Peter Obi’s I Am The Structure Stickers Take Over Social Media Space Matters Arising By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah 

Peter Obi’s I Am The Structure Stickers Take Over Social Media Space Matters Arising By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah

“No matter the weight of elephant, him no fit cause earthquake…I never come dem say I be fake, now I don come dem dey see me dey shake-Lyrics Ekwe Sample by Stereo Man.

For me, heaven will not fall; the elections will come and go, and everyone will return to their normal duties; God willing, we will all witness the elections in good health and sound judgment.

Going forward today we shall look into the total take over of the social media space by Peter Obi’s fans and the implications as it affects the 2023 presidential elections. For some time now people from all walks of life have taken over WhatsApp groups and other social media spaces with the Sticker I AM THE STRUCTURE. Definitely, this is a result of the  ‘scathing remarks’  by the dominant parties that Peter Obi has no structure to win the 2023 presidential elections.

With technology shaping every aspect of our lives, it is only natural that it has started shaping the politics of our countries too.

In the early 2000s, social media had an impact on elections. In the United States, Barack Obama used social media during his first presidential campaign to rally a majority of voters and win the election in 2008. According to Pew Research Center, during Obama’s first campaign, approximately 74% of internet users sought election news online, representing 55% of the total adult population at the time.

During the 2016 presidential election in the United States, the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica successfully collected and sold social media user data in order to influence voters with targeted advertisements.

What is its strategy? Collect widely available demographic data on a large scale from social media platforms. The firm then used large-scale modeling to conduct election analyses and make statistically calculated predictions about what types of advertisements would be most appealing to members of various groups.

There is no doubt that social media has shaped the roles of elections in major countries over the last decade. What do we have in Nigeria, where we all agree that all politics are local?

First and foremost, the social media platform is a structure, hence everyone is on it. Let us go back to the beginning, with Buhari’s election in 2015, which made history as the first time a sitting president was defeated in an election.

According to Google trends, Muhammadu Buhari was the second most-searched person in 2015, as interest grew as a result of the online campaign.

Social media served as a platform for selling the coming Messiah, who aspired to be president, and his campaign team, the Buhari Campaign Organization (BMO), did everything in their power to dominate the media space. Prior to Buhari’s rise to prominence in the 2015 presidential elections, the army retired general had run multiple times and failed each time.

If the verdict is given, it should be noted that social media played a significant role in determining who became Nigeria’s president, as the leading figure on social media eventually became Nigeria’s president.

Atiku Abubarkar, a former vice president, recently expressed his opinion that the Labour Party runs the most of its campaigns on social media. He asserted that since 90% of people in the North do not use social media, they will not base their votes in any way on social media.

So let us critically examine Atiku’s claim to see if it is supported by facts. A look at his electoral journey should provide some insight.

Atiku has been running for president since 1993; he has succeeded in certain party primaries and failed in others. However, for the purposes of this study, let’s focus on the elections he won while running for president on behalf of the parties he represented.

In the 2007 presidential election, he ran as an Action Congress candidate and received 2,637,858 votes, placing third behind winner Umaru Yar’Adua of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP.

Given that social media in Nigeria was still in its infancy, the 2007 presidential elections lacked any significant social media excitement.

Now, in 2015, Atiku lost the APC presidential ticket to Buhari, so he did not run in the general elections. This election saw Buhari take the lead in the Social Media space, and he easily defeated Jonathan. On social media, Buhari was heralded as the coming messiah.

Atiku rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party in 2017 and ran as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 election, losing to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari’s so-called 2014 Messiah hype was non-existent during this election. This time around, Atiku received an impressive 11,262,978 votes.

How did social media influence the 2019 election, then? The debates on social media then alternated between Atiku and Peter Obi, Atiku’s running partner, who was seen as another incoming Messiah.

Now on Google trends, Atiku received increased interest at the tail end of 2018, but the conversations on social media were not as powerful, because Atiku Abubakar was perceived to be in the same class as Buhari, knowing that he had assisted Buhari’s election as president in 2015.

Atiku went on to lose the election, but he came out with an impressive result in terms of previous exploits, and he actually dazzled Buhari’s camp. Atiku did well this time around when his social media hype was high, and his association with Peter Obi proved to be a plus.

Matters Arising;

The dominant parties claim that there is no social media structure, but they all rose to prominence through the same social media. The people on social media where do they live? Do they live on Facebook or Twitter? Or they live on the streets of Nigeria?

Why is Musa Kwankwanso’s presidential candidacy now not gaining traction as anticipated? Is his lack of presence on social media a benefit or a drawback for his campaign?

Back to the intro song by Stereo Man Ekwe Sample …”I never come dem say I b fake, now I don come dem dey see me dey SHAKE , wait for your time one day you go blow.”

Prior to now, the focus was on Peter Obi’s lack of structure, but on a daily basis, Nigerians are demonstrating that they are that structure and, in a bold move, have begun associating themselves with a soon-to-arrive Messiah. You can see Nigerians displaying their beautiful faces with the Structure Sticker of Peter Obi in a proud manner.

The role of social media during election campaigns has both its advantages and disadvantages, however  the reality of the present day is that it helps in galvanizing the electorates towards a certain mindset.

Osigwe Omo-Ikirdoah is the Chairman / CEO and Principal Bush Radio Academy, additional reports by Smart Omo-Idemudia.

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Source iReporteronline

Checkout some images below of Nigerians proudly displaying their faces as the structure for the 2023 general elections.