Campaigns are generally idea-filled, with issues of national significance in top priority; competitive manifestoes, and intellectual debates, all to win the votes of the electorate. In Nigeria however, most of the campaigns have treaded the path of mudslinging. This is according to findings from a survey carried about by Nigerian-focused poll developer, NOI Polls.
The survey revealed that Nigerians are unsatisfied about the neglect of intelligent speeches in favour of spiteful attacks on the character of opposition candidates, hulling insults back and forth.
The poll revealed that majority (57%) of the Nigerian adult population believe political campaigns are not focusing on current issues in the country; this stance cut across all regions, with the exception of the North-West zone which maintained a different perspective as the majority in this region believe the campaigns of politicians are focused on addressing the present issues. Also, adult Nigerians (69%) aged 61 and above accounted for the highest proportion of respondents who indicated that recent political campaigns do not address current issues in Nigeria.
In line with this, respondents were asked: In your opinion, what are the most pressing national issues politicians should focus on addressing? This question was a multiple response question meaning respondents were allowed to select more than one option. A larger proportion of respondents (67%) indicated Education as the most pressing national issue politicians should focus on tackling. This was followed by Electricity (39%), Infrastructures (38%), Water (34%), and Health (26%) among others.
A significant proportion (48%) of Nigerians stated politicians should focus on addressing security in their campaigns to make meaningful impact, a perception mostly maintained by residents of the North-East (70%) and North-West (62%) given the current state of insecurity in these regions. This is followed by Job Creation (13%), Education (8%) and Electricity (8%). Alternatively, a significant proportion of Southern residents consider job creation as an issue politicians need to address in their campaigns, than their Northern counterparts.
Further research revealed by (64%) that addressing these mentioned issues would influence their voting decision to a great extent; a stance maintained by the majority across all regions, gender and age groups.
To assess the willingness of Nigerians to vote in the upcoming elections, respondents were asked: Are you looking forward to voting in the 2015 general elections? To this, survey revealed quite a number of Nigerians (83%) look forward to voting in the general elections in 2015, with the number of males (87%) expressing greater optimism than females (78%).
In conclusion, results from the poll show that a majority of adult Nigerians (57%) believe the campaign by politicians do not focus on addressing present issues in Nigeria. A significant proportion (48%) indicated politicians should address security in their campaigns. Job Creation (13%), Education (8%), and Electricity (8%) followed. In comparison with other regions, geo-political analysis proved that the North-West (89%) and South-East (87%) regions accounted for the largest percentage of Nigerians who expressed optimism in voting in the 2015 general elections. Also, respondents aged 46-60 and 18-21 years showed more optimism for voting in the 2015 elections than other age-groups.
By Hadassah Egbedi
