Summit wants social media’s positive role in 2015 polls

These stakeholders comprised government agencies, leading international and national ICT experts, journalists, bloggers, civil society and youth groups who converged at a two-day retreat, tagged; “Use of Social Media for Increasing Citizen Participation in the Electoral Process”. The retreat was under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/ Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) […]

These stakeholders comprised government agencies, leading international and national ICT experts, journalists, bloggers, civil society and youth groups who converged at a two-day retreat, tagged; “Use of Social Media for Increasing Citizen Participation in the Electoral Process”. The retreat was under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/ Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) II project with active support of international partners such as the EU, UKAid as well as Canada Department for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.
In his presentation at the first plenary, Tunji Lardner, Executive Director, West African NGO Network (WANGOnet) who spoke on “Social Media and Election: Opportunities and Limitations”, said available statistic from Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that as of September 2014, there are a reported 134,316,610 mobile phone lines in Nigeria. Nearly 50 percent of that figure, he said, have an internet subscription. He added that by the 2013 year end, the mobile GSM operators recorded 64, 229, 097 mobile phone lines which had active internet subscriptions that continue to increase.
“On the run-up to the 2011 elections, social media platforms were used by politicians, civil society and the general citizenry as a tool for campaigning, electoral  enlightenment and elections monitoring. As we progress towards the 2015 elections, there is an opportunity to add to the discussion via content generation and participation on social media,” Lardner said.
 Y. Z. Yau, the Executive Director of Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) said social media has the potential, when creatively used, to improve transparency and accountability of election processes, and to facilitate better delivery of voter education as well as engender a more conscientious public space that would engage political parties and candidates in more informed and rational discourse around issues.
While also speaking on “Building Democratic Governance Content in Cyberspace”, a media expert and Director International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade said in the coverage of electoral issues in Nigeria, many Nigerian journalists are facing a number of challenges in the discharge of their duties. He listed factors such ownership of the press, gatekeeper’s compromise, poor remuneration, among others.
Giving a further insight as to how media organizations and practitioners can explore the benefits of the social media, Joshua Olufemi of the online news medium, Premium Times said the use of social media platforms must also co-habit indigenous languages. He cited the case of the Hausa version of the news medium that was introduced online and the patronage it currently enjoys.