Online Engagements and Nigerian Polity: Exploring Users Reactions to Election Results on Facebook

Facebook commonly accessed on mobile remains the most popular and pervasive social media in Nigeria. The rapid, swift development of media technology; the global access to the Internet and the continuous online presence on social media are fundamentally changing the global political and governance experience. In the new media age of political engagement, the issue is no longer whether social media technologies help in political mobilization, but how to use social media so that the users’ experience and interest will be heightened to harness development. Hinged on the Agenda Setting, Media Priming and Technological Determinism theories, this study investigated how 384 residents in three communities of Enugu state – one of Nigeria’s 36 political subdivisions - reacted to the election results on Facebook plus how they were politically activated to participate in the 2015 presidential elections with regards to their social media presence and engagements. The study also explored the new relationship between Facebook, national development and election results as well as ways in which newly emerging citizen reports wavered during the 2015 election periods vis a vis the traditional media reports and updates in Enugu state. Findings show high use of Facebook on mobile for political information though; most respondent’s voting decisions were not influenced by social media messages