CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The 21st century's rise in human population, multiculturalism, and interaction pose a threat to world peace. Due to an ever-increasing crises that is a significant component in the organisation and society, higher education institutions in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, have been suing over academic development (Olajide 2011). Crises, as is frequently stated, are a necessary component of human existence and an inevitable source of crises within any organisational structure since stakeholders sometimes have crisesing objectives (Ibukun 2015).

When a crisis does arise, it must be addressed effectively or it will jeopardise the very operation of the company, the country, and society as a whole. Higher education institutions, such as universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and organisations with other mono-technic aims, are frequently seen as challenging institutions to govern in terms of crises because crises is unavoidable in developing nations like Nigeria (Bloisi 2017).

Different levels of crises affect universities all across the world, but a properly handled crises won't turn violent. Crises can, however, lead to significant cracks in an institution's structure and can also be a powerful tool for elevating the institution to a higher degree of performance (Fatile & Adejuwon 2011).

This suggests that different factors are shaping Nigeria's tertiary institutions from the inside out. These include institutional forces, both internal and foreign, that limit the effectiveness of administration. Crises is therefore unavoidable (Gbadamosi 2016).

Therefore, in a crisis-ridden climate like that found in tertiary institutions in Nigeria right now, it will be challenging for higher institutions to achieve academic efficiency. The crises between the stakeholders, which include students and staff (academic, non-academic, and administrative and government ), has the potential to spark protests, uprisings, unrests, and violence, which could force academic programmes to be suspended for months (Adeyemi, Ekundayo & Alonge 2010).

The inadequate management and funding of the educational sector by the government is one of the main contributors to crises in the sector. Since the government has not acceded to the lecturers' demands, the problem has forced them to shut down academic activities for months. Social media during this time was crucial in spreading awareness about the strike and the several talks between ASUU and the federal government.

Giving room for individual and group engagement, which is crucial for organisational development, is at the heart of good crises resolution in every society. As is frequently observed, crisess arise naturally in every organisation because its stakeholders have divergent, incompatible objectives. However, anytime a dispute arises, it must be handled positively to avoid endangering the organization's existence as well as that of the country and society as a whole (Olaleye & Arogundade 2013). It has been noted that Nigerian postsecondary schools have a number of challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, rising tuition costs, lecturers extorting money from students, and sexual assault, among others. These have bred mistrust and animosity among higher education stakeholders, impeding the institutions' ability to run smoothly, effectively, and efficiently (Rahimi 2017).

According to Olaleye & Arogundade (2013) People all over the world  use social media to communicate with one another by creating, sharing, and exchanging ideas on electronic platforms or through portable devices that are connected to the internet, etc. Without the advancement of communication technologies, this would not have been feasible. The advancement in rocket and spacecraft technologies helped to facilitate this growth. For a variety of purposes, such as communication, rockets are launched into space (Olaleye & Arogundade 2013). Which  indicates that the twenty-first (21st) Century is an era of globalisation, which was ushered in by the introduction of social media, this caused limits to dissolve. One advantage that the development of the internet has given the communication industry is the social media (Olaleye & Arogundade 2013).

According to Kaplan (2010), the social media are a collection of web-based applications that are founded on the conceptual and technical underpinnings of web 2.0 and enable the creation and exchange of user-generated content .

In order to build highly dynamic platforms for individuals and groups to share, co-create, discuss, and edit user generated content, social media relies on mobile and web-based technology. According to Egbecho (2014), social media has changed how companies, communities, and people communicate. Everyone has the potential to create content on social media. People can also use friendship chains to promote themselves. Although this is not always the case, the majority of individuals associate social media with positive outcomes.

Social media has been charged with exacerbating crises through unfair, biassed, and careless reporting of the ASUU strike. Social media in Nigeria exacerbate crises and crisis situations by its role in disseminating information, among other means of persuasion and influence. The benefits of social media to crises management and resolution are undermined by subjectivity, exaggeration, and prejudice in the presentation of news and opinions. According to Best and Obateru (2011), “Social media has been accused of igniting crises, rather than putting a stop to them, especially when it comes to the public relations crises between professors on strike and the federal administration.” Sobowale (1983) expresses this point more concisely by arguing that social media's effects seem to be stronger in the crises they cause than in their actual effects on people and events..

