Election Fever!!! Jega leads Google search internet traffic
With four days left for Nigerians to
decide who gets their votes in the presidential poll, one would expect
local Internet searches to shift to President Goodluck Jonathan of the
Peoples Democratic Party, and his All Progressives Congress counterpart,
Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
But analysis of last week’s Google
searches showed that Nigerians, who will be voting at the crucial
election, are more interested in issues that affect the Chairman of the
National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega. The INEC chief
emerged the fourth most sought after on Google search engine last week.
Last Monday, members of the O’odua
People’s Congress and supporters of the PDP’s presidential candidate,
staged a protest that impeded traffic on some major roads in Lagos,
demanding the sacking of Jega.
Jega, last week, also made critical
remarks with respect to the general elections. Among others, he
warned
both local and international observers against overreaching their limits
during the polls, saying they were not in the position to exercise
oversight function.
“In their conduct, observers are also
expected to declare any conflict of interest, be impartial and
unobtrusive, ensure that their reports and conclusions are
evidence-based, eschew prejudgment, always carry proper identification,
be careful about comments in the media, be prudent in receiving gifts
and favours and avoid involvement in dispute,” he said.
Google said the Lagos protest by the OPC, particularly, was responsible for the surge of Jega’s popularity on its search engine.
But like the preceding week, an
international issue – the Mother’s Day – topped the table obtained by
our correspondent from Google Nigeria’s office. The report explained
that the international event has become very popular among Nigerians,
with the Internet and telephone experiencing heavy traffic during the
commemoration.
“People take the day as an opportunity to
pay tribute to their mothers and thank them for the love and support
they show them. The day has become hugely popular in Nigeria with phone
lines witnessing maximum traffic,” said Google.
The Mother’s Day was followed by the
Lekki robbery while the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Examination
came third on the list.
Justifying the renewed interest in the
Lekki robbery, an incident that caused the death of four, Google said
the claim by Governor Babatunde Fashola that over 2,000 police officers
were mobilised to secure Jonathan raised concern among the Internet
enthusiasts.
Responding to the commando-like attack on
a Lekki branch of a commercial bank, Fashola said, “It was sad to have
seen all our security personnel and all our security vehicles deployed
to protect one man. All the vehicles we bought for the police were
stationed to receive the President while the citizens were left
vulnerable.”
The Presidency’s reply to Fashola, whose
utterance it described as irresponsible, might have also heightened
public interest in the robbery. Amid the politicisation of the incident,
enquiries into what actually transpired and the issues it generated
continued to hit the cyberspace.
On the JAMB, Google said, “The 24-hour
result seems to be going like clockwork and the Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination results are coming out in torrents. So, to
avoid getting itself in a jam, the JAMB has reactivated its result
portal, which is free.”
Dudu Evans, an on air personality with Radio Sapientia,
an Onitsha, Anambra State-based FM, who passed on two weeks ago, also
commanded interest on the cyberspace. The late presenter emerged fifth
last week.
Until his death, Evans was a Pidgin English presenter on the station’s morning flagship Sapientia Express. The self-named “Akpako Prophetess” died on March 10 after a brief illness.
Chika Ike, a popular actress, also made
her way into the top-searched individuals and events after posting a
photograph of her shopping at a grocery shop, claiming, “My chef is on
leave, I had to do the grocery shopping. I am making dinner now. Who
wants to help?”
The statement, which was to amuse her
fans turned controversial, as her critics lambasted for her hiring a
chef when she remained unmarried.
