By David Lawani, Abuja
“As a Commission, we must compete and dominate social media on issues around the electoral process. We must understand the language of young people and their interests. It is a fight of ideas and a fight for the minds of young Nigerians who constitute the bulk of the voting population. We must use infographics, short messaging and other creative and innovative approaches to capture their imagination.”
Making the position of the Commission known at the opening of a two-day Capacity Building Workshop for Heads of Voter Education and Publicity and Public Affairs Officers of the Commission from 17 Southern States, organised with the support of the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES), holding in Asaba, Delta State, National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye Esq. said that INEC is committed to the maximum participation of Nigeria’s teeming youth population in the electoral process.
Okoye noted that the evolution of technology, as well as the emergence of the COVID 19 Pandemic, have completely altered lifestyles and ways of doing things, hence Communicators and image-makers of the Commission must devise and deploy creative and innovative approaches to communicating issues and challenges in the electoral process.
The Chairman, therefore, expressed the need for Information Managers of the Commission to embrace social media in order to put to the front burner, conversations around the electoral process, especially among the youths.
Okoye declared that 2022 will be a busy year for the Commission, with a beehive of activities lined up in the build-up to the 2023 general elections. He stressed that all Heads of Voter Education and Publicity and Public Affairs Officers must be abreast with the activities of the Commission in order to communicate effectively with the public.
According to him: “2022 is loaded with activities and all Heads of Departments and Public Affairs Officers must be abreast of these activities. Elections take place at the base level and it is important to build the capacity of our communication experts to undertake the arduous challenges that come with election management and organisation”
Explaining further on the need to embrace social media, the IVEC Chairman said; “we must wean ourselves of dogmatism and orthodoxy and extricate ourselves from the trap of “we have done it before and there is nothing new to learn or do”. Society has changed. The old ways of communicating issues and developments have given way to new approaches.
“Door to door means of communication is receding and no longer feasible. The demography of Nigeria has changed and a lot of young Nigerians are using social media. The implication is that printing posters, handbills and banners are no longer fashionable”, he added.
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While also emphasizing the place of social media in today’s electoral process, Okoye said; “as communicators, you must devise and deploy creative and innovative approaches to communicating issues and challenges in the electoral process. You must be dynamic and imaginative against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that has completely altered lifestyles and ways of doing things. More Nigerians now patronize social media. We must find the right balance between the traditional and new media”.
“We must see improved permanence by our Heads of Voter Education and Publicity and our Public Affairs Officers. We want to see better and more robust engagement with the media. We want to see well-written press statements that represent the clear intentions of the Commission and convey the same in simple language. We want to see clear engagement in social media. Policies of the Commission and innovations must be cascaded to the grassroots using the best and most effective means of communication”, Okoye said.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Delta, Rev. Monday Udoh Tom, in his contribution, harped on the need to effectively communicate INEC’s innovations.
He said, “as officers in the forefront of Commission’s engagement with stakeholders, this workshop will no doubt serve to retool and sharpen your diverse competencies in the task of mobilizing the citizenry to positively participate in the electoral process, ahead of the 2023 General Elections and other offseason elections”.
“I am hopeful that the outcome of this workshop will not only benefit and enhance the Commission’s public communication and perception management strategy but ultimately enrich the electoral process”, Rev. Tom Added.
Outlining the objectives of the workshop, the Director, VEP, Victor Aluko, represented by Deputy Director, VEP, Chukwuemeka Ugboaja, said the purpose of the workshop is to equip HODs and PAOs to effectively and efficiently communicate procedures and processes, as well as to Review the INEC Communication Policy and adopt it as a working tool”.
