The Impact of Social Media on National Security: Nigeria’s Perspective
Chapter One
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to examine the impact of social media on national security from the standpoint of Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives of this study are:
- To identify the various types of social media that Nigerians are exposed to.
- To examine the positive impacts of social media on national security.
- To examine how social media has impacted on national security negatively
- To proffer ways of improving social media for effective national security management in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literatures that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
Precisely, the chapter will only consider the Conceptual Frameworks and theoretical Framework.
Social Media and Social Networking
Social media refers to a group of technologies linked together for rapid information sharing through highly accessible online platforms. The social media platforms that are widely used include blogs, Facebook, Instagram, my space, eBay reputation, Flickr, YouTube, Google maps, Amazon, user reviews, and Twitter. The various social media platforms allow millions of individuals to create online profiles and share personal information with vast networks of friends and, often, unknown numbers of strangers.
Today, unlike the past, there has been a sustained increase in social networking. For instance, currently, Facebook has over 600 million active subscribers with this number expected to increases further while Twitter has over 200 million users globally16. Emergence of social media has highly transformed broadcast media monologues into manifold community dialogues, thereby changing the information producer –consumer model into a network whereby each user has the opportunity and capacity to produce and consume internet content.
Social media platforms have well known characteristics. For instance, they enable the users to communicate with each other through various contents such as videos, photos, images, texts and sounds among others. They also help to build and support emerging networks in various fields; whether professionally, family, socially, culturally, religious or politically. Moreover,the social identity of individuals is developed and defined by the previously mentioned platforms.
They help to develop and define individuals‟ social identity17. As Montagnese18 argues, social media tools are found to have tremendously higher levels of interaction among its users as compared to traditional media tools which are considered to be having a one way communication flow.
Social media users are considered to be single entities that use media tools to communicate, share information and content, network, improve their personality as well as strengthen their social identity. People use social media platforms to satisfy various needs such as security needs, membership needs, appreciation/esteem needs, and self fulfilment needs. Social networking platforms enable people to pursue their interests, share ideas, and expand their knowledge in faster and better ways than ever before. For social interaction purposes, social media networking sites give users unlimited possibilities online to interact, share collaborate and to correspond to their hearts‟ content, restricted only by their privacy preferences or security concerns. As a result, social networking is slightly more useful for individuals as compared to organizations and state agencies which are subject to multiple preferences and often more strict security concerns.
Apart from using social media for strictly personal purpose, people can also use these networks for the inerests and purposes of the organised groups20. Therefore, while social media usage is highly associated with interaction and communication between an individual and the information medium, organized groups including public agencies, states, movements, companies, and terrorist groups are active users of social media networks too.
Accessing the SM and Nigerian Security Challenges A Historical Overview
The concept of security is no doubt a complex phenomenon. This is the case because the issue of security continues to pose a serious challenge to nations and the global community at large. Without a doubt, issues bordering on maintaining or tackling security challenges across the globe have taken centre stage in the international political system. To this end, policy-makers across the globe and decision-makers and leaders, particularly in Nigeria, have come to the realization that security remains an unequivocal policy challenge in governance. Apart from these, the dynamics of contemporary global security challenges, including terrorism, equally influence and inform the crescendos of security challenges in Nigeria today. Intrinsically, Nigeria, as a subsisting global entity, inherited some of her internal security challenges by virtue of this status (Ani and Onyebukwa, 2016). A security challenge, such as terrorism in Nigeria, which premised originally as a global phenomenon and was inherently alien to the country, is a handy example.
