The launch of “Cyber Politics: Social Media, Social Demography and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria”, a book written by the Head of Media Relations at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan in Abuja has triggered a debate on responsible use of social media.
The book launch brought together captains of industry and policy makers in one roof; and where you have such egg-heads gathered, discussions on how to move the country forward is a sure thing to happen.
Former Minister of Communications, Frank Nweke, who chaired the event, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbass and the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta were among the top personalities at the book launch, and they took turns to praise the author, appreciate the book, review its impact and relate it to how it can guide a responsible regulation of the social media space.
It was the House of Reps speaker, represented by the House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, who took the first shot at the discussion.
He described the book as a masterpiece and praised Dr. Ibietan for his sagacity and astute delivery of the book for politicians and academic scholars.
Abbas said the book should awaken the youth and the general public to go back to the reading culture, saying that the author has demonstrated that he not left the field of struggle.
He thanked him for provoking a new line of thought in the journey to enduring democracy and recommended the book for the general public.
‘‘Though, I am yet to read the book, but with what I have heard many people say about it, it’s a masterpiece. So, I will like to thank the author for writing such a masterpiece.
“Aside from social media, there are dynamic platforms for communication and engagement.
‘‘The book should awaken the youth and the general public to go back to the reading culture. I commend the author, he has not left the field of struggle. The efforts of Mr Ibietan to put into publishing, the work is commendable.’’
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the occassion, Nweke Jr, former Minister of Information whom Dr. Ibietan served as Special Adviser on Media in his remarks at the event noted that the book will be a reference material for contemporary scholars, politicians who desire to understand the intricacies in the recent election campaigns in Nigeria. He asserted that the book has presented empirical foundation for responsible journalism.
He further stated that the social media is not a threat but will complement the traditional media which will enable them not only to co-exist but also self re-enforce each other. He however condemned the fake news syndrome agravated with the ascendancy of social media. He also praised Dr. Ibietan for elevating public discuss on cyber politics and the impact of social media in election processes.
Nweke, who was governorship candidate of APGA, Enugu State, in 2023 general election, said, the book dwells on better understanding of social media and the conclusion overall is that in the coming years, the impact of social media will increase with usage.
‘‘Having come out of election myself, I recognise the opportunity provided by social media. But I also worry about its adverse impact. The issues about fake news and their potential, not just to undermine, libel and slander people but to precipitate conflict.
‘‘So, it is something that government must continue to work on, professional association need to work on to ensure that society is protected from such hazards. Even though, people suggest that most people are poor, they do not have android phone, live in urban areas, they cannot afford data, the truth is that when you look at internet penetration today, it is high. So, I do not agree that social media has little impact as the author may suggest.’’
On whether there is need for government to regulate the social media, he said, ‘‘it is a very delicate balance between trying to protect the freedom of expression and protect public space and protect citizens from the potential adverse impact of fake news which has the potential to precipitate conflict.
‘‘All these things are real, people lose their lives, for someone to make one negative comment and it spreads like wide fire. In every democracy, people reserve the right to express themselves freely, but that has to be done in a manner it does not infringe on the right of others. So it should be regulated in order not to undermine the right of people on the social space.
Nweke, described Ibietan as a very bright and quality personality
‘‘Niyi worked with me as SA media and I met him in a very strange way. He attended a programme I was addressing, then, as minister for Youth and Development. The reason why I took interest in him was the quality of contributions he made. In fact, right at that event, I appointed him Senior Special Assistant on Media.
‘‘I love bright people, I like bright minds, people who are disciplined and know what they want, and all that are what Niyi represents. Over the last 15 years we have remained very close. I therefore, commend him for his loyalty and friendship.’’
The book reviewer, Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene, Editor-in-chief, Leadership Newspaper commended the book and the author. His words: “In light of the exponential growth in social media adoption and use in the last few years, two election cycles after 2015, COVID-19 and #Endsars, students, researchers and scholars would find Cyber Politics a valuable resource material.
“As a journalist, for example, shouldn’t I be concerned about the emergence of social media as the “Fifth Estate of the Realm”, a prospect that the author raised in his book?
“Would this new estate, in which users are both producers and consumers of information, displace the Fourth Estate, especially if as Time Magazine said in its February 5, 2009 edition, journalism was already in its death throes?
“Well, it’s nearly a decade and a half since, and we have seen that the death of journalism was perhaps slightly exaggerated. Convergence has also taught us that it is possible for the Fourth – and perhaps the Fifth – Estates not only to coexist, but also to be mutually reinforcing.
