University of Lagos (UNILAG) has sparked serious buzz online after incorporating the high-profile political dramas between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The question paper also featured the power struggle between Minister Nyesom Wike and Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, into a recent examination question.
The controversial feuds were featured as case studies for MSc students in Mass Communication during their first-semester examination.
In the surfaced examination question, the university asked students to apply media theories to the real-life political conflicts.
In one section of the examination, students were tasked to consider the role of media in the suppression of women’s voices in Nigerian politics, using the Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan vs. Godswill Akpabio saga as a case study.
In a second section of the examination, students were asked to analyze the ongoing power struggle between Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara in Rivers State.
The full question read:
1. Assuming you have been commissioned by a media analysis company to conduct a study on Media and the suppression of the voices of women in Nigerian politics: The Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan vs. Senate President Godswill Akpabio saga;
(a) Identify TWO most relevant theories that will serve as a framework from your study of the following: Symbolic Annihilation; Agenda Setting; Gatekeeping; Muted Group; Cultivation; Uses and Gratifications; Framing; Two-step flow; Elaboration likelihood; Cultural Hegemony; Transtheoretical model; Social Learning; Structural Imperialism.
(b) Justify your choice of the theory and explain its appropriateness/applicability to the study.
3. In his theory, Jürgen Habermas describes the public sphere as the domain of social life where individuals can come together to freely identify and discuss societal problems and form public opinion.
(a) Using the Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara tussle for supremacy in Rivers State, explain how social media has impacted the public sphere.
(b) Discuss the role of “fake news” and information in influencing the formation of public opinion in the public sphere.
