Citizen Participation and Technology: A Look at the Social Media Landscape in Nigeria

Since Nigeria's transition from military to civilian rule, NDI has worked closely with civic and political organizations to support the development of the country's newly formed democratic institutions. Although the quality of elections in Nigeria progressively declined post-1999, the 2011 elections marked a turning point, as they were seen to be the most credible elections the country had ever held. Now, with the 2015 elections fast approaching, identifying how to build on this momentum is on the minds of many.

Given the rapid rise in the use of digital technology and the way that it’s changing the relationship between governments and those being governed, part of the answer may lie in expanding political participation using social media. Our team here at NDI just published an important new study this May on Citizen Participation and Technology, which showed that while more people are using technology around the world, the quality of their political participation and the overall impact on democratization varies from country to country.

An interesting publication released this April by AfricaPractice takes a look at the case of Nigeria and how the country’s evolving digital media landscape is having an impact on citizen participation in politics.

Among other things, the report explains how social media platforms have made it possible to make quality content accessible to mass audiences in Nigeria and in so doing, have amplified the voices of individuals at the ‘bottom,’ while enhancing responsiveness among those at the ‘top.’ According to AfricaPractice, this has had an impact in four critical areas - accountability, civic engagement, branding and sourcing information - which can be illustrated in a number of ways. Take the 2012 Occupy Nigeria campaign for instance, which was organized on Twitter and led to mass protests in response to the removal of fuel subsidies by President Goodluck Jonathan. Occupy Nigeria not only marked the significance of social media in Nigerian politics, but also reinforced the need for government to engage with citizens on issues of high priority. Mobile technology as a means for promoting free and fair elections is another instance where technology has supported citizen participation. Case in point: the emergence of Revova, a mobile application that allowed voters to better engage with the electoral process during the 2011 elections. 

With Internet penetration in Nigeria standing at 30% and Africa at-large on the verge of an Internet boom, it’s clear that technology is increasingly complementing citizens’ political participation, changing interrelationships between citizens, organizations and public institutions, and expanding notions of political behavior and participation. Of course, it goes without saying that technology is not a silver bullet that will solve issues related to transparency and accountability. Afterall, technology doesn’t change institutions and political processes - people do with the right support.