ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN LEADERSHIP AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

A Paper Delivered at the Occasion of the Bauchi Facebook Connect* 

24th March 2023 

By Musa Ahmad Azare

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen 

'i'p

Assalamu Alaikum! 

Shalom! 

*INTRODUCTION:*

I would like to begin with rejoicing with the Muslim Ummah for witnessing the beginning and end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, 1444 AH, especially those of us who are lucky to be alive, hale and hearty and here, now, in celebration of the auspicious occasion of the Bauchi Facebook Connect. Glory be Allahu Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for His endless favours. 

It is indeed an honour for me to be selected by the organisers of this programme to deliver a lecture on the topic; *ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN LEADERSHIP AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.* The topic is very wide in scope; very controversial politically; and extremely important in the circumstances and times we found ourselves today - the period of our democratic and political sojourn as a nation State. 

With all sense of humility and total respect for the organisers of this programme, I would like to make a little observation on the coinage of the topic. As I said in the preceding paragraph, the topic is very wide in scope. It is even wider if it is not limited to a specific area of interest, say Nigeria, or Bauchi State, for instance. It is therefore my candid opinion that 'Nigeria' or 'Bauchi State' should have been added to the topic. By that, we have a scope of work within which we confine ourselves, so that we can focus on our immediate environment, owing to peculiarities of societies - for instance, differences in culture, laws and dynamics. 

The two most important phrases in the topic are "social media" and, "leadership and political development." For this paper, I would like to broadly define these phrases, before delving into the role of the first phrase, "social media," on the second, "leadership and political development."

*SOCIAL MEDIA:*

The phrase, "social media" is a marriage of two words or terms, each of which is a subject of study in educational tol institutions the world over. 

The word "social," according to Collins English Dictionary, is something "relating to society or to the way society is organised." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "social" as "tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others of one's kind." There are several other definitions but, for this lecture, I think these two are relevant enough. 

"Media" on the other hand is the means through which communication that reaches a large number of people takes place. Radio and television, newspapers, magazines, flyers and pamphlets, and the internet, are some of the mediums for communicating information to large groups of people. 

Social media is one of the products of the digital age. It effectively created a means of communication (the internet), among people in such a manner as to create platforms (social networking sites), where they can freely interact in various manners including sharing and exchange of information, felicitations, and exchange of ideas in virtual networks among others. 

Social media like most recent developments evolves and is ever-evolving. It created a world where everyone who can read and write and can use a computer becomes an "untrained journalist." Some of the most common social networking platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; TikTok etcetera, where these platforms are used for the exchange of information; or for posting recent developments and news in their users' various locations. These social networking platforms provide people from related backgrounds and interests the opportunity to connect using the internet. 

Beyond all these, social media is also a tool for marketing and advertising products and ideas, as well as political propaganda. Social media users get updates on the current state of affairs in their various localities and communities to stay in focus.

*POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT:*

The Oxford Reference, a quality reference published by Oxford University Press, broadly defines Political Development as the development of the institutions, attitudes, and values that form the political power system of a society. 

In Nigeria, and indeed her federating units, such as Bauchi State, we have three or four or five institutions that form the political power system - the Executive (Presidency and Governorships); the Legislature (National and State Assemblies); the Judiciary (Federal and State Judiciaries or the Courts). The fourth is the Press or the Mainstream Media, regarded universally, as the "Fourth Estate of the Realm" or the "Fourth Power." The Fifth, regarded as the Fifth Power, or Fifth Estate, "is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is mostly associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and the social media." 

There are several assertions as to what constitutes the Fifth Estate. But this paper will not delve into those scholarly arguments, especially, given that majority of the assertions have in them, the phrase, "Social Media," which is the epicentre of this lecture. 

And the attitudes and values that form the political power system depend largely on the individual, and perhaps, the political party in power. This is another broad area that I cannot go into because of time constraints. However, I would like to make a little clarification. Some leaders are born fascists - utterly autocratic. The attitude of such leaders within the political power system, especially in Nigeria, where political power is nearly absolute, could endanger democracy itself. With a fascist leader in power, the tendency of his political party to uphold fascism in the political power system is almost certain. And in the end, quality leadership will be affected; political development will be hard to come by. 

Having broadly defined the terms, we can now analyse the role of the former, that is social media, on the latter, which is leadership and political development.

*Communication;*

Effective communication is virtually the single most important aspect of social media. It is such a powerful weapon in leadership, via communication. Leaders can always harness the power of social media via a communication to reach their subjects. Social media is the most effective tool for communication. Leaders will get to hear directly from the led. The led can directly engage and interact with their leaders. 

