CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF STUDY      

Democracy is a system of government where all citizens believe that ideas and opinions must be freely exchanged in a manner that truth will eventually triumph over falsehood, and where, through free exchange of such ideas, areas of compromise shall be clearly established (Parikh and Pahad 2011). It encourages free participation in the state affairs by all who are constitutionally qualified and willing to participate.

The foregoing descriptions mean that the sole ingredients of modern democracy are active participation and free exchange of ideas by the citizens; and without effective communication systems, where every citizen is connected and well informed, a democratic project is fated to fail. As Dimitrova et al. (2014: 98) argue, “one of the primary functions of news media in a democratic society is to inform its citizens,” and this cardinal function becomes more crucial during election campaigns when citizens need to know more about the candidates they want to vote for, and the political manifestoes of the various political parties. Therefore, active political participation and engagement (Vakaoti and Mishra-Vakaoti 2015) can only be achieved when citizens have functional media skills and literacy, and where the communication media are easily accessible to allow free interaction, political discussion (Shim et al. 2015; You et al. 2015) and information sharing.

Various scholars (for example, Moore 2002; Onumah 2011; Al-Kandari and Hasan 2012; Campbell and Kwak 2012; Olorunnisola and Martin 2012; Khamis 2013; Dimitrova et al. 2014), realizing the role of the mass media in any modern democracy, have worked on the correlation between citizens’ access to the communication media and level of media literacy on the one hand, and their level of political participation and social engagements, on the other hand.

Nigerian mass media is always alive to its duty before, during and after election given its prime position as the vital source of information about elections in democracies and societies in transition around the world.

In the view of Graber (2001) media coverage is the very lifeblood of politics because it shapes the perception that form the reality on which political action is based. Media do more than depict the political environment they are the political environment. Media are the prime source of information we have about political activities. This is due to the media’s commitment in fulfilling their obligation as spelt out in section 22 of the 1999 Nigeria’s Constitutions.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

        There are factors that trigger voting behaviour during elections. Most of these factors could be seen as opinion leaders” influence, information from the mass media, religion and family. Outside these, there are other considerations like tribalism, ethnicity, corruption, sentiments and the power of incumbency and these factors might go a long way in influencing voting pattern during elections. However, there is uncertainty about the influence of media on the choice of a presidential candidate for the 2019 general election. Finally, several research has been carried out on media and politics but not even a single research has been carried out on the knowledge and compliance to political media messages on 2019 presidential election among women in selected states in south east Nigeria.

1.3   AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

        The main aim of the study is to examine the knowledge and compliance to political media message on 2019 presidential elections among women in selected states in south east Nigeria. Other specific objectives of the study include:

1. to determine the factors affecting knowledge and compliance to political media messages on 2019 presidential elections among women in selected states.
2. to determine the extent to which knowledge and compliance to political media messages affects 2019 presidential election.
3. to determine the influence of knowledge and compliance to political media messages on Presidential election among women in selected states.
4. to proffer possible solutions to the problems.
   1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS               

1      What are the factors affecting knowledge and compliance to political media messages on 2019 presidential elections among women in selected states?

2      What is the extent to which knowledge and compliance to political media messages affects 2019 presidential election?

3      What is the influence of knowledge and compliance to political media messages on Presidential election among women in selected states?

4      What are the possible solutions to the problems?

1.5   STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0:   Knowledge and compliance to media messages has no significant effect on 2019 presidential election among women in selected states.

H1:      Knowledge and compliance to media messages has a significant effect on 2019 presidential election among women in selected states.

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

        The study on the knowledge and compliance to political media message messages on 2019 presidential election among women will be of immense benefit to the entire south east of Nigeria in the sense that it will the media to be conscious of the information they disseminate to the general public, which can either set the mind of the mass for or against the aspiring candidates. The study will also enable the citizen to be fully engaged in the upcoming 2019 presidential election which as a citizen it is their right to vote and be voted for. Finally, the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and knowledge to this field of studies and basis for further research.

1.7   SCOPE OF STUDY

        The study on the knowledge and compliance to political media messages on the 2019 presidential elections among women is limited to selected states in south east Nigeria.

1.8   LIMITATION OF STUDY

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).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9   DEFINITION OF TERMS

Knowledge      Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

Compliance     The act of obeying an order, rule, or request: 

Political  Relating to the government or public affairs of a country.

Media       Is the collective communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data

Message   Is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients.

Election  A formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.