Mustapha Alhassan
A close look at the 2015 presidential elections would show that it was largely issues based, more than any of the four others that preceded it following the return to democratic rule in 1999. Indeed, findings from a survey titled Media Reportage and Voting Behaviour of Nigerian Students in the 2015 Presidential Election: Study of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai conducted by this writer after the polls suggest this much.
In the survey, 169 undergraduates drawn from six faculties of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai were sampled. Each of the six geopolitical zones of the country was represented in the sample. Among other things, the study sought to ascertain whether media reports on the campaign issues affected the way the students voted and which of the key campaign issues reported most in the media influenced the voting decisions of students.
Some of the major findings are summarized below and further analysed in relation to the current administration.
Whether respondents followed media reports about the 2015 election
The results show that majority of the respondents accessed media reports on the elections, with 144 (85.2%) of them answering in the affirmative, while just 25 (14.8%) answered in the negative.
This is indicative of keen interest in the media reports on the election among the respondents.
Key campaign issues voting
Of all the key campaign issues, insecurity was what influenced the voting decision of the respondents the most as attested to by 46 respondents or 40% of those who had earlier said they voted during the polls. Corruption followed closely as indicated by 42 respondents, representing 36% of those that voted. Some 15 respondents or 13.1% and another 7 or 6.1% respectively indicated that unemployment and infrastructure accounted for their choice of candidate.
While two respondents or 1.8% stated that corruption and insecurity influenced their voting decision. This implies that they were conscious of the trending campaign issues at the time of the electioneering.
From the results obtained, 69 respondents or 60.5% of those that voted stated that they would not have voted the way they did in the election if they had not followed the media reports. However, respondents who stated that they would still have voted the way they did if they had not followed media reports amounted to 44 or 38.6%.
One respondent representing 0.9% gave no answer. This means that majority of the respondents depended on media reports on the campaigns to make their voting decisions, an indication of media influence on their voting decisions..
Data obtained from the study shows that the respondents overwhelmingly agree that the media are very important to the democratic growth of the country.
Elections are the heart of democracy and information is the heart of politics.
For every society to attain development at its fullest, it must get its politics right. Getting its politics right requires a well informed and enlightened citizenry; citizens who are up to date with happenings in political circles and society as a whole. Societal development entails visions of the future combined with keen interest in current trends and development. And that is where it is important for the youths, who are leaders of tomorrow to take interest in political issues. So far, this study has found that Nigerian students have interest in how they are led. It showed that they use the media to keep themselves politically up to date.
Arising from the findings, the study made the following recommendations: During elections, the media should continue to focus attention on the salient issues.
They can identify society’s need through opinion polls and vox-pops.
By no means is the effort here to wholly assess the performance of the present government. However, benchmarking the Muhammadu Buhari administration against the key campaign issues, it is clear that the focus of his administration is in sync with the main issues that propelled him to power.
On security, the reader would recall that the first initiative the President launched was a diplomatic shuttle to neighbouring countries with the aim of ensuring they close ranks to combat the common menace of Boko Haram. It is to his credit that Boko Haram insurgents have been substantially degraded.
This is a result of the government’s single-minded focus on tackling the insurgency.
The anti-corruption war appears to be waged in stronger terms than ever before, with high profile arrests, prosecutions and detentions, details of which this piece intends not to bore the reader with; for they are already in the public domain. This attests to keeping campaign promise and keeping in track with the issues based on which Nigerians voted.
In terms of tackling unemployment, much cannot be said to have been achieved, but the social palliatives contained in the budget by way of graduate engagement for teaching and the cash transfer scheme for the most vulnerable Nigerians suggest that the government is still focused on providing solutions to be problem of unemployment and poverty.
With more than 30 percent of the budget devoted to capital projects, infrastructure, it appears would get the needed attention.
Details of the roads to be rehabilitated and constructed give hope for infrastructural facelift and some job creation tied into the efforts. However, budgets are plans. Implementation is the issue. Nigerians are eager to see this manifest and that it is hoped the government will not let citizens down in their expectations.
So far, the evidence suggests strongly that the president has made the key issues of insecurity and anti-corruption, which were the main reasons he was elected, the major focus of his administration. Going forward, however, there is the strong need for the government to aggressively focus on many other aspects of our national life.
Alhassan practices public relations in Minna
