Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin Defleur in 1976 is a theory grounded in classical sociological literature which posits that media and their audiences should be studied in the context of larger social systems (Wikipedia.com, 2015). MSD ties together the interrelations of broad social systems, mass media, and the individual into a comprehensive explanation of media effects. According to Baran and Davis, the media systems dependency theory posits that “the more an individual depends on having needs gratified by media use, the more important the media’s role in the person’s life, and therefore the more influence on his or her attitude and behaviour” (Baran & Davis, 2006).
This dependency on media emerges from three major relationships (Andreadis & Chadjipadelis, 2005)
- Relationship between society and the media; in this relationship, media access and availability are regarded as the preceding factor to an individual’s experience with the media. The kind of media dependence on societal systems widely varies and cuts across political, economic, and cultural strata.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The methodologies used in this research work are, in the main, doctrinal or library research in nature. The doctrinal method of the research, which is mainly theory-based, would enable this writer to consult, refer to, review, study and fill the gaps in the works of authors, contained in textbooks, journals, and the internet. The data collected through library research in which the researcher reads, writes and gathers pertinent information related to the topic of this project. After having information from relate d documents such as international legal instrument, books, scientific journals, and others regarding the main problem as the object of this research, then the researcher tries to make conclusion.
Population of study
The target population for this study comprised of everyone eligible to participate in election in Nigeria.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA.
The 2011 Nigerian general elections, has been documented as the first elections in Nigeria in which the social media played a significant part in the electoral battle of the contestants (Kperogi, 2012). However, nothing demonstrates the power of the social media better than the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria. Many movements sprang up in the social and online media, some independent some put together by politicians to pursue their political ambition and election into office.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
With advances in technology, the smartphone has become an indispensable everyday requirement for almost everybody, and it has had a tremendous effect on the way we receive, process and disseminates information. The pervasive use of social media and smartphones in Nigerian obviously influenced the campaign strategies of the gladiators of the 2015 presidential election, in many cases citizens who would ordinarily not show interest in electioneering and electioneering campaigns were empowered to do so via social media and the availability of cheap smartphone and broadband connectivity. Although social media and smartphones have their limitations evident suggests that they have become an indispensable tool in the hands of Nigerian citizens who have become empowered more than ever before to partake in the national debate from an informed perspective in the privacy of their homes. This is evident from the 2015 Nigerian presidential election which was won by the opposition political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). Irrespective of this awesome power of the social media to mold public opinion and promote democratic participation, the platform has also come under a lot of flak for being the purveyor of misinformation and fake news. Consequently, we can infer that the social media is a double edged sword. On the one hand it has aided democratic participation, but on the other hand, it is capable of becoming an anti-democratic force through the easy spread of misinformation and fake news, which can lead to anarchy. This is a delicate balance which must be carefully handled through legislation, ethics, and individual responsibility.
To foster individual rights in the digital age, the Nigerian government should pass into law the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill, which has already passed second reading in the House of Representatives as at June 2017. Passage of this bill is significant because it assures citizens’ rights to freely express themselves through online platforms and the social media in a responsible manner. Assent to the bill would give a boost to citizens’ freedom of expression as contained in section 39 of the Nigerian 1999 constitution. This would be of benefit to active citizens’ participation in the democratic process.
However, the rising specter of misinformation and fake news on social media is a cause for concern. There should be a concerted effort to fight the menace. To this end, social media users should take responsibility for what they post or share. A social media user must go through the pain of verification and vetting stories before clicking the share button. They should also pay attention to the biases of online sites and not accept everything they see as the truth because it aligns with their views and biases. Furthermore, mainstream journalism should rise to the challenges posed by the social media by paying more premium to quality and investigative journalism. The mainstream media should be the guardian of fact in a post-truth era.
RECOMMENDATION
This study makes the following recommendations:
- Campaigns about the electoral process should be a continuous one on the social media without posting lies. This will get the electorate greatly acquainted with all the requirements and process that make one to be eligible. Ones empowered they can freely exercise their mandate with utmost ease.
- Government agencies like the National Orientation Agency, NOA and other stakeholders should avoid overreliance on the mass media and make use of social media to rekindle the confidence of the citizens. Interpersonal communication which establishes direct relationship with electorate should be used to complement mass media messages. This is where civil society can play a pivotal role by exhibiting drama to rural communities that need greater awareness.
- With intensive empowerment, community voting should be replaced with individual voting so as not to disenfranchise voters. Community voting obviously promotes god fatherism. Absence of this strengthens and affirms our democracy as electorate feel fulfilled they freely casted their votes to those they wanted as against being manipulated by Chiefs and god fathers.
- Voters should realize that whoever they vote will impact on their lives in future. Therefore, they should continue with the gesture of wisely casting their votes free from ethnic, religious and social ties as well as other trivial considerations with retrogressive tendency.
References
- 2015 elections: APC hires foreign consultant. (2014, Feb. 18,) Vanguard News. Retrieved from, https://www.vanguardngr.com › News.
- 2015 Elections: Buhari leads Jonathan in poll organised by presidential aid. (2014, Oct. 18). Retrieved from, www.premiumtimesng.com
- 2015 Presidential Election: Buhari floors Jonathan in online opinion polls with a large margin. (2015, Feb, 5). Retrieved from, www.nigerianeye.com
- Akinwotu.E. (2015). A hashtag’s unintended consequences in Nigeria. (2015, April, 17). Retrieved from, Rueters.com.
- Ebhota, E. (2015). How social media shaped 2015 election campaigns. (2015, March, 29). Retrieved from, www.dailytrust.com.ng.
- Emmanuel, O. (2012).10 things “collective children of anger” should know about Reuben Abati. (2012, July, 15).Retrieved from, www.premiumtimesng.com.
- Esterby et al (2008). Management Research: an introduction. London: Sage.
- Harper, R.A (2010). The social media revolution: exploring the impact on journalism and news media organizations. Inquiries Journal; Vol. 2 No. 03 | Pg. 1/4)).
- Hiring of American firm: APC is anti-Nigeria, PDP says Metuh. (2014, Feb. 19). Retrieved from, www.premiumtimesng.com.
- Kperogi, F. (2012). The evolution and challenges of online journalism in Nigeria.In The Handbook of Global Online Journalism. Eugenia Siapera and Andreas Veglis, (Eds). 445-461. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
