THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ELECTIONEERING CREDIBILITY

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: In 2015 general elections witnessed a remarkable use of social media as a political communication tool in Nigeria. Three major issues underline the tremendous use of social media tools during the 2015 elections. Firstly, the use of social media in Nigeria’s 2015 elections reflects a global trend towards “internet elections” or “e-electioneering” (Macnamara 2008). Around the world, rapidly expanding access to internet, increased availability of internet ready smart-phones and other communication devices, as well as the evolution of web-based new media – personal websites, social networking sites, blogs, e-newsletters, have redefined methods of political communication, leading to a significant shift towards the use of social media in the electoral process. Previously, network television and newspapers dominated coverage of electioneering and were the primary sites of election-related information. Today, the social media has become a major election information sharing platform globally. Because of its ease of use, speed, and reach, social media is revolutionizing the efficiency of election administration, coverage and reporting.

The second issue that underline the use of social media in Nigeria’s 2015 elections is the tendency of some Nigerian politicians to tap into the opportunities offered by the social media for on-line campaigning. During the 2015 general elections, many politicians, particularly the presidential aspirants, used social media tools to connect with voters and constituents. Facebook and Twitter appear to be the most widely used social media platforms by the politicians. For example, in December 2014, it was estimated that Goodluck Jonathan had nearly 600,000 fans on his Facebook page (Ekine 2010). Other presidential aspirants like Mohammedu Buhari, Ambrose Albert, Oluremi Sonaiya, all had Twitter and other social media accounts. Political parties like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and APC also maintained Facebook accounts. Social media offered politicians and their parties the opportunity to broadcast messages and recruit a huge number of volunteers to support their campaign.3 The third issue that underscore the use of social media in Nigeria’s 2011elections is the tendency of Nigerian civil society and the electorate to take up social media as a tool for improving the efficiency of election observation.

Prior to the conduct of the 2015 elections, elections in Nigeria have been largely flawed by vote rigging and other electoral malpractices. The 2007 and 2011 elections were particularly marked by dissatisfaction by candidates, voters and observers. The elections were trailed by complaints of irregularities such as disenfranchisement of prospective voters, snatching of ballot boxes from election officials and stuffing of the boxes with invalid ballot papers, as well as allegations of  collusion between election officials and politicians to alter election results and subvert popular mandate (Ibrahim and Ibeanu 2009). The flaws that characterized the conduct of the 20011 elections severely dented the integrity of elections in Nigeria’s, and triggered demands  for freer, fairer, and more transparent elections.

To address the flaws that marred previous elections in Nigeria, various organizations, institutions and individuals set up social media platforms that enabled the citizens to oversee the electoral process and report electoral malpractices to authorities through their mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices. Through social media platforms, overwhelming number of videos, photos, tweets and comments were shared.

In the words of  one analyst, “the widespread use of these real-time media severely limited electoral malpractices because we found that people were aware that they were on camera and this made them operate at their best behaviour” (Omokri 2011). Attahiru Jega, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also agrees that the use of social media during the 2015 elections “enhanced transparency in the electoral process and made INEC more accountable to the public in the conduct of elections” (cited in Amuchie 2012). The 2011 general elections offer a unique context and opportunity to examine the use of social media in elections, especially the usefulness and applicability of social media in the electoral environment. Although it seems obvious that social media contributed in no small measure to the success of the 2015 elections, it is pertinent to understand  specifically how particular stakeholders in the 2015 elections, like INEC, politicians/political parties, the  electorate, and CSOs, used the social media during the elections.  

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The role of social media in every society is often to educate, inform and enlighten. It is assumed that, where those roles are adequately carried out, elections are bound to be free and fair. However, in Nigeria, several elections have been married. The question is how the social media has mobilized the Nigerian populace. How come electoral processes have not been successful, is the social media system not commensurate to other media systems elsewhere? This and many others are questions that this study hopes to identify.

Arguably, the use of social media in politics is widespread and shows no sign of abating. Furthermore, there is ample research to show the importance of social medial in political movements. What is less studied is the use of social media in electioneering and democratic sustenance using the swot analytical strategy.

