Exploring nexus between political conversations and election outcomes

Key actors in the academia and the private sector have commended Omoniyi Ibietan for his efforts at establishing how political conversations on various platforms, especially the social media, influence voters’ behaviour and ultimately impact election outcomes in Nigeria.

At the book reading and further reviews of Mr Ibietan’s ‘Cyber Politics: Social Media, Social Demography and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria,’ held at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, the book was described as a “persuasive one, which adds huge insightful value to an understanding of the interactions between politics, social media networks and other variables that influence the behaviour of voters in a democracy.”

Mr Ibietan’s book is one of the publications from the stable of Premium Times Books.

In his speech, the chairman of the occasion, Adigun Agbaje, a professor and former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, described the author as a passionate individual. He praised him for the job done with the book.

”You’ve given us a wonderful book and you’ve done an excellent job for that. In the times that we live in, we need to be aware that the usual should no longer be the normal. You have someone who is not an academic confronting the whole issue of cybernetics and cyber politics. We do hope for another milestone publication from you very soon,” Mr Agbaje said.

The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, who was represented by Olubunmi Banjoko, noted that the book was absorbing and persuasive.

Mr Maida described the book as one that added huge insightful value to an understanding of the interactions between politics, social media networks and other variables that influence the behaviour of voters in a democracy.

“Dr. Ibietan’s book speaks to the reality of how the demographics of voting is now in favour of digital natives, whose engagements are set to upend the traditional media approaches, hence the great value in seeking an understanding of the growing interface across cyber politics, social media networks and social demography. Specifically, the author utilises tested theoretical models and research methods to scrutinise the impact of social media on contemporary politics.

“Therefore, we particularly appreciate Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, a staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission, for this contribution to political communication scholarship,” he said.

In his remark, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, Umaru Pate, congratulated Mr Ibietan on the successful publication and presentation of the book.

Mr Pate, a professor, stated that the book has increased his understanding of the relationship between the ever-growing social media and politics in the country.

This, he noted, was very important for obvious reasons, some of which he said related to the popularity and influence of the new media, particularly among the most active components of the population.

He recommended the book for all students of communication studies, political science and allied fields, adding that political tacticians and gladiators and other scholars of the interface between society, information and communication technologies will also find the text appropriate and useful in helping them to deeply understand the strategies and impact of the social media in Nigerian politics.

Mr Pate, president of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), enjoined interested individuals to get copies of the book for increased understanding of the relationship between social media and politics in Nigeria.

“Without a doubt, the academic community and communication scholarship require a deeper understanding of the evolving trend, influence, and impact of cyber politics in the country. I am glad Dr Ibietan has been able to undertake intensive and extensive research in the area. Happily, the study has been transformed into a textbook for wider circulation,” he said.

The Dean, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University of Uyo, Peter Esuh, in his remark, said Mr Ibietan’s book stands out among the numerous publications on strategic communication in contemporary times.

Mr Esuh, a professor, said the book offered a scholarly exploration of how social media platforms shaped electoral behaviour in the intricate Nigerian electoral landscape.

He added that the book was a significant addition to the ongoing discourse on the influence of technological advancements on societal progress.

“The author, Dr Omoniyi Ibietan, is a renowned scholar known for his intellectual prowess and activism. His work has consistently been commendable, and this notable book is a testament to his innovative thinking and scholarly contributions. The book is wholeheartedly endorsed for reading,” Mr Esuh said.

Chinyere Okunna, a professor of Mass Communication and the deputy vice-chancellor, Paul University, Awka, Anambra State, described the book as worthy in both content and packaging.

She noted that the book, ‘Cyber Politics: Social Media, Social Demography and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria,’ was eminently worthy of being seen and being read.

According to her, the book is strategic political communication at its best. “As a book on political communication, it strategically explores the intersection between politics and digital socially-mediated communication, to clearly show the impact of social media on electoral choices/voting behaviour.”

Ibietan: A testimonial on scholarship and commitment

Abiodun Salawu of North-West University, South Africa, expressed delight at the privilege of having supervised the PhD thesis of Mr Ibietan, from which the book emanated.

“It was a pleasure supervising Omoniyi’s thesis as he was very conversant with the literature of the study. I must say that I learnt from the literature he used.

“He was dedicated to the work that he took a year’s leave from his place of work to come over to Mahikeng in South Africa to exclusively focus on the study. I can say that the study was effectively done within this one year,” he said.

Mr Salawu said he was happy that the ideas, findings and recommendations contained in the thesis have been turned into a book and were now available to a wider readership.

Reviews

The Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Newspaper, Azu Ishiekwene, in his first review last July in Abuja, observed that the book explored, among other things, the question of whether political conversations amongst Nigeria’s estimated 33 million active social media users, especially the influencers as of 2021, had any significant impact on the outcome of the 2015 election.

