EXPLORING THE ROLE OF NEW MEDIA IN DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION

PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The complexity of Nigerian politics and its attendant weakness in social cohesion constitute a great clog to Nigeria’s socio political and economic development. The emergence of new media as hoisted on the internet and its ancillaries like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc with their quantum leap in information flow, has impacted greatly on the political landscape. This is bridging the hitherto wide information gap between government and the governed in Nigeria. This paper examines the theoretical basis for new media, using a reflective analytical method; it rationalizes the link between new media and the quest for democratic consolidation in terms of its growing utility for civic engagement in Nigeria’s fourth republic. The paper also examines the inherent challenges drawing from Nigeria’s experience. This is in addition to a critical foray into the dominant arguments amongst the major divides of the adherents of new media about its efficacy in ingraining democracy. It suggests a multi pronged approach for using new media to tackle the pervasive nature of poverty, the unbridled level of corruption in governance and the challenge of terrorism in the country. With these it is hoped that an atmosphere for a robust engagement between government, business sector and civil society entities can be engendered. This is with the ultimate aim of asserting its reverence as an indispensable effect for democratic consolidation globally and Nigeria in particular.