Evolving Trend, Influence, Impact Of Cyber Politics In Nigeria Require Deeper Understanding – ACSPN

…It’s a testimonial on scholarship and commitment – Prof Salawu  

The Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), has declared that the academic community and communication scholarship require a deeper understanding of the evolving trend, influence, and impact of cyber politics in Nigeria.

President of ACSPN, Professor Umaru A. Pate, who stated this at the at the special Book Reading and Further Reviews of “Cyber Politics: Social Media, Social Demography and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria” held at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State on April 19, 2024 expressed delight that Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, has been able to undertake intensive and extensive research in the area, stressing that the study has been transformed into a textbook for wider circulation.

While congratulating Dr Ibietan on the successful publication and presentation of his book on cyber politics in Nigeria on behalf of the Communication Studies family and specifically the ACSPN, Prof Pate, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, said that as an active member of the ACSPN, he was glad that Dr Ibietan is in the frontline of promoting some of the Association’s objectives of promoting innovative communication education through publications and other knowledge sharing platforms.

He said that a cursory reading of the book indicates that the Dr Ibietan was able to achieve the objectives of contributing to the conceptual and empirical dimensions of the subject in the context of political communication.

In the words of Pate; “Personally, I am enriched by the arguments and conclusions in the book. The book has increased my understanding of the relationship between the ever-growing social media and politics in the country.

“This is very important for obvious reasons, some of which relate to the popularity and influence of the new media, particularly among the most active components of the population.

“While welcoming the book as a positive addition to the growing body of literature in the area especially as it gives the Nigerian context, I am strongly recommending it as a worthy book for all students of communication studies, political science and allied fields.

“Our political tacticians and gladiators and other scholars of the interface between society and information and communication technologies will find the text appropriate and generously useful in helping them to deeply understand the strategies and impact of the social media in Nigerian politics.

“Definitely, the author’s effort is clearly manifested in the quality of the content in the book, its appropriate theoretical grounding, and sound conclusions that are reliably valid in the Nigerian context,” he enthused.

In his own presentation titled; “Ibietan: A testimonial on scholarship and commitment”, Prof Abiodun Salawu of the North-West University, South Africa, who supervised Dr Omoniyi Ibietan’s doctoral thesis, said that it was a pleasure for him supervising Omoniyi’s thesis as he was very conversant with the literature of the study.

Prof Salawu said he that he learnt from the literature Dr Ibietan used, adding that another of the author’s strength was that he was able to do effective academic writing which made reading his work not tortuous but exhilarating.

According to Prof Salawu; “I had the privilege of supervising the PhD thesis from which this book by Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan emanated. He was dedicated to the work that he took a year leave from his place of work to come over to Mahikeng in South Africa to exclusively focus on the study.

“I can say that the study was effectively done within this one year. With the thesis turned into a book, I believe the ideas, findings and recommendations contained therein are now made available to a wider readership,” he said.