Abstract
Elections
in the world are not taken with levity as it is one of the major determinants
of what would become of the certain country in some years to come. During the
2015 general election in Nigeria, the political environment was intensified
with the proliferation of adverts, political innuendos and propaganda messages.
Media organisations in Nigeria, as always, became vehicles and channels of
expressions and propaganda. A significant number of these messages had elements
of hate speeches which were targeted at ridiculing opponents and opposition parties.
Nigeria has witnessed several elections and campaigns with the intention of
securing the people’s vote, however, the political environment of Nigeria is
not which that can be describe as conducive with candidates attacking
personalities and political parties. Questions are being raised as citizens
want to find out the role hate speeches plays in election campaigns and how it
affects voter’s choice of candidate with their perception about such candidate
before, during and after the election. The essence of the hate speech is to
ridicule and lower the esteem of others before well-meaning voters. This paper evaluated
the extent at which hate speeches were used during the 2015 general elections
in Nigeria. This paper was anchored on the social responsibility theory, which
explains how media should ideally operate in a given society of social values
and it is the standard against which the public judges. The paper concluded
that many hate speeches were used across all the mass media during the 2015
general elections in Nigeria but as none of these people who uttered the hate
speeches were not punished. The paper recommended that political actors that
engage in the use of hate speeches during electioneering should be punished
according to the electoral laws of the country. Furthermore, stringent punitive
measures should be meted to media outlets that publish or broadcast hate
speeches as a form of deterrent for the growth of democracy in Nigeria.
References
- Adibe, J. (2015). Fayose’s advert: Offensive or hate speech? Adapted from a paper presented at a roundtable on hate speech organized by the Kukah Centre: Abuja, on 27 January. 2017. Adie, V. O. & Abbas, J. (2015). Inside Nigeria’s most unusual political campaigns. Retrieved from: http://www.dailytrust.com.ng//weekly/index.php/politics/19352- on 15th February, 2017. Ayo-Aderele, S. (2015). When Hate Speeches Threaten an Election. Retrieved from http://www.punchng. com/democracy-focus/when-hate-speeches-threaten-an-election/ on 4th February, 2017. Boundless, (2016). The Modern Politcal Campaign: Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/campaigns-and-elections-8/the-modern-political-campaign-61/the-modern-political-campaign-345-5701/ on 7th March, 2017 Ezeibe C. (2015) Hate speech and Electoral Violence in Nigeria: A paper submitted to the Department of Political Science University of Nigeria Nsukka Folarin, B. (1998). Theories of Mass Communication, An introductory text. Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publishers. Grace, I. (2015). Political Advert Campaigns and Voting Behaviour: A Study of Akinwunmi Ambode’s Election Ad Campaigns in Lagos State. A paper submitted to the Mass Communication Department, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Lagos state, Nigeria. Nigerian civil society, (2015). Hate speech, Issue based Campaigns and the 2015 General Elections. 2, 11-19. Nigerian Observer, (2015). Checking Hate Speech among Nigerian Politicians. Retrieved from http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/2015/02/checking-hate-speech-among-nigerian-politicians/ on 19th January, 2017. Nigerianeye, (2016). NBC Indicts AIT and NTA for Documentary on Buhari. Retrieved from www.nigerianeye.com/2015/03/nbc-indicts-nta-ait-for-documentary-on-buhari on 8th February, 2017. Nockleby, T. (2000), “Hate Speech,” in Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, ed. Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst, vol. 3. (2nd ed.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference US, pp. 1277-1279. Cited in "Library 2.0 and the Problem of Hate Speech," by Margaret Brown-Sica and Jeffrey Beall, Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship, vol. 9 no. 2 (Summer 2008). Okunna, C. S. & Omenugha, A. (2012). Introduction to Mass Communication (3rd Ed.). Enugu: New Generation Books. Segun, O. (2015). Nigerian 2015 elections and the Internet of hate. Retrieved from http://itedgenews.com/2015/01/20/nigerian-2015-elections-and-the-internet-of-hate/ on 7th March, 2017. Ukwueze, C.I., & Uche, A. (2015). The Rise of Hate and Peace Journalism In The Nigerian Democratization Process: The Place of the New Media. Communication Panorama African and Global Perspective. Volume 1 Number 1 Sept-Oct 2015 Maiden Issue. Vanguard newspaper, (Oct. 26, 2016). Nigerian politics and the 2015 election campaigns by Rotimi fasan. Retrieved from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/nigerian-politics-and-the-2015-election-campaigns/ on 7th March, 2017.
