TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL MOBILIZATION OF WOMEN IN NSIT IBIUM

ABSTRACT

 

This study sought to find out the influence of traditional media in women mobilization of women in Political campaigns in Nigeria 2011. Using a conceptual framework, the study explains the utility and shows the entry-point of traditional media in the mobilization of women  in Political campaigns in Nigeria. Through a survey research in Nsit ibium LGA and structured interviews, the study examined ways through which traditional media changes the resource dimension in Political campaign mobilization of women and also whether traditional media is altering the strategic salience of ethnicity in voter mobilization of women in Political campaigns. The findings of the study show that traditional media tools make Political campaigns more expensive and do not change the importance of ethnicity as the primary basis of political identity and mobilization of women in Political campaigns in Nigeria. The study concludes that traditional media makes a substantial a difference in a Political campaign when aggressively used in mobilizing campaign resources and in targeting their bases through bunkum and aggressive Get-Out-The-Vote campaigns.

 

 

 

Table of content

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

Background to study

Statement of problem

Research Questions

Study Objectives

Justification of the Study

Scope and Limitations of the Study

Theoretical Foundation

CHAPTER TWO  LITERATURE REVIEW

Conceptual review

Conceptual framework

The concept of political participation

Factors hindering women’s political participation

Media and elections

Empirical review

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY

Study Area

Research Design

Study Sample

Sampling Procedures

Secondary Sources of Data

Data Analysis and Presentation

Reliability of Data Collection Instruments

CHAPTER FOUR: TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND EMERGING PATTERNS OF POLITICAL

MOBILIZATION OF WOMEN IN NIGERIA

Ethnic Voter Mobilization of women in Context

Traditional media and Factors of Voter Response to Ethnic Frames

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Introduction

The Influence of Traditional media in Political campaigns

Recapitulation of the Hypotheses

Conclusion and Recommendation

References

APPENDICES

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

Background to study

Women are crucial to humanity. According to Umechukwu (2004), women constitute over half of the world’s population and contribute in vital ways to societal development generally.[i] This attribute is apparent in Nigeria where there have been raging debates regarding how women can make their presence felt by participating in politics. Some argue that women as the weaker sex is a social construct owing to social value, norms and beliefs, which neglects their meaningful contributions and places them in a subordinate position with men. The secondary position which women have been made to occupy in the nation’s political history is traceable to colonialism.

Agbalajobi (2010) also notes that the 1922 Sir Hugh Clifford Constitution of pre-independence Nigeria disenfranchised women and limited the participation of adult male to the wealthy.[ii] While gender inequality existed in some forms in the various traditional societies in Nigeria, the colonial system, powered from the United Kingdom, formalized it. The colonial onslaught was so strong that it also affected a few cultures that had some regard for women. In the traditional Yoruba states in the country’s southwest, for instance, women held high political offices like the Iyalode, Iyaloja, Iyalaje and even traditional ruler or the Oba.[iii] But at the establishment of the colonial order, women became estranged to these rights politically. Even though the various constitutions of post independence Nigeria have restored these rights, big barriers still remain in the way of women’s participation in politics.

 

Statement of problem

The Nigerian media, which have existed formally for over 150 years, have a key role to play in educating and informing the citizens on the electoral process and ensuring that they participate in it with credible and acceptable outcome. The media provide perspectives, shape images of candidates and parties help highlight issues around which a campaign would develop, and define the unique atmosphere and areas of sensitivity with any particular campaign (Lang and Lang 1999). This paper therefore seeks to find out how well Nigerian newspapers reported women’s participation in 2011 general elections. In this study, participation here refers to all women issues in 2011 elections whose activities and events, influenced the electoral process.

 

Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

1. In what ways do the traditional media alter the resource dimension in political mobilization of women in Political campaigns in Nigeria?
2. To what extent do the traditional media create new patterns for political mobilization of women in

Political campaigns in Nigeria?

 

1.4 Study Objectives

1.4.1 General Objective

The main objective of the study is to examine the role of traditional media in mobilizing for political support in Political campaigns in Nigeria.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

1. To determine whether the traditional media is altering the cost of political mobilization of women in Political campaigns in Nigeria;
2. To examine whether traditional media is creating new patterns of political mobilization of women in

Political campaigns Nigeria.

1.5 Justification of the Study

This study is a response to the growing popularity of traditional media in Political campaigns in Nigeria by examining whether the increase in the uptake of these traditional media tools make significant changes on the overall financial outlay of a Political campaigns and also whether such uptake alters the existing ethnic patterns of mobilization of women.

The findings and recommendations of the study will be useful for Political campaign organization and execution of campaign mobilization of women and communication strategies by the candidates, political consultants and professional campaign administrators. In a nutshell, the rationale for this study lies the absence of systematic study in this area and its invaluable contribution to the literature on organization of modern hi-tech Political campaigns that incorporate traditional media as tools for communication and mobilization of women.

[i] In most societies, women assume five key roles: mother, producer, home-manager, community organizer and socio-cultural and political activists.

[ii] Sir Hugh Clifford Constitution of 1922 introduced the elective principle for legislative houses for the first time.

[iii] Iyalode is a traditional title holder in Yoruba society. Iyaloja and Iyalaje are women leaders who oversee the market activities in Yoruba society

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL

TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL MOBILIZATION OF WOMEN IN NSIT IBIUM