NEWSPAPER MEDIA COVERAGE ON WOMEN POLITICIANS IN THE 2023 ELECTIONS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

          Since democracy is based on the representation of all interest groups, the low political representation of women is incompatible with this idea. After twenty-three (23) years of continuous democracy, Nigeria has not yet achieved any of the regional or global benchmarks for the representation of women in politics. To date, Nigeria has not produced a female governor, vice president, or even president (Nwaoboli& Abiodun, 2023; Arijeniwa & Nwaoboli,2023). Males predominate in both the National and State Houses of Assembly. Since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999, the country's average percentage of women serving in elected and appointed positions in politics has remained at 6.7%. This is significantly lower than the global average of 22.5 percent, the Africa regional average of 23.4 percent, and the West African subregional average of 15% (Nwaoboli,2023). The percentage of female candidates before the general election of 2023 was 10.2%. In order to assist these female candidates in the general election of 2023, efforts must be made to highlight the advantages of female political leadership as a whole, correct common misconceptions about them, and guarantee that they are positively portrayed in the media (Nwaoboli,2023).   

          The IPU noted in a 2015 review report titled "Women in Parliament: 20 Years in Review" that there had been a notable global increase in women's political representation between 1995 and 2015, with all regions making significant progress towards the target of 30% women's representation in decision-making and the global average for the share of women in national parliaments doubling during that time.

Sub-Saharan Africa's female political representation has increased, according to the IPU 2015 study. As per the report, in 1995, not a single African nation had elected more than thirty percent of women to its single or lower house of parliament. However, by 2015, twelve countries had elected more than thirty percent of women to these legislative houses, five of which had elected more than forty percent, and one, Rwanda, more than sixty percent.

          However, a 2018 report titled "Women's Political Representation in Nigeria: Why Progress is Slow and What can be done to Fast-track it" by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) came to the conclusion that while women's role in the nation's socioeconomic and cultural landscape appears to be growing, it has not translated to greater inclusion of women in the political process. In the general elections held in Nigeria in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015, women's political representation has been slightly low but inconsistent, according to PLAC (2018), using the 2015 IPU report.According to the study, just 12 out of 360 women were elected to the House of Representatives, making up 3.4% of the total electorate in the 1999 elections. In contrast, 17 women (or 4.9% of the electorate) were elected in 2003. There were 25 women (7%), 24 women (6.8%), and 20 women (5.6%) elected in 2007, 2011, and 2015, respectively. With 3 women (2.8%) out of 109 elected to the Senate in both the 1999 and 2003 elections, the trend was practically relevant to the election of women to the Senate over the same time period. Nine women (8.3%) were elected to the senate in 2007, and seven women (5.5%) were elected in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

          Although a variety of reasons may contribute to women's poor political engagement, some scholars contend that women's political ambitions can be furthered by the media (Chibuike & Fafiolu, 2015). As to the third iteration of Ace Project's media elections report (2012), the media plays a crucial role in democracy and an election cannot take place without them.The Ace Project research established the critical function that the media plays in an election by pointing out that they protect the openness of the process and serve as an essential watchdog for democratic elections. It was also said that a democratic election would be contradictory if there was no media freedom or if media freedom was restricted.

          According to Ibraheem et al. (2015), the media has the ability to shape and control the people's perceptions, particularly in election years when voters must choose between several political candidates running for public office. In a study titled "Gendered Portrayal of Political Actors in Nigerian Print Media: What Impact on Women's Political Participation?" Eshiet (2015) examined how women's political engagement is affected by the gendered depiction of political actors in Nigerian print media. said that the media, as an institution, is essential to raising public awareness, influencing societal attitudes, and giving people a genuine public forum to learn about politics (Folabi, 2022). It was mentioned that one useful weapon for influencing attitudes and forming fresh perspectives is the media. As a result, the media can effectively change or reinforce the harmful gender stereotypes that bar women from entering the political sphere.

          The discussion can continue to focus on identifying the key elements that influence how well women perform in elective leadership roles, but the aforementioned information raises concerns about the role that Nigerian media plays in the new problems that impact women's engagement in politics in the country (Folabi, 2022). Despite the emerging studies and position papers available, on the coverage of politics in Nigeria, there is still adearth in literature on the newspaper media coverage on women politicians in the 2023 elections.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

          In general, women's engagement in governance is generally minimal in most African countries. The situation is not any better in Nigeria. From 1999 to 2019, when Nigeria's uninterrupted democracy began, men had a higher proportion of all elected political offices, while women held fewer seats overall.

Oluyemi (2016) claims that despite concerted efforts by non-governmental organisations to increase women's political participation in line with the Beijing declaration from the fourth World Conference on Women, which promoted 30% affirmative action, Nigeria has been recording low levels of female participation in both elective and appointed positions.

