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Twitter and Millennial Participation in Voting During Nigeria's 2015 Presidential Elections

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Twitter and Millennial Participation in Voting During Nigeria's 2015 Presidential Elections Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2021 Twitter and Millennial Participation in Voting During Nigeria's 2015 Presidential Elections Deborah Zoaka Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Public Administration Commons, and the Public Policy Commons Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Deborah Zoaka has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Lisa Saye, Committee Chairperson, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Raj Singh, Committee Member, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Christopher Jones, University Reviewer, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2021 Abstract Twitter and Millennial Participation in Voting during Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Elections by Deborah Zoaka MPA Walden University, 2013 B.Sc. Maiduguri University, 1989 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University May, 2021 Abstract This qualitative phenomenological research explored the significance of Twitter in Nigeria’s media ecology within the context of its capabilities to influence the millennial generation to participate in voting during the 2015 presidential election. Millennial participation in voting has been abysmally low since 1999, when democratic governance was restored in Nigeria after 26 years of military rule, constituting a grave threat to democratic consolidation and electoral legitimacy. The study was sited within the theoretical framework of Democratic participant theory and the uses and gratifications theory. It argues that Twitter is a digital equivalence of Habermas’ conceptualization of the public sphere and that Twitter account holders are sentient, active, value-optimizing media users that seek to gratify communicative and psychosocial needs. The study acknowledges the inherent capabilities of Twitter as an electronic platform for multidimensional communication to foster social change, political education and engagement, civic discourses, and voter mobilization. This study adopted individual telephone and video interviews as scientific methodology for data gathering, which were conducted with selected media professionals and youth graduates of tertiary institutions in all the geopolitical regions of Nigeria. Twitter and Millennial Participation in Voting during Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Elections by Deborah Zoaka MPA Walden University, 2013 B.Sc. Maiduguri University, 1989 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University May, 2021 Dedication This research work is dedicated to God Almighty, for supplying all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. It is also dedicated to the blessed memory of my late father, Ahmadu Diwa, and to my beloved mother, Kwamting Dauzen Jitau Mari Chetha Zoaka, who trained me in the way I should go. This research paper is also dedicated to my dear husband and closest friend, Dauda Birma Zoaka, for his unconditional love and support at all times. As always, you presented yourself to me during this program as a fountain of wisdom and a moral pillar. Your knowledge and encouragement enabled me to attain this lofty academic height. Acknowledgments With a heart full of gratitude, I wish to acknowledge the enormous support of my dissertation chair, Dr. Lisa Michaela Saye. Thank you for encouraging me throughout the period of writing the dissertation and for bringing to bear your vast wealth of scholarly and professional experience. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Raj. K. Singh for serving on my dissertation committee with passion and for your unrelenting support during times of academic challenges. I also wish to express my sincere appreciation to the University Research Reviewer Dr. Christopher Jones for providing insightful feedbacks on my preliminary proposal. Your seasoned intellectual inputs have enriched the quality of this dissertation in a way that cannot be readily quantified. Let me also seize this opportunity to thank my different instructors at Walden University. Your engaging pedagogic styles made this pursuit for higher degree and knowledge worthwhile. Similarly, I would like to register my gratitude to all my course mates for your display of collegial attitudes and the willingness to offer high quality peer-to peer reviews during class sessions, which without doubt have enriched the outcomes of this research. You have collectively inspired me to be more effective in pursuing my doctorate degree, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. God Bless you immensely. Table of Contents List of Tables........................................................................................................ i List of Figures ..................................................................................................... ii Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study .................................................................... 1 Background of the Study ................................................................................ 3 Problem Statement ......................................................................................... 7 Purpose of Study ............................................................................................ 7 Research Question ......................................................................................... 8 Theoretical Foundation .................................................................................. 8 Nature of the Study ........................................................................................ 9 Definitions ................................................................................................... 10 Assumptions ................................................................................................ 11 Scope and Delimitations .............................................................................. 12 Limitations .................................................................................................. 13 Significance of the Study ............................................................................. 14 Significance to Practice .......................................................................... 14 Significance to Theory ........................................................................... 15 Significance to Social Change ................................................................ 16 Summary and Transition .............................................................................. 17 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................. 19 Introduction ................................................................................................. 19 Literature Search Strategy ............................................................................ 20 i Theoretical Foundation ................................................................................ 21 Democratic Participant Theory ............................................................... 21 Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) .................................................... 23 Political Trend in Nigeria ............................................................................. 25 Violence and Election Challenges .......................................................... 27 Elections and Voter Apathy.................................................................... 30 Political Representation and Good Governance ...................................... 33 Election Campaigns and the Mass Media ............................................... 36 The Influence of Social Media on Youth ................................................ 39 Youth, Social Media and Politics ........................................................... 42 Twitter Evolution and its Spread ............................................................ 45 Twitter and Millennial Participation in Elections .................................... 46 Effects of Twitter on Elections in Nigeria .................................................49 Summary and Conclusions ........................................................................... 51 Chapter 3: Research Method .............................................................................. 54 Introduction ................................................................................................. 54 Research Design and Rationale .................................................................... 55 Qualitative Approach ............................................................................. 56 Phenomenological Method ..................................................................... 57 Role of the Researcher ................................................................................. 58 Methodology ............................................................................................... 59 Participant Selection Logic..................................................................... 59 ii Instrumentation .....................................................................................
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