NIGERIA PRESS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND FREE AND FAIR ELECTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
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NIGERIA PRESS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND FREE AND FAIR ELECTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background for the Study
Communication is crucial to man since it is the only way he understands his environment. This is accomplished by the interchange of environmental information or ideas, resulting in a shift towards better and more efficient ways of living in society.
Such messages were packed with paintings and theatrical pieces, among other things, by pioneers of mass communication, who would be astounded at the enormous heights their little efforts had achieved.
Over time, they have used communication technologies such as radio, television, films, telegraphs, newspapers, and magazines to convey messages to a wide, diverse, anonymous, dispersed, and transient audience.
No wonder, according to Ndolo (2006:10), communication has not only remained an essential component of society, but it has also become the pivot around which society revolves. As a result, almost everything we know about our surroundings comes from information provided through the media.
In the purpose of this study, the Nigerian Press is defined as a social institution established to perform identifiable activities such as information dissemination, interpretation, education, and entertainment using communication technology.
As a result, the Press, through its different mass media, has the ability to persuade people by providing important information at an appropriate time and season, so channelling people’s minds in the path that the voice(s) behind the media want(s) them to take. Mass media can manipulate people’s thoughts through repetitive audio-visual inputs.
The press has the ability to influence how the government and society respond to problems of public concern. For example, media accounts and assessments of election results are typically based on the perspectives and comments of internal and external observers who witnessed the election’s behaviour.
In the same line, the media provides a forum for public debates and discussions about elections via media platforms. Such routes allow citizens to determine if the elections were free and fair based on public perceptions of election activities and conduct.
In most democratic nations, individuals rely on media reports and editorials on election results rather than reports acquired from other sources of information.
Political parties and candidates around the world conduct their political activities through various forums and platforms, such as the use of modern communication media (radio, television, newspapers, and magazines), as well as the use of political campaign rallies to disseminate various types of information to electorates in order to sway voters’ voting decisions in their favour.
However, Nigeria’s acceptance of the Global System of Mobile Telecommunications (GSM) in 2001 brought up previously unheard-of communication opportunities.
This occurred at a time when the country had just emerged from a long period of military dictatorship and was once again experimenting with democracy, in which free and fair elections were most needed.
Even during the dark days of ruthless military dictatorship, Nigerian media outlets, particularly privately held ones, have always been powerful agents of sensitisation and mobilisation of people towards democracy (Ajayi, 2007).
However, their reach was limited by causes such as government intimidation and harassment, logistics, limited resources, and elitist ownership and control, which the new media has significantly reduced to a bare minimum.
However, as the communication media space has expanded due to enhanced technology, information distribution and sensitisation of individuals have gained widespread immediacy and more attentive follow-up of occurrences. This is because they are easily accessible and available to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Even the cheapest mobile phones can provide access to some social media sites for information, education, and entertainment at a reasonable cost. Fundamentally, the media exists to gather and disseminate knowledge, as well as to enlighten and mobilise society.
These functions distinguish the media as a crucial aspect in the connection between the government and the governed, making it indispensable for effective governance, the strengthening of democracy, and societal progress and development in general.
The rise of new social media is a major phenomena that has revolutionised global interaction, communication, and information exchange in the twenty-first century. It is crucial to note here that social media is not a new notion.
It has evolved since the beginning of human interaction. Meanwhile, in the twenty-first century, new types of social media networks emerged, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and internet services, among others.
The introduction of these new kinds of social media transformed many elements of human communication. Thus, social media has become a normal part of people’s daily lives all around the world.
For example, as of 2010, there were approximately 4.5 million Facebook users worldwide (André-Michel, 2010:3), and this number has been fast expanding. This evolution transforms social media into excellent instruments for communicating with a big audience.
The introduction of these new media platforms has continued to affect the way people connect with one another and around the world. For example, mobile phone adoption rates have led in an abundance (excess/surplus) of ideas for new media platforms targeted at bridging the information divide between the well-connected and the disconnected (Unwin, 2012:7).
Furthermore, Internet-based communication has begun to acquire traction in Nigeria, as well as throughout Africa. Both mobile phones and the internet provide fascinating new prospects for one-on-one and one-to-many communication.
The well publicised rapid development of mobile connections and services, as well as various types of public and shared internet access, has enabled an increasing number of individuals who do not have access to a computer or a fixed connection to participate in “the global conversation” (André-Michel, 2010:4).
Since the twenty-first century, several African countries have seen an increase in the use of new social media for political purposes. Social media networks such as mobile phone SMS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have played an important role in Nigeria’s recent democratisation.
For example, the 2011 Nigerian general elections saw widespread usage of mobile phone SMS, Facebook, and Twitter. Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are among the most popular websites in Nigeria.
Because of their participative, interactive, and cost-efficient nature, they have proven to be effective tools for conducting election campaigns and other electioneering activities, as well as political participation and mobilisation.
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