Abstract
References
- Adibe, J. (2015). Fayose’s advert: Offensive or hate speech? Adapted from a paper presented at a roundtable on hate speech organized by the Kukah Centre: Abuja, on 27 January. 2017. Adie, V. O. & Abbas, J. (2015). Inside Nigeria’s most unusual political campaigns. Retrieved from: http://www.dailytrust.com.ng//weekly/index.php/politics/19352- on 15th February, 2017. Ayo-Aderele, S. (2015). When Hate Speeches Threaten an Election. Retrieved from http://www.punchng. com/democracy-focus/when-hate-speeches-threaten-an-election/ on 4th February, 2017. Boundless, (2016). The Modern Politcal Campaign: Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/campaigns-and-elections-8/the-modern-political-campaign-61/the-modern-political-campaign-345-5701/ on 7th March, 2017 Ezeibe C. (2015) Hate speech and Electoral Violence in Nigeria: A paper submitted to the Department of Political Science University of Nigeria Nsukka Folarin, B. (1998). Theories of Mass Communication, An introductory text. Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publishers. Grace, I. (2015). Political Advert Campaigns and Voting Behaviour: A Study of Akinwunmi Ambode’s Election Ad Campaigns in Lagos State. A paper submitted to the Mass Communication Department, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Lagos state, Nigeria. Nigerian civil society, (2015). Hate speech, Issue based Campaigns and the 2015 General Elections. 2, 11-19. Nigerian Observer, (2015). Checking Hate Speech among Nigerian Politicians. Retrieved from http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/2015/02/checking-hate-speech-among-nigerian-politicians/ on 19th January, 2017. Nigerianeye, (2016). NBC Indicts AIT and NTA for Documentary on Buhari. Retrieved from www.nigerianeye.com/2015/03/nbc-indicts-nta-ait-for-documentary-on-buhari on 8th February, 2017. Nockleby, T. (2000), “Hate Speech,” in Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, ed. Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst, vol. 3. (2nd ed.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference US, pp. 1277-1279. Cited in "Library 2.0 and the Problem of Hate Speech," by Margaret Brown-Sica and Jeffrey Beall, Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship, vol. 9 no. 2 (Summer 2008). Okunna, C. S. & Omenugha, A. (2012). Introduction to Mass Communication (3rd Ed.). Enugu: New Generation Books. Segun, O. (2015). Nigerian 2015 elections and the Internet of hate. Retrieved from http://itedgenews.com/2015/01/20/nigerian-2015-elections-and-the-internet-of-hate/ on 7th March, 2017. Ukwueze, C.I., & Uche, A. (2015). The Rise of Hate and Peace Journalism In The Nigerian Democratization Process: The Place of the New Media. Communication Panorama African and Global Perspective. Volume 1 Number 1 Sept-Oct 2015 Maiden Issue. Vanguard newspaper, (Oct. 26, 2016). Nigerian politics and the 2015 election campaigns by Rotimi fasan. Retrieved from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/nigerian-politics-and-the-2015-election-campaigns/ on 7th March, 2017.
Details
| Journal Section | Articles |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 27, 2017 |
| Submission Date | September 3, 2017 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2017Volume: 3 Issue: 9 |
Cited By
Implication of Brown Envelope Syndrome on Hate Speech and Fake News in Nigerian Media
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences
Lukman Adegboyega Abioye
https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.89.1
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