“Cyber Politics helps the voter ponder if the social networks they belong to or the influencers they follow have any potential effects on their political behaviour either in terms of mobilisation or their actual voting decisions. Sometimes we think we’re our own man, until we realise like Pavlov’s dog, that someone somewhere might be pulling the strings.
“The author makes the important point that “social” did not start with the Internet – after all man is a ‘social’ animal. What the Internet or technology has done, however, is to put a seal on our global village.
“But is it true that social media influencers are “motivated to undertake organised campaigns during the election using their platforms, largely due to the need to bring about a better social order?” It does appear to me (and perhaps this was unique to the 2023 elections) that social media influencers were just a force for good as they were a force for mayhem.
“The sludge of fake news sometimes unleashed by so-called influencers, not to mention toxicity of the avatars in that space who often insisted it was either their way or the highway, left people like me bereft and alienated.
“What about the adverse role of Big Tech in privacy breaches and data manipulation – I’m speaking of course about Meta’s $725 million settlement over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter adventure! Were these also motivated by a desire to do good? It would be interesting to see how Cyber Politics 2.0 or any other research into the 2023 election explores these episodes.
“Yet, whatever Cyber Politics or any other text on voter behaviour may say to politicians, our politicians, while they may keep one eye on social media they will, as Joseph Stalin famously said, keep the other eye on “the people who count the vote!”
“Politicians can also not be too far from the millions of voters in remote villages and influencers currently out of the social media loop, who still speak in tongues other than clicks and bytes.
“Yet, even that landscape is changing slowly. What Ibietan does in his book is to help us understand, and perhaps, better navigate an evolving social space where a simple networked device is fundamentally affecting our shared values and interests”.
Also, presenting the book, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the book has exposed the intellectual capacity of Dr. Ibietan.
He said, ‘‘The social media has come to stay but it is the duty of the people to use social media responsibly. Network enormity has become a source of concern and the way and manner we resort to inflammatory and defamatory content to denigrate our political opponents do not add value to the political process.’’
He stressed the need to ensure a responsible way of using the social media to do politics, saying that, ‘‘You cannot kill the social media, we have to learn to live with it, we have to find a responsible way to use the social media.’’
According to the NCC boss, Social media has come to stay, because most people don’t read books, but rely mostly on internet, adding that it took less than a year to reach over 100 million people, and so the world now depends largely on social media. Danbatta said even though Ibietan is an activist, they have never had any disagreement since 2015 when he took over the leadership of NCC. “I consider myself very lucky, because I have never had any issue with him”, he added.
He appreciated the efforts of Ibietan in putting together, such a wonderful book for publication, saying that the author and himself share same interests in love for literary work. He commended the author on the laudable achievement saying the most intelligent people on earth are those who take their time to write books, because he Danbatta had engaged in such and knows how difficult it is. His words: “Omoniyi and I have one thing in common, which is literally work. The most intelligent people are those who sit down to write books”.
On his part, the author of the book, Dr. Ibietan said what he tried to do in the book was to look at the social behaviours of Nigerians, how they used social media to interact and how social media, which of course was considered very phenomenon shaped the 2015 general elections, in terms of the use of social technology in that election.
‘’We have found that indeed, yes, social media may have shaped the way people voted, but technology did so in context of other mediating factors and influences; one of which is the context in which elections are contested.
‘‘What we found new is the fact that this is in contest that there is a sense in which humanity is connected but there are also variations. What we are trying to do in this book is to say, years activities in the cyber space, which of course has enabled by the internet and It is a global thing’’.
‘‘However, in Nigeria we are not just consumers of technology, but we are applying them in context that gives meaning, not just to our lives as individuals and people who operate businesses. As a nation, communication is primordial with man, shaping our lives and businesses and so, it is the most central aspect of politics. There is a sense in which we relay using social technology that may be injurious to the beautiful society we are trying to create.
‘‘One other thing we looked at is the role of historical media, the fact that we have social media, does not mean the historical media is dead. Because what we found is that people also fed in the historical media and took those things back onto the social media space.’’
Omoniyi also in his interactions with newsmen stated that his book will serve as a material for future researchers to build on.
The event also had a panelists discussion session which included the author Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, Mr. Mojeed Dahiru and Prof. Abiodun Adeniyi while Dr. Chido Onumah served as the moderator. The book, which was published by Premium Times Book was unveiled by the EVC of NCC with support from other dignitaries at the occasion including former minister of Information and Orientation and 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), for Enugu State, Frank Nweke Jr and others. Goodwill messages were said by representative of former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AZ Gambo as well as former director, Public Affairs of NCC, Tony Ojobo.
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