The prevailing patriarchal practises in our culture, many of which have been evident even before the arrival of European settlers, have contributed to the underrepresentation of women in political activity. Nonetheless, since democratic government has been restored, women's political engagement in both elected and appointed positions has increased once more. In both elected and appointed posts, the national average of women's political engagement in Nigeria has stayed at 6.7 percent, much lower than the global average of 22.5 percent, the Africa regional average of 23.4 percent, and the West African subregional average of 15 percent (Oluyemi, 2016).

Although women have made a substantial contribution to societal advancements in Nigeria's political and social development processes, their influence has not translated into equal political standing or authority. It is a well-known fact that women play important roles in all political party systems, organising and leading the charge to support their parties' nominees. Even if they actively engage in electioneering, women are nevertheless marginalised when it comes to elections or the nomination process for positions of political responsibility. According to the IPU 2019 study, Nigeria has one of the lowest rates of female involvement in parliament in Africa and is rated 180 out of 193 countries globally due to the dire circumstances (IPU, 2019).

The number of political parties in Nigeria rose from 46 in 2023 to 110 in 2023 as a result of new parties being registered. Since most of the new parties provided political posts to female candidates, this did in fact open up the political landscape for more women to run for various positions. As a result, numerous female candidates emerged.In the course of this study, the researcher conducted an impartial comparative analysis of the data, which revealed a rise in the number of female candidates who ran in the general elections of 2015 and 2023. In contrast to the 528 women who ran for office in the 2015 elections, 2,930 women did so in the 2023 elections, according to an impartial comparison of INEC (2023) and INEC (2023)'s profiles of political party candidates. This is a more than 600% increase in female candidates.

It was thus anticipated that media coverage and reporting on women as candidates would rise in proportion to the expansion of the political space brought about by the appearance of more women as candidates from the recently registered parties. To give an empirical foundation for assessing the pattern of media coverage of female politicians in the general elections of 2023, there is, however, a paucity of research analysing the coverage of women in the media during the 2023 elections. It is based on this backdrop that the present study seek to ascertain the newspaper media coverage on women politicians in the 2023 elections.

1.3  Objectives of the Study

          The main objective of this study is to examine the newspaper media coverage on women politicians in the 2023 elections. Specific objectives of the study include;

1. To examine the frequency of newspaper coverage of women politicians in the 2023 general election

2. To determine the pattern of the editorial content in the coverage of male and female candidates by selected Newspapers in the run-up to Nigeria’s 2023 general elections.

3. To ascertain the prominence given by selected newspapers to the political activities of woman politiciansin the 2023 General elections.

4. To identify the format of presentation of contents on political activities of woman politiciansin the 2023 General elections.

1.4 Research Questions

          The following questions guided the present study;

1. What is the frequency of newspaper coverage of women politicians in the 2023 general election?

2. What is the  pattern of the editorial content in the coverage of male and female candidates by selected Newspapers in the run-up to Nigeria’s 2023 general elections?

3. What is the prominence given by selected newspapers to the political activities of woman politiciansin the 2023 General elections?

4. What is the the format of presentation of contents on political activities of woman politiciansin the 2023 General elections?

1.5 Scope of the Study

          This research is restricted to the newspaper media coverage of female politicians in the 2023 elections reports that were printed in The Punch and Daily Trust Newspapers' daily editions during the months of January and February 2023. This time frame was selected because it coincided with the first round of the 2023 electoral process (female federal positions, including president/vice-president and members of the national assembly), which is set for February 25, 2023.

          It is important to remember that candidates nominated by political parties for elections cannot be removed within 45 days of the polls, under section 33 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as modified). As a result, all candidates mentioned in the media during the chosen months of January and February 2023 were legitimate candidates running for office, not just aspirants.Therefore, the window for electoral campaigns, which include media-related activities (such as rallies, media engagement/interviews, press releases, etc.), is when candidates for the elections are most active between January and February of 2019. Two considerations were important while choosing the newspapers. First, being the go-to newspaper for readers in southern and northern Nigeria, respectively, both publications have a respectable national distribution and a general cutting edge.

1.6 Significance of the Study

          The purpose of this study is to add to the numerous previous studies that have been conducted about the reporting and coverage of women in the Nigerian media. Finding out the new media narratives surrounding the portrayal of female politicians in advance of the 2023 elections is very important.

          This is particularly noteworthy in light of the proliferation of female candidates in the new political parties, as evidenced by the researcher's independent comparative analysis of the list of female candidates approved by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the general elections in 2015 and 2023. After doing a comparison research, it was discovered that 3,290 women ran for office in the 2019 elections, compared to 478 in the 2015 elections.

          Hence, it is expected that this study will make a substantial contribution to the body of knowledge and be valued for further intellectual interaction by academic researchers, members of civil society, the media, development advocates, and gender rights activists, particularly to increase the representation of women in elective roles.

          More importantly, by using the 2023 elections as a benchmark, this study will greatly deepen the role of the media in gender reporting, particularly in the advancement of deliberate or strategic editorial policies and news platforms that encourage the coverage of women in the reporting of politics and governance issues.