73% of Nigerian youth don't trust INEC

A recently unveiled Citizen Report has revealed that at least 73 per cent of young Nigerians aged between 18 and 35 do not trust the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free, fair and credible election.

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The report also found that six in 10 people within the age bracket have avoided politics and political activities because of misinformation on and off social media.

Ninety-four per cent of the respondents noted that they have encountered misinformation about political events, and 73.5 per cent of them found the disinformation campaigns on social media.

The report lent credence to the increasing voter apathy in Nigeria despite a high population of young people.

Low voter turnout has characterised Nigerian elections and has witnessed a steady decline, reaching a new low during the last general elections.

During the 2023 presidential election, only 28 per cent of the 87 million eligible voters exercised their franchise.

In 2011, voter turnout was at what can now be described as an impressive 53.7 per cent of the voting population. By 2015, it dropped to 43.7 per cent, 34.75 per cent in 2019 and 28 per cent in 2023.

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Methodology

The Citizen Report is a data-driven report that presents youth perspectives on key issues, including misinformation, disinformation, AI, and digital threats. It was produced by the Big Cabal media, comprising the TechCabal Insights team and the Citizen by Zikoko team.

The report surveyed 335 Nigerians aged between 18 and 35 using a randomised sampling across the six geopolitical zones.

Fifty-one per cent of respondents are from the northern part of the country, while 49 per cent are from the South.

A further breakdown of the respondents by geopolitical zones shows that 36.7 per cent of respondents were from the North-central, 3.9 per cent from the North-east, 10.8 per cent from the North-west, 2.1 per cent from the South-east, 6.6 per cent from the South-south and 40 per cent from the South-west.

“The Citizen report provides actionable insights on how misinformation impacts political engagement, media trust and social cohesion.

“It also identifies key challenges and offers strategic solutions to combat misinformation. This report is a call to action for government, CSOs and other stakeholders to build a more informed and resilient society,” the report stated.

Increased reliance on social media for news

The report also found a shift from reliance on traditional media as a source of information among young people, with 84 per cent of respondents saying they rely on social media for news.

However, only 57 per cent of them trust the news media to provide accurate information, indicating a trust deficit between media organisations and young Nigerians.

Only 5.1 per cent of respondents say they fully trust digital media, with 18.8 per cent expressing low trust.

“Despite high engagement with digital media, trust remains low. Many Nigerians rely on these platforms but are sceptical about their credibility,” the report said.

The report noted that the scepticism is fuelled by increasing concerns over misinformation, disinformation, and other threats which undermine confidence in online news sources.

Recommendations

The report recommended the introduction of digital and media literacy into basic education, drawing a lesson from Finland, which ranks highest in media literacy, according to the 2023 Media Literacy Report. Finland’s achievement, it said, is mainly due to its education system, where media literacy is incorporated from elementary school to college.

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“Our survey found that 95 per cent of young people are eager to learn how to tackle misinformation. However, many lack access to resources to do so,” it said.

“Through collaborations between the government and academia, Nigeria can adopt a media and digital literacy curriculum that would equip young people with the critical thinking skills needed to identify and counter disinformation,” it said.

It also recommended that the Nigerian government invest in fact-checking organisations, explaining that most fact-checking organisations in the country are funded by Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations.

It called on the government to enact policies and laws against misinformation and disinformation and regulations against AI-generated content without infringing on citizens’ rights.

“Without proper regulations, AI can be exploited to spread deepfakes and manipulate public opinion. To ensure ethical AI development, Nigeria must establish policies that mandate the identification of individuals and organisations developing AI products. These regulations will help prevent the misuse of AI and safeguard digital privacy,” the report stated.