The role of information and communication technologies in sociopolitical and ethnoreligious conflicts in Nigeria 2006-2014

Olabode, Shola Abidemi

Abstract

Conflict has been an integral part of Nigerian political life and has served as a catalyst for a progressive Nigerian society. From the precolonial era to the current period of democratization, conflict has also been a means through which dissident movements have influenced govenment policies, reform and change. The media served as a tool for dissident movements who use the medium to communicate or as a means for archiving their goals. Yet, in-spite of the widespread presence of mainstream media, the uses of the media for conflict mobilizations experienced some limits especially those involving state control, monopoly and other socio-political and economic drawbacks. Since the transition to democracy in 1999, the country has witnessed a surge of conflict. This conflict has been influenced by new Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs), which emerged alongside the transition. The study explores two kinds of conflict emerging in Nigeria: sociopolitical and ethnoreligious. Although, there have been many studies considering the impact of ICTs on social movements emerging especially within western scholarship, so far, few discussions offer a cross-comparison of both dynan1ics of conflict about the role of new ICTs in Nigeria. The thesis draws on three case studies: Occupy Nigeria, Boko Haram, and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). These cases provide a lens for examining conflict mobilization among movements in Nigeria. The study draws on the Cyberconflict framework, which harnesses the elements of the resource mobilization, media and conflict theories used to understand computer mediated conflicts across the globe. The study employs a qualitative paradigm. This includes both primary and secondary data collection techniques (semi-structured interviews, a synthesis of audio­visual and textual data online and analysis of existing research). A thematic analysis guides the method used to map an understanding of the role of lCTs during conflict mobilization of the three movements. In considering the role of new ICTs in conflict mobilizations the findings contribute to existing knowledge by bridging the gap in the literature on digital activism as a field of study, the examination of ICTs in three political movements of various ideological underpinnings in a single country, and in a developing non-Western context. The findings correspond to the sociopolitical and ethnoreligious components of the Cyberconflict, but also reveal outcomes crucial to the Nigerian national context

Citation

Olabode, S. A. The role of information and communication technologies in sociopolitical and ethnoreligious conflicts in Nigeria 2006-2014. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223720

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Keywords: Media, culture & society
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223720
• Additional Information: Department of Social Sciences, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jun 1, 2016