He further argues that “While there is no doubt that they have significant potential to resolve disagreements between the government and the striking academics, they also show the propensity to instigate disputes. The most reliable sources feasible should be used to deliver fair and objective reporting on social media. Instead of carrying out this duty, they appear to take pleasure in picking sides and escalating disputes. This mentality led some media analysts and critics to claim that most media organisations have this mentality.

  Egbecho (2014) opined that Numerous studies have been done on the connection between social media and crises (Asuu stike).    Adeyemi et al (2010) focus on the detrimental usage of social media as a potent tool for igniting crises in the educational sector rather than putting them out. There is still a lot to learn about using social media to stop a Nigerian educational sector strike. Although social media have long been thought of as potential agents of social progress and national integration, scholarly understanding of social media's role in crisis resolution has lagged behind in the educational sector.

  Egbecho (2014)  asserted that Social media could be helpful in managing and resolving crisess, particularly in ending the Nigerian lectreres' strike. By spreading anti-prejudice messages among the striking academics, they could, nonetheless, have a considerable impact on lowering prejudice and crises. Social media has a very limited effect on handling crises. Their effects in tense situations seem inadequate. More people are aware of social media's influence on crises escalation than resolving crises( Egbecho 2014).

 The public and society at large can be informed, educated, enlightened, made aware of issues, and entertained using social media. The social media can have both positive and harmful effects on society. According to Asemah (2011), "social media's attempts to inform, educate, and delight have some harmful impacts on the general public and the striking professors. This implies that social media has both useful and undesirable functions. Specifically, both beneficial and detrimental roles in Nigeria's higher institutions' crisis management. It is to this the study centres on audience perception of social media use as a tool for crisis management among academic staff union of universities in osun state

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

During the recent strike in 2022, social media involvement and reports are thought to have a significant role in either raising or deescalating tensions in educational institutions. In this case, According to (vanguard 2022;punch 2022) it was stated that social media have turned the reports of the strike into politics. The patterns of social media reports on the industrial action, with particular reference, are capable of causing additional harm.

The public is still more interested in negative news than positive news. Ironically, the social media take advantage of this and/or use it as an opening to fabricate articles about the strike in order to forward their political agenda. The majority of reports on the strike are issue-focused. Additionally, it is stated that "bad news is good news, and this is what drives more attention to these social networking sites." "Social media are often dramatic and emotive in tone and more sympathetic towards a particular aim,"

 All these portrayals are clearly influenced by personal values, professional standards, social media ownership and control structure etc.it is to this the study centres on audience perception of social media use as a tool for crisis management among academic staff union of universities in Osun state

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this research work is to examine audience perception of social media use as a tool for crisis management among academic staff union of universities in Osun state. the specific objective of this research work includes :

1) To examine if social media was used by ASUU members to manage crises in Obafemi Awolowo University

2) To examine the extent of social media Use for crisis management among  ASUU members in Obafemi Awolowo University

3) To asses audience perception towards the types of social media used in creating awareness during the ASUU strike

4)       To determine if social media was used by ASUU members to escalate de-escalate the recent strike in Obafemi Awolowo University.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) To what extent does was social media used by ASUU members to manage crises in Obafemi Awolowo University

2) To what extent was social media Use for crisis management among  ASUU members in Obafemi Awolowo University?

3) What is audience perception towards the types of social media used in creating awareness during the ASUU strike?

4)       To what extent was  social media adopted  by ASUU members to escalate de-escalate the recent strike in Obafemi Awolowo University.

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

HO: Social media has a significant influence on crisis management in O.A.U

H1: Social media has no significant influence on crisis management in O.A.U

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study would enable the researcher to pass their experience on the subject matter to the This will add to the existing literature on audience perception of social