PCI Series: If Facebook Followers were a village of 100 people, what would happen among them ahead of Osun 2018 governorship election?

Since the return of Nigeria to democratic governance in 1999, the new media, especially social networking sites has been one of the tools appropriated by political parties and candidates to market their programmes and manifestoes to the electorates across the country. In this special analysis, the Positive Campaign Initiative discovered that beyond Facebook bringing voters and politicians together, it is also a tool that spins them in different directions.

Analysis shows that the select 100 followers of Parties-Politicians Induced Facebook Users in Osun State tailored their reactions towards personality-party issues more than development-oriented issues. A 48.8% reduction in the need to discuss development-oriented issues was found when they concentrated on the discussion of personality-party issues such as qualifications or certificate scandal and home based versus foreign based politicians in the State.

Engaging the Issues

1. They are most likely to express their views on competence with fear, on qualifications or certificate scandal with anger, on home based versus foreign based politicians with sadness, on incompetence with joy.

2. They are most likely to express their views on employment generation with fear, infrastructure with anger, poverty reduction with sadness, labour welfare with joy.

3. They are most likely to be tentative while expressing their views on labour welfare, be analytical on infrastructure and confident on employment generation.

4. They are most likely to be tentative while expressing their views on the incompetence, be analytical on qualifications or certificate scandal, be confident on competence.

5. They are most likely to discuss personality-party issues than development-oriented issues affecting Osun state.

6. The level of their emotions will lead to discussion of development-oriented issues by 13.7%.

7. The level of their emotions will lead to discussion of personality-party issues by 16.3%.

8. The level of their language tone will lead to discussion of development-oriented issues by 21.2%.

9. The level of their language tone will lead to discussion of personality-party issues by 0.7%.

Based on these insights, PCI analysts believe that Facebook only presents a public space for people, especially Osun voters, but yet to be a public sphere where development issues are expected to be debated.