Since independence in 1960, the country has struggled to contend the concerns of serious ethno-political and religious challenges. The country had co-existed as a heterogeneous entity since independence, following the colonial amalgamation of 1914 (Adamu and Ochaeni, 2016). This colonial arrangement saw over 500 ethnic groups of people, with the largest including the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, who speak more than 1,500 dialects and practice divergent socio-cultural and religious beliefs as well as an estimated population 170 million people, faced with the challenge of peaceful cohabitation (ibid). To date, this scrappy arrangement precipitated an insidious lack of national identity and integration among Nigerians (Adamu and Ochaeni, 2016; Akwara et al., 2013; Ashley, 2007). Accordingly, each ethnic group remains preoccupied with how best not only to identify but express these traditional distinctiveness within Nigeria, which culminated into huge security challenges manifesting in various religious, ethnic and political conflicts across the nation for many years (Akwara et al., 2013).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Area of Study
Lagos, sometimes referred to as Lagos State to distinguish it from Lagos Metropolitan Area, is a state located in the southwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The smallest in area of Nigeria’s 36 states, with a population of over 15 million, Lagos State is considered the most economically important state of the Nigeria
This study is carried out in Lagos State and precisely channeled to individuals whose occupations is related Social Media and National Security Sector. Thus it is the area of the study.
Research Design
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the descriptive survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled.
Population of the study
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This research was carried out on the the impact of social media on national security: Nigeria’s perspective. This study is carried out in Lagos State and precisely channeled to individuals whose occupations is related Social Media and National Security Sector. Hence the all the population of individuals into social and national sector form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
DATA PRESENTATION
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings into the impact of social media on national security: Nigeria’s perspective. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was to examine the impact of social media on national security: Nigeria’s perspective. The study specifically was aimed at identifying the various types of social media that Nigerians are exposed to; To examine the positive impacts of social media on national security; To examine how social media has impacted on national security negatively; To proffer ways of improving social media for effective management of national security in Nigeria.
The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Using the purposive and simple random sampling, one hundred occupations relating to media and security, around Lagos State Nigeria. A sum of 100 responses were validated from the enrolled participants.
Conclusions
Based on the finding of this study, the following conclusions were made:
- The common forms of social media that Nigerians are exposed to are Facebook, Whatsapp, 2go and Twitter.
- the social media is a principal player in the area of national security in Nigeria. It can also be as an effective surveillance of the environment, conveying information on security issues in Nigeria, creating a highly interactive platform for discussing security challenges and unveiling areas of individuals and entities that may likely constitute a breach to national security.
- social media can have negative impact on national security. Since social media can be used to disseminate false information about the security issues in Nigeria and can be used to propagate internal conflicts and violence. It can also be used as an interactive forum against national security
Recommendations
Based on the responses obtained, the researcher proffers the following recommendations:
The government should always checkmate the activities in all the social networking sites in Nigeria.
Intelligence agencies and all the armed forces should endeavor to check the social media regularly for any updates that may affect national security
There should be a level of privacy and restrictions of activities in social media interactions in Nigeria.
REFERENCE
- Adamu, A., Ocheni, D. (2016), Ethnic politics and the challenges of national integration in Nigeria. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, 7(2), 1-20.
- Akov, E.T. (2017), The resource-conflict debate revisited: Untangling the case of farmer-herdsmen clashes in North central region of Nigeria. African Security Review, 26(3), 288-307.
- Akwara, A.F., Udaw, J.E., Onimawo, J. (2013), National identity, integration and Question: Implication for national security and stable democratic governance in Nigeria. International Journal of Public Administration and management Research, 2(1), 48-62.
- Ani, K.J., Onyebukwa, C.F. (2016), In: Ukase, P.I., Akubor, E.O., Onoja, A.I., editors. Nigerian Security Challenges and Recommendations for Sustainable National Development. Urbanization, Security and Development Issues in Nigeria, 1914-2014. Festschrift in Honour of Professor Enoch Oyedele. Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University Press Limited. p421-444.
- Ashley, J. (2007), Nigeria: A security overview. The Round Table, 96(392), 587-603.
- Badiora, A.I. (2015), Regional differences and developmental implications of security challenges in Nigeria. African Security Review, 24(1), 55-62.
- BBC News Online. (2014), Who are Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist Group? A BBC News Online Publication 24 November 2014. Available from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501. [Last retrieved on 2017 Oct].
