Nigeria is projected to have well over 134.2million internet users by the end of last year. This figure is projected to grow to 187.8million in 2023. The internet penetration amounted to 47.1% of population in 2018 and is to reach 84.5% in 2023 according to Freedom House Index (2018).
Gates Polls research revealed that very little is done by government officials at the cabinet level where most policy decisions are taken to maximize the plethora of platforms this huge internet user’s population provides for citizens engagement.
The Summary Methodology:
The methodology is based on a five-prong statistical approach which benchmarked all Ministers equally on the same scale, 0 being the minimum and 10 being the maximum score based on the following: visibility (ease of locating ministers’ accounts on social media platforms); volume (number of engagements across all social media channels); velocity (response time to questions and enquiries across all social media channels); vector (the relationship between a Minister’s official social handle and that of the Ministry he/she oversees) and value (citizens satisfaction across all social media channels).
Keys:
1. Visibility: (Ease of locating Ministers’ accounts on social media platforms)
Across the four social media platforms we researched (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube). Ministers and ministries who have verified social media handles will weigh higher based on this parameter.
This is because fake news, misinformation and disinformation thrive on cloned social media handles that litter the web where unsuspecting members of the public are misinformed and sometimes false or non existent recruitment and empowerment exercises are advertised to swindle the citizens.
Overall, ministers and ministries with verified social media handles for citizens engagements are ranked higher compared to those with multiple dummy accounts.
2. Volume: (Number of engagements across all social media platforms).
Ministers are weighed based on the sheer traffic visiting their pages over the base month. The higher the traffic the higher the weigh relative to others.
3. Velocity: (Response time to questions and enquiries across all social media platforms).
Minister’s who reply to questions, clarifications and enquiries directed to their feeds during the period under review will weigh higher compare with those who are not deliberate with citizens engagement.
4. Vector: (This measures the correlation between a Minister’s official channels with the ministry he/she oversees.
Where there is a strong linkage between official social media handles and the ministry’s especially where there is a seamless relationship between personal media aides and ministry press unit. The effect is a more robust and efficient citizen’s engagements across all the platforms. This will positively impact on the weight.
5. Value: (Overall citizen’s satisfaction across all social media platforms).
Our weight will factor citizens reviews across all social media platforms of a Minister and the ministry he/she oversees. Positive reviews are directly related to positive weight.
Recommendations:
I. There is need for all the ministers to activate a 24-hours response time policy especially in addressing online enquiries and where this is not possible alternative channels should be clearly stated.
II. There is need to focus on citizens engagement on all policies, plans and executions by all ministers. This is the only way citizens can contribute to policy formulation and hold them accountable.
III. There is a need to strengthen partnership between the use of personal media aides and ministry professionals to avoid unhealthy competition which cast a shadow on efficient information dissemination.
IV. There is also the need for effective collaboration with media organizations as they have viable platforms and reach to amplify the programs and policies of government at the same time engender citizenship participation.
For a more detailed understanding of our methodology at Gates Polls Limited, click on the link below 👇: