Election in Cameroon: 6

Book Captures Social Media Use as Way-out for Candidates in Conflict Zones
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde 

Dr. Ngange surrounded by colleagues & students

 

 

 

Dr. Kingsley L. Ngange, senior lecturer at the University of Buea has revealed that social media use has come in to save most politicians vying for seats in elections in the crisis-hit Anglophone regions.  He made the finding Thursday 30 January 2020 in a telephone interview with The Median prior to a semi book launch he organised to present three of his research works and publications to the University community in Buea.
    One of the publications which he described as timely and topical titled “Social Media Use in the 2018 Presidential Election in Cameroon” is edited by M.N. Ndlela and W. Mano and appears in pages 119-146 in volume one of the book “Social Media and Elections in Africa: Theoretical perspectives and election campaigns”. It focuses on the role of social media in the 2018 presidential elections and how it as well as the upcoming twin polls.
    “I noticed that the 2018 Presidential election were the first official social media election in Cameroon because they were launched by the President on Twitter and immediately he did that which was the first time, the social media was officially used in campaigns by the rest of the other contestants,” Ngange said.
    While revealing that the social media came in as saviour to contestants who could not go to the crisis-hit Northwest and southwest Regions of the country, Ngange, added that the work presents an analytical summary of how the social media was used in the polls.
    “There was a strong correlation between those who used the social media more and the election turnout. It turned out that the President of the republic used the social media more, followed by Maurice Kamto and the official results were a strong reflection of this use by these candidates. Even more importantly is how social media was used after the elections,” Ngange disclosed, adding, that it was for these reasons that the editors found it fascinating to include it in the first volume of the ongoing series on social media and elections in Africa.
    Ngange’s second work titled “Mass Media and Society: Cameroon” is published in The Sage International Encyclopaedia of Mass Media and Society (pages 245-249) edited by D.L. Merskin. The work is a panoramic presentation of the mass media and society in Cameroon from print, radio, TV, films and many others. It also touches on society aspect which revisits the ongoing socio-political crisis in the country and role played by the mass media.

    The third work he presented was titled “Peace, Governance and Security in Africa: Getting it Right”, published in pages 37-57 of the book “The difficult task of peace: Crisis, fragility and conflict in an uncertain world”.
    Ngange, who is Head of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication in University of Buea has equally published another article titled “Media violence reports on the Cameroon Anglophone crisis: Implication on Buea denizens” in the international journal of media, journalism and mass communication and over five internationally referenced articles in international journals and prestigious publishing houses abroad, as well as a book on the Cameroon Anglophone Lawyers and Teachers strikes. 
    Ngange said he was spurred into such research publications most of which touches on the Anglophone crisis because of the ignorance and rise of deception that has gripped the Cameroon media landscape filled by social media propagandists. A situation he said would be redressed through his reactive publications aimed at revisiting why and how we got into the crisis, the role the media has played, and by being proactive by giving people sufficient information to avert future crisis that would claim lives and destroy property.