Most leaders in Nigeria have verified social media accounts/handles through which they pass information and communicate directly with the people. Although in most cases, the leaders are not the actual handlers or operators of the accounts. Media experts and/or strategists usually handle them on their behalf.

Political leaders can use social media to get positive results by being in perpetual touch with the people, hence, the problem of lack of communication has automatically been ruled out. 

Politically speaking, social media has performed magic. It has enhanced the people’s political perception and awareness. This is because it can be deployed for immediate connection with the electorate. And the feedback mechanism that can be achieved through a direct connection between leaders and the led, makes the significance of social media needs not to be overemphasised. 

In political development, social media provides awareness through connectivity. It helps build links and spread manifestos and agendas in a sub-national, national and/or universal connectivity.

Social media is an excellent tool for political development as it helps get people educated and informed through the sharing of information in large quantum on daily basis. It also helps in building cordial relationships between leaders and the led.

Social media has given people a voice in diverse means. It provides an avenue for political development to be debated and exhausted because billions of people are active social media users.

Social media helps in forming communities and reaching a wider audience. These benefits can easily be harnessed in leadership and political development. 

Having analysed some of the benefits of social media in leadership and political development in a country like Nigeria, it is pertinent we take a look at aspects of its negative angles. These will aid both leaders and the led in avoiding some of the pitfalls. 

For everything useful to humanity, there are also pitfalls. Social media is no exception in this regard. We must recognise the demerits of social media and learn how to manage them. 

*Abuse and/or Misuse of Social Media;*

The opportunity provided by social media to interact and engage leaders on issues of leadership, policy formulation and good governance generally, is often abused by some users. Instead of positive engagement with leaders, some social media users see an opportunity to rain insults and vent their anger and frustrations on the leaders. Nigeria's president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was quoted to have said that he no longer reads anything on social media because "they abused the hell out of me." He was further quoted to have said that social media made his blood pressure rise to high levels. 

Social media users should see it as an opportunity to respectfully engage leaders in positive discussion and engagement on the way forward in leadership, sociopolitical and economic development societies. Criticism is the most basic of all the ingredients of constitutional democracy. But it should be objective, sincere and one that provides an alternative backed by an empirical point, to that which you criticise. 

*Conspiracy and Blackmail;*

Phishing (fraudulent acquisition of sensitive data of individuals), trolling (the act of discrediting valid content or comments and/ or spreading disinformation with intent to cause trouble), cyberbullying (the act of sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, content about someone else), are some of the negative elements employed on the social media for conspiracy, fraud and political blackmail purposes. Leaders and their handlers are the most common victims of such negative implications of social media. Unscrupulous elements create fake social media accounts in the name of politicians and political leaders with the intent to conspire against them, defraud unsuspecting persons using the leaders' names, or blackmail leaders for illicit monetary gain and/or political advantage. 

*Fake News and Disinformation;*

Social media is flooded with "untrained journalists." Once you have a smartphone and a small amount of data to connect online, you automatically see yourself as a journalist. You are now armed with all the tools for peddling fake news and disinformation. 

Fake news has consumed nations, presidents, governors and an assortment of politicians. In the Middle East, the fragile security situation is largely caused by the spread of fake news and disinformation. The Russia-Ukraine war in Europe is been fueled largely by fake news. Here in Nigeria, most of the crises that consumed innocent lives were caused by the spread of fake news and disinformation. The BBC 2018 published an article on how fake news was fueling the farmers-herders crisis, which is still threatening the socio-political and economic development of Nigeria. The worsening situation of the insurgency in the North East of Nigeria, and banditry and kidnappings, in the North West, are all remotely caused by disinformation and fake news. 

Here in Bauchi State, disinformation and fake news are effective social media tools employed by politicians, political parties and their minions to discredit one another to grab power. 

Whilst journalism is a professional course that must be studied in a recognised educational institution before practice, social media has provided an avenue for dangerous violations of the code of ethics of the noble profession of journalism. However, a well trained social media user can manage the misuses and get the benefits of the positive sides.

In conclusion, no leader in today's world can do without the social media. As the world evolves, so should the leaders be. These days it is difficult to mislead the people because they are daily informed. What is required for the leader to succeed is to key into the magic of social media to his or her maximum advantage. The social media has come to stay and whatever evil inherent in it can always be managed by experts. What is needed is for political leaders to employ the services of professional social media advisers and experts in order to succeed in selling their set objectives to the people. Leaders could also be in tune with the pulse of the people because it is through the means of the social media that the ordinary subject can express his or her views.

I thank you most sincerely for listening. I do hope and pray that we all go back to our various destinations safely, with some points to consider carefully and thoroughly. 

Thank you once again and God bless you all.