Mr Ishiekwene noted that the author in chapters one, five and six, not only examined earlier studies on the impact of social factors, including peers, opinion leaders and family influences on voter behaviour, but also set out the broad objectives of the book, raising issues that were both specific and contemporaneous in value.

“In other words, instead of leaving the reader wondering what happened on the streets of North Carolina in Lazarsfeld’s studies decades ago and how that affects him in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Cyber Politics uses Nigeria’s 2015 general elections as anchor.

“Cyber Politics helps me as a voter to ponder if the social networks I belong to or the influencers I follow have any potential effects on my political behaviour either in terms of mobilisation or my actual voting decisions. Sometimes, we think we are our own man, until we realise, like Pavlov’s dog, that someone somewhere might be pulling the strings,” he noted.

Also, in a separate review at the book reading, Awoyemi Michael of African Studies Student Association (ASSA) said the book had opened the floor for critical engagement of social media.

He said the study of influencers’ role in the voters’ behaviour presented citizens, voters and scholars with new knowledge and methodology of engaging and analysing online opinion leadership and the actors that played different roles in it.

He also commended the scientific exploration done by the author, which showed an intensive and detailed research.

In his review, Osinachi Esema said the author’s data pointed to the possibility of querying the value of social media in the electoral and electioneering process beyond the pursuit of political popularity.

“On the other hand, the author’s brilliant and daring research also prompts the question, ‘if social media does not bear direct and obvious influence on electoral choices, why do politicians still put so much money into it? Is the popularity being pursued on social media a cover to legitimise the other unseen political plans and strategies of rigging and fraud, which, after all, is now a common knowledge that all politicians partake in, or at least do not detest its privileges towards them?”

Similarly, Ben Eluma said Mr Ibietan’s clearsighted study of cyber politics among Nigerian civil servants yielded useful results that may be compared with other studies of the same phenomenon among other categories of Nigerians online.

“Cyber politics is not a trend. It has come to stay. This is why Dr Ibietan’s book has a very resonant value in the study of Nigerian Internet culture,” Mr Eluma added.

I sold properties to pursue my PhD – Ibietan

Meanwhile, speaking at the event, Mr Ibietan narrated how he sold his two plots of land and cars to pursue his doctoral degree.

He said he was expelled from four schools before he eventually bagged his first degree, saying that it was not how fast one made it in life that was important.

”The spectrum of when I started the first degree and when I ended it took 10 years because by my records, I think I must have been expelled from four different schools. I remembered the registrar of one of the schools where I was first thrown out told me that I could never even have a first degree,” he said.

The author urged the younger generation to keep pushing in the face of challenges, adding that his desire to proceed to study was not for him to be referred to as a doctor but to teach and impart knowledge.

”My desire to proceed to study is just to ensure that I return to academia to teach. I don’t know when I’m going to teach but I didn’t go to South Africa to get my PhD because I want to be called a doctor, it is because I want to impart knowledge.

“After I had been thrown out of several schools, I landed at the University of Uyo, where I eventually took a first degree successfully. I returned here to Ibadan, did my masters and then returned to work in the public sector. One day, I realised that I was close to 50 years old and then, I decided I was going to go and do the PhD.

”There was no money. So, I sold two plots of land that I had in Abuja, I sold my car and I sold my wife’s car. I set some money aside for my wife to first pay the school fees of the children for the period I will be away since I wasn’t going to earn a dime. But I thank God,” Mr Ibietan recalled with nostalgia.

Sparing some thoughts on the education sector, Mr Ibietan hailed the student loan initiative of the federal government as a welcome development.

He said the initiative would afford indigent students the opportunity to take loans and study.

However, while agreeing that the loan option for students was a fantastic idea, he stressed the importance of supporting people without money, but who were willing to learn, without necessarily offering them loans.

He noted if not for the bursary he had access to for his education in South Africa, he would have been stranded in school despite selling off some of his property.

Mr Ibietan also stressed the need for stakeholders to reflect on how to enrich Nigeria’s politics, because it determined practically everything people do.

He noted that there was a need to use the media to engage in content that shaped the society, saying that without communication there was no democracy.

“Can we please look at how we can enrich the context of Nigeria politics. We can’t run away from it, so that we can do something that is more intellectual and more rewarding.

“How do we use the media to engage in content that shapes our society? This is the point I have made here. Without communication, there is no democracy. So, we need to be strategic in communicating in democratic context in order to enrich that context and in other to also enrich the context of our lives because ultimately, our survival is tied to what happens in the political space,” he said.

He thanked his mentors, friends and everyone at the event for honouring the invitation to attend the event, which served a dual purpose having coincided with his birthday celebration.