ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Despite Nigeria having the largest democracy in Africa, political participation remains comparatively low in the country, particularly among young people. This work aimed at investigating the influence of political socialization agents on political participation among the electorate in Bauchi State, Nigeria. A total of 442 respondents were selected and participated in the study via a stratified sampling procedure from the population of 43,403 of the electorate. Data was gathered utilizing a set of questionnaires that assessed their demographic characteristics, political participation behaviour, and perceived influence of political socialization agents. The findings of the study revealed that the media, political parties, and family socialization agents influence the political participation of the electorates during the electioneering process. The result has shown that among the political socialization agents, media present a significant impact. Therefore, it is recommended that the government develop a sensitization program targeting the electorates in Bauchi state to enlighten them and enhance their participation in political activities to further strengthen democracy.
Abdullah, N. H., Hassan, I., Ahmad, M. F. bin, Hassan, N. A., & Ismail, M. M. (2021). Social Media, Youths and Political Participation in Malaysia: A Review of Literature. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v11-i4/9578
Adegbola, O., & Gearhart, S. (2019). Examining the relationship between media use and political engagement: A comparative study among the United States, Kenya, and Nigeria. International Journal of Communication, 13, 21.
Adenrele, R., & Olugbenga, M. (2017). An assessment of citizens’ level of political participation and civic competence. International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 4(5), 72–80.
Ahmad, T., Alvi, A., & Ittefaq, M. (2019). The Use of Social Media on Political Participation Among University Students: An Analysis of Survey Results From Rural Pakistan. SAGE Open, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019864484
Ahmada, S., Abdullah, S. A. J., & Arshad, R. B. (2015). Participation and voting policy process in Nigeria: A qualitative study. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 362–374. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4p362
Ajayi, A. T., & Ojo, E. O. (2014). Democracy in Nigeria: Practice, Problems and Prospects. Developing Country Studies, 4(2), 107–125.
Akinola, O. O., & Adekunle, I. A. (2022). Developing market-oriented politics in Nigeria: a review of the 2019 presidential election. Journal of Marketing Communications, 28(1), 73–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2020.1866646
Aliyu, A. A., Ismail, M. M., & Md Nor, M. S. (2022). Influence of Political Knowledge on Civil Servant’s Perceptions towards Nigerian Federalism among Civil Servants in Bauchi State, Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(10), 398–408. https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v12-i10/15220
Anushiem, O. A. (2019). Legal Framework for Citizens’ Participation in Electoral Process: Imperative for Compulsory Voting System in Nigeria. 4(1), 1–7.
Azinge, E. (1994). The Right to Vote in Nigeria: A Critical Commentary on the Open Ballot System. Journal of African Law, 38(2), 173–180.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021855300005507
Bello, M. B., Yusuf, H. T., Yusuf, A., & Akintola, M. (2017). Social media usage and political participation among University undergraduates for political stability in Nigeria. Sarejevo Journal OfSocial Sciences,(8), 1.
Eneji, A. P., & Ikeorji, C. R. (2018). Youth political participation and electoral violence in the 21st century Nigeria: Bridging the gap. World Journal of Innovative Research, 4(6), 9–13.
Ibrahim, S. G., Liman, A. N., & Mato, K. (2015). The 2015 general elections: A review of major determinants of paradigm shift in voting behaviour and political participation in Nigeria. International Journal, 8.
Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., & Allen, D. (2013). Youth, New Media, and the Rise of Participatory Politics Exploring the intersection of youth, new media and political life in the twenty-first century. 1.
Lewis, P., & Bratton, M. (2000). Attitudes Toward Democracy and Markets in Nigeria: Report of a National Opinion Survey. In International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), Washington DC (Issue February).
Lijphart, A. (2019). 2. Political Theories and the Explanation of Ethnic Conflict in the Western World: Falsified Predictions and Plausible Postdictions. In Ethnic conflict in the western world (pp. 46–64). Cornell University Press.
Odoziobodo, S. I., & Okibe, H. B. (2019). Sit-Tightism in Africa: An Expository Analysis. American Journal of Sustainable Cities and Society, 8(1), 48–60.
Othman, M. F., & Okpe, V. V. (2021). Assessment of political participation and democratic governance in Nigeria’s fourth republic. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 29(1), 547–563. https://doi.org/10.47836/PJSSH.29.1.30
Rahahleh, Z. J., Hyassat, M. A. F., Alramamneh, A. L. K., Sabayleh, O. A., El Kareem Al-Awamleh, R. A., & Alrahamneh, A. A. (2021). Participation of individuals with disabilities in political activities: Voices from Jordan. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 29(1), 329–347. https://doi.org/10.47836/PJSSH.29.1.19
Shenga, C., & Pereira, A. (2019). The effect of electoral violence on electoral participation in Africa. Cadernos de Estudos Africanos, 38, 145–165.
Terriquez, V., Villegas, R., Villalobos, R., & Xu, J. (2020). The political socialization of Latinx youth in a conservative political context. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 70(August), 101188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101188
Tsegyu, S. (2016). Citizen journalism and election monitoring in Nigeria. Jurnal Komunikasi-Malaysian Journal of Communication, 32(1), 491–517.
Ugwuja, D. I. (2016). Political Participation and Democratic Culture in Nigeria: A Case Study of Nigeria. International Digital Organization for Scientific Research, 2(2), 1–23.
Willeck, C., & Mendelberg, T. (2022). Education and Political Participation. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 89–110. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-014235
N/A
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode