ABSTRACT

In this article, the authors argue that for Nigerian subnational parliaments to improve their public image, public understanding of their roles, and to be more transparent and inclusive, they must improve digital engagement practices. This is because the majority of citizens are active online, articulating political conversations on many issues, including the conduct and performance of public institutions and officials. Also, subnational parliaments are ‘closer to the people’ yet are still perceived to be ‘closed’ institutions, while exercising ‘power of the purse’ directly and indirectly over nearly half of all nationally generated revenue. Drawing on content analysis of parliamentary websites and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube) accounts of the 36 houses of Assembly, and interviews of relevant officials, the authors show that although an online presence is largely mainstream, the depth of use for publishing information and citizen engagement is very low. The authors identify explanatory factors for this and draw relevant conclusions.

摘要

在本文中，作者认为，为了让尼日利亚地方议会改善其公众形象、公众对其角色的理解以及更加透明和包容，他们必须改进数字参与实践。这是因为大多数公民都活跃在网上，就许多问题进行政治对话，包括公共机构和官员的行为和表现。此外，地方议会“更贴近人民”，但仍被视为“封闭”机构，同时直接或间接地行使“钱包权力”，超过近一半的国家产生的收入。借鉴议会网站和社交媒体（Facebook、Twitter、Instagram 和 YouTube）账户的内容分析，以及对 36 个众议院的采访，以及对相关官员的采访，作者表明，虽然在线存在在很大程度上是主流，但发布信息和公民参与的使用深度非常低。作者为此确定了解释因素并得出了相关结论。