It is a statement of fact that social networking has become a very important tool for political mobilisation globally. It is gradually becoming a dependable tool in changing the opinions and influences of the public. Realising the efficacy of this medium, some Nigerian politicians quickly embraced it and exploited it extensively for their political campaigns in the 2015 general elections. This study therefore investigates the role social media played in 2015 electioneering process and the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. This study seeks to conduct a SWOT analysis of the role of social media in electioneering credibility

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of the study is to explore and examine critically the extent to which the social media provides opportunity for people to send, receive and perceive messages relating to politics and politicking. The specific objectives of the study include the following:

• To assess the role of social media in creating political awareness to Nigerians during the 2015 general elections.

• To assess the influence of social media on the voting pattern of Nigerians in the 2015 general elections.

• To find out if social media is an efficient platform for mobilisation for political participation.

• To compare the advantages of social media over the other forms of media for political mobilization.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Having outlined the objectives of the study, the following research questions were drawn:

• What is the impact of the social media on the voting pattern of Nigerians in the 2015 GeneralElections?

• Do the social media increase the political awareness and consciousness of Nigerians in the 2015 GeneralElections?

• Is social media an effective medium for mobilising Nigerians for political participation?

• What are the challenges of utilising the social media for political mobilization of Nigerians during the 2015 general elections?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

• Social media influences and impacts electioneering process in Nigeria during the 2015 general elections.

• Social media fosters political activities positively political participation and democracy in Nigeria.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The evolution of social media sites, and the medium in which they reside, represent a significant change in how we communicate with each other. Social media has contributed to the idea of the “global village” (McLuhan, 1964). The combination of both mobile communication devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, and the user-friendly interface of social media sites, have allowed people with common interests and philosophies in divergent parts of the world to act as if they are in one “village”. An important example of the use and influence of social media can be found at the beginning of what is now called the Arab Spring in 2010. In the North African country of Tunisia, Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor, set himself ablaze in public protest against the censorship and repression in that country (Thone, 2011). The primary media for spreading the story were social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. According to Thone, Tunisia has 3.6 million internet users, and many of these users became the replacement for the official but censored news channels, bearing the message of this extreme protest and controlling its initial distribution. In a cautionary statement about how the global village would evolve, McLuhan wrote that in response to the “problems of our global village, we become reactionaries”

In line with the above statement it is hoped that this study will provide additional knowledge and literature on the topic understudy. It is also hoped that the study in its practical value will help government and other agencies both local and international in designing programmes that will promote good political process through the media.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research work is designed to cover the study of the impact of the social media on electioneering credibility in Nigeria with more emphasis on the effect and use of social media to the Nigerian political landscape.

1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study adopts the qualitative research design. According to Reinard (2001:1-9) Qualitative studies try to describe the human condition by using general views of social action. The qualitative techniques used in the study include the descriptive and analytical perspective and the Desk Study Techniques. With the Desk study technique, an in-depth review of literature on subject matter was done based on a sample of empirical research published in English-language which are peer-reviewed journals. The following criteria were used to select scholarly works for review:

1. Scholarly works that discussed either new media or social media.

2. The scholarly works must discuss social media within the context of its usage for elections and democracy.

The study is also approached from the descriptive and analytical perspective. Okoro (2001:53) explains that descriptive studies as the name implies is aimed at describing or explaining a given phenomenon. Yang (2010) noted that the difference between descriptive and analytic approaches is that while descriptive studies attempt to describe, determine or identify what is, analytical research tries to establish why it is that way or how it came to be. This is in agreement with the submission of Wimmer and Dominick (2006:179) that while descriptive research compares and describes what phenomena are, analytical research usually concerns itself with cause-effect relationships, and the result usually allow researchers to examine the interrelationship among variables and to develop explanatory inferences. In using this method of inquiry, we analyse the strength and weakness of social media with a SWOT analysis method as they relate to democracy and electioneering. This method is adopted to analyse and address the many questions that have been raised following the emergence of social media especially as it concerns its use in political campaigns/advertising and the possible effects it could have on the fledgling democracy in Nigeria within the copious of 2015 general elections.