OSUN 2022: As parties continue to communicate possible physical attack-driven messages, PAN calls for hands-on media literacy training

As the electorate in Osun State elect a governor in less than two months, the Positive Agenda Nigeria (PAN) had called on political parties, especially the APC and the PDP, to sensitise their supporters and social media handlers on media literacy skills so as to manage the rate of online personality attacks and potential physical attacks.

This admonition was premised on the new findings (week three) the organisation made as part of her ongoing Osun 2022 Election Campaign Monitoring.

“The online and offline trajectories of the campaign activities of the two leading political parties in the governorship election raise some concerns which should be addressed by the parties, the electoral umpire, and other stakeholders. That over 63% of 119 traces of attacks as a strategy discovered for the three weeks were found on pages of political parties’ supporters and groups is an indication that the political parties need to work with their members and supporters to prevent further escalation of online attacks into the physical space. That campaign buses and posters were destroyed also shows lack of tolerance which can degenerate into more dangerous attacks if not controlled,” PAN emphasised.

PAN also reiterated the need for political parties in the state to use the opportunities provided by different communication platforms, both online and offline, to strengthen their parties’ programmes and policies as well as market the candidacy of their standard bearers instead of expending greater energy in disparaging their opponents’ personalities. The non-partisan organisation stated:

“Political campaigns should be opportunities for presenting manifestoes and convincing the electorate about parties’ programmes and projects, and not for discussing the competencies and maligning personal attributes of political opponents. This report shows that beyond their political differences, the two leading political parties united to condemn the physical attacks that occurred during the ruling party’s campaign activities in a town in the state. This is an act that should be reinforced for parties involved in the election to successfully achieve their campaign objectives.”

The organisation equally called on parties and their candidates to desist from vote buying in whatever forms, and ensure that their campaign speeches are policy-engaged.

Because the campaign activities are getting hotter in the physical settings, Dr Oyedele Joseph Obasanjo, a member of the study team and lecturer at the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti in Ekiti State, reiterates that concerned stakeholders should examine practical lessons from the week three report. He was referring to the violent attacks that occurred in the state’s Ayedaade Local Government when one of the candidates held a campaign rally in Gbongan, one of the local government’s towns. “It’s clear from previous reports and this one that political parties need to train their social media handlers, particularly those in charge of Facebook and Twitter, on how to engage voters without bringing in personality issues, identify issues and needs in critical sectors and industries for robust policy engagement rather than personality disparagement,” Dr Oyedele stresses.

It would be recalled that PAN has 69 days to monitor the election campaign environment in Osun before the July 16th Governorship Election.

The eport is available here