CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   Background to the Study
Essential to the people in a democratic society is their freedom of expression, association and assembly, which is guaranteed and protected by the fundamental law of the land. Among other principles of democracy are equality before the law, periodic, free and fair election, majority rule, independent and impartial judiciary and accountability. These ingredients of democracy nevertheless would need a platform and channel of communication which the government and the people can freely and meaningfully use to contribute to the development of the democratic system.
The electronic media or internet has become almost an inseparable part of human life in places where they exist. In recent times, electronic media have evolved new forms of democracy, government, and have become a clear and more effective voice of many. In fact, electronic media have influences on all spheres of human life. The impacts of the electronic media or internet were obviously felt in the 2011 general elections in Nigeria. It was felt in the electioneering processes-campaign, and eventually the polling procedures. According to Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (2012), the 2011 elections in Nigeria witnessed a remarkable use of the electronic media as a tool for political communication. It was used for campaigns via television channels, radio stations, personal websites, blogs, all electronic media applications, and several other media.
The internet has become the most accessible source of information, particularly in the last two general elections in Nigeria. Before the day of the election, the internet disseminated many messages to the public that went viral. The internet communicated to the public a lot of information that could have caused unrest in some volatile nations. For example, the internet gave other reasons for the postponement of the election from 9th April 2011 to 16th April, 2011 aside from the unpreparedness of Independent National Electoral Commission. Reasons that made the public believed that the postponement was to the advantage of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as it would provide the opportunity for the ruling party to manipulate the election in such a way that the power of the electorates would amount to nothing. This sort of report can cause anarchy in nascent democracies of which Nigeria belongs (Oyenuga, 2015).
The electronic media/internet passes information freely, because they are unregulated. The information can come in the form of broadcast on electronic media application, like WhatsApp and BBM, blogs; or even text messages. With the unregulated nature of the electronic media, it is certain that many of the information are not subject to scrutiny and may be conjured, misrepresented, or even misinformed. Nevertheless, the role of the electronic media in political mobilisation and participation across the globe cannot be over-emphasized.
Consolidating democracy in Nigeria as a whole through the conduct of credible elections has remained an albatross. The history of Nigeria’s democratic experiments demonstrates that elections and electoral politics have generated so much animosity which has, in some cases, threatened the corporate existence of the country (such as happened after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election) and in other cases instigated military incursion into political governance, most notably in 1966 and 1983 (Animashaun, 2010).
The 2011 general elections demonstrated the extent to which the electronic media has penetrated the urban populace in Nigeria. The benefits of the penetration of electronic media in Nigeria came to light during the 2011 elections. Since the return of democracy in 1999 to the 2011 general election there has never been such great political mobilization and participation from Nigerians as was expressed in the 2011 general election. This was largely as a result of the prevalent activities of the social media (Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, 2012).
Although it seems obvious that electronic media contributed in no small measure to the success of the 2011 elections, it is pertinent to understand specifically how particular stakeholders in the 2011 elections, like INEC, politicians/political parties, the electorate, and CSOs, used the electronic media during the elections. It was not only INEC that tapped into the opportunities provided by electronic media for greater and more efficient political communication. Politicians and political parties also utilized the electronic media largely to engage with voters and constituents. Many candidates that contested the 2011 general elections had Facebook, Twitter, and/or Youtube accounts. Hence, this study explored the role of electronic media/internet on democratic consolidation in Nigeria with a specific reference to the 2011 general elections.