Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election

Purpose – The study investigates factors like media, tribal, religious and party politics' influence on Nigerias’ 2023 presidential election choice. It confirms dominant social media platforms and examines their influence on election polls, e-participation and political candidate choice. The ma...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Doris Ngozi Morah, Oluchukwu Augustina Nwafor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2024-08-01
Series:Journal of Innovative Digital Transformation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIDT-08-2023-0004/full/pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849326186100948992
author Doris Ngozi Morah
Oluchukwu Augustina Nwafor
author_facet Doris Ngozi Morah
Oluchukwu Augustina Nwafor
author_sort Doris Ngozi Morah
collection DOAJ
description Purpose – The study investigates factors like media, tribal, religious and party politics' influence on Nigerias’ 2023 presidential election choice. It confirms dominant social media platforms and examines their influence on election polls, e-participation and political candidate choice. The main objectives of this study are to: investigate if tribal, religious and party politics affect the respondent’s choice of a presidential candidate, ascertain the respondent's most used social media platform for political engagement and determine how social media platforms influenced the election polls during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election. Design/methodology/approach – A sample size of 384 registered voters was used to survey three states in Southeast Nigeria hinged on the technological acceptance model, the instrumentalist theory of ethnicity and the theory of reasoned action. Findings – The study found that tribal politics did not influence political candidates during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election. However, religious and party politics influenced their choices as well as X (Twitter), found as the most used and most influential social media platform vital for enhancing participatory democracy and informing people at real-time. Research limitations/implications – The researchers experienced challenges such as ensuring that the respondents filled the questions appropriately to reduce the number of void questionnaires and a funding problem since they had yet to receive any grant to enhance the study. Originality/value – The study commends improved Internet connectivity and accessibility among the citizens for increased political engagement on social media. It also recommends that the Nigerian government enforce the rule of law in politics to enable diverse tribes and religions to experience democratic e-participation and development without marginalisation or subjugation by incumbent power. The findings affirm that social media is apt in political communication during the 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria. The study is a contribution to knowledge, timely and original.
format Article
id doaj-art-0e93d5bc38ad442a96af367ff3b4905f
institution Kabale University
issn 2976-9051
2976-906X
language English
publishDate 2024-08-01
publisher Emerald Publishing
record_format Article
series Journal of Innovative Digital Transformation
spelling doaj-art-0e93d5bc38ad442a96af367ff3b4905f2025-08-20T03:48:13ZengEmerald PublishingJournal of Innovative Digital Transformation2976-90512976-906X2024-08-0111324710.1108/JIDT-08-2023-0004Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general electionDoris Ngozi Morah0Oluchukwu Augustina Nwafor1Department of Mass Communication, Madonna University Nigeria, Okija, NigeriaDepartment of Mass Communication, Madonna University Nigeria, Okija, NigeriaPurpose – The study investigates factors like media, tribal, religious and party politics' influence on Nigerias’ 2023 presidential election choice. It confirms dominant social media platforms and examines their influence on election polls, e-participation and political candidate choice. The main objectives of this study are to: investigate if tribal, religious and party politics affect the respondent’s choice of a presidential candidate, ascertain the respondent's most used social media platform for political engagement and determine how social media platforms influenced the election polls during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election. Design/methodology/approach – A sample size of 384 registered voters was used to survey three states in Southeast Nigeria hinged on the technological acceptance model, the instrumentalist theory of ethnicity and the theory of reasoned action. Findings – The study found that tribal politics did not influence political candidates during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election. However, religious and party politics influenced their choices as well as X (Twitter), found as the most used and most influential social media platform vital for enhancing participatory democracy and informing people at real-time. Research limitations/implications – The researchers experienced challenges such as ensuring that the respondents filled the questions appropriately to reduce the number of void questionnaires and a funding problem since they had yet to receive any grant to enhance the study. Originality/value – The study commends improved Internet connectivity and accessibility among the citizens for increased political engagement on social media. It also recommends that the Nigerian government enforce the rule of law in politics to enable diverse tribes and religions to experience democratic e-participation and development without marginalisation or subjugation by incumbent power. The findings affirm that social media is apt in political communication during the 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria. The study is a contribution to knowledge, timely and original.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIDT-08-2023-0004/full/pdfTribal politicsSocial mediaNigerian electionPolitical developmentPolitical engagement
spellingShingle Doris Ngozi Morah
Oluchukwu Augustina Nwafor
Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election
Journal of Innovative Digital Transformation
Tribal politics
Social media
Nigerian election
Political development
Political engagement
title Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election
title_full Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election
title_fullStr Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election
title_full_unstemmed Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election
title_short Beyond tribal politics for e-participation and development: social media influence on Nigeria's 2023 presidential general election
title_sort beyond tribal politics for e participation and development social media influence on nigeria s 2023 presidential general election
topic Tribal politics
Social media
Nigerian election
Political development
Political engagement
url https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIDT-08-2023-0004/full/pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT dorisngozimorah beyondtribalpoliticsforeparticipationanddevelopmentsocialmediainfluenceonnigerias2023presidentialgeneralelection
AT oluchukwuaugustinanwafor beyondtribalpoliticsforeparticipationanddevelopmentsocialmediainfluenceonnigerias2023presidentialgeneralelection