INFLUENCE OF RADIO CAMPAIGN ON THE COLLECTION OF PERMANENT VOTER CARD (PVC)

1.1 Introduction

Radio as a medium of communication influences how people experience their political life by its regular broadcast of news material in current affairs, politics and other areas. Radio is still the best way for political parties and candidates to influence people. In Nigeria, the political institutions in the past employed the use of traditional means of communication to share their political campaign messages to potential voters. Election is the nerve and brain of democratic system. It is the instrument and a procedure for choice of leadership in a liberal manner where the political leaders compete for power while the voters are allowed to exercise their rights (Smith, 2015). The world is contemporarily dominated by democratic governance and this has made an election a pivotal activity in nation-states (Buttorff, 2019).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

In developing countries like Nigeria for instance, the mass media are considered to be an integral part of the political structure. This is because they provide information on what the people base their political judgments and form their political activities. The level of awareness, responsibility and participation in any democratic society such as ours depend largely on the activities of the mass media (Santas, Asemah & Jumbo, 2020). Election period consists of series of processes and activities leading to the actual day which electorate would cast their vote for the preferred candidate.

In a normal democratic setting periodic election is central to the effective functioning of democratic system because it provides the platform and mechanism through which citizens can choose their leaders and those that would represent them in administering political governance in the state. In the entire process of the election period, the media play critical roles throughout the electoral process. In addition to promoting public debate and educating citizens, they monitor the integrity of the process and can be a primary vehicle for accountability demands (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2015).

Election period in Nigeria is usually characterized by heightened activity where almost all aspects of the nation’s life are pushed to a fever pitch. Election period generates a lot of interest among the political candidates, the electorate and civil society, because the destiny of the people and the nation rests squarely on the shoulders of the successful candidates at the polls (Ende, 2013). One of the major activities in the build up to the election is the voter’s registration exercise, which is organised to ensure that only members of the public who are registered by the electoral body are allowed to vote during elections (ACE Project, 2016). Similarly, in the entire election process, the media play critical roles such as promoting public debate and educating citizens, monitor the integrity of the process and can be a primary vehicle for accountability demands (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2015).

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Influence of Radio Campaign on the Collection of Permanent Voter Card.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that in Nigeria, the political institutions in the past employed the use of traditional means of communication to share their political campaign messages to potential voters. However, in recent times, there is a shift from defending much on use of direct or face-to-face meetings, and instead embark on the use of mostly local radio stations to send political campaign messages to the populace, especially potential voters. Ilorin Metropolis which is the main focus of this research witnesses the proliferation of local radio stations both state-owned and private owned stations.

Government at all levels struggles to control the political sphere in the state using radio as a means of disseminating their messages during and after elections. The issue is whether the huge political campaign messages by the parties, candidates and other political institutions being aired on local radio have bearing to creation and sustenance of awareness of a party and its candidate(s) for election.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the Influence of Radio Campaign on the Collection of Permanent Voter Card using Ilorin Metropolis as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To find out the extent to which radio political campaign influence voters during the Collection of Permanent Voter Card;
2. To examine the political campaign techniques used by political parties influence the decision of voters;
3. To examine the factors inhibiting radio campaign on the Collection of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) among voters in Ilorin Metropolis;
4. To investigate the extent of the influence of opinion leaders among voters during elections; and
5. To examine the correlation between the influence of radio political campaign messages and the opinion leaders in relations to the voters’ behavior and election outcomes.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does political campaign techniques used by political parties influence the decision of voters?
• Is there any significant correlation between the influence of radio political campaign messages and the opinion leaders in relations to the voters’ behavior and election outcomes?
• To what extent does radio political campaign influence voters during the Collection of Permanent Voter Card?
• To what extent do the opinion leaders influence voters during elections?
• What are the factors inhibiting radio campaign on the Collection of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) among voters in Ilorin Metropolis?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H0: There is no significant correlation between the influence of radio political campaign messages and the opinion leaders in relations to the voters’ behavior and election outcomes
• H1: There is a significant correlation between the influence of radio political campaign messages and the opinion leaders in relations to the voters’ behavior and election outcomes

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1.7 Significance of Study

The findings will be beneficial to the electoral commission (INEC) in their bid to conduct an itch free election; the study will also be of great benefit to the political parties who are the major players in the electoral process.

The study will also be of great benefit to the electorate in educating them on the nemesis of election violence.

Finally the findings of this study will also be immense benefit to government, academia, scholars, researchers and the general public.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Influence of Radio Campaign on the Collection of Permanent Voter Card using Ilorin Metropolis as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Election: Election is a formal decision- making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. It has also been described as a celebration of democracy whereby the electorates are given the opportunity to elect leaders who will take charge of governance within a given period of time.

Nomination: Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office by a political party, or the bestowing of an honor or award.