Interrogating the Role of Social Media on Voter Behaviour in Nigerian Elections

Abstract

The intention of this research was to shed light on the implications, uses, and role of social media in the Nigerian electioneering campaigns and political processes at large. It, therefore, increases our understanding of how social media impact elections and democracy in Nigeria. It was deduced that in the Nigerian general elections, social media was used due to its participatory nature. The study is qualitative in nature as data collection was basically secondary, while the Uses and gratification theory was utilized as the theoretical framework of analysis. The study revealed that; the potency of social media in the political campaign processes and the election was not appreciated by some scholars; again, social media were used in Nigeria as a weapon to undermine and even destroy the image of other political parties, especially the People’s Democratic Party and All Progressive Party. From the findings, we make the following recommendations; Nigerian politicians should continue to use the social media to engage the electorate during political campaigns especially the youth who are avid users of the social media; based on the findings of this study, Facebook is the most utilized social media platform by the presidential candidates. The study therefore recommends that in future elections, other social media platforms likes YouTube, Instagram, and Blogs should by employ by politicians during electioneering campaigns; Finally, Nigerian electorate should ensure that their voting pattern in future elections should not be by influenced by political candidate’s religious affiliations or ethnic considerations but on the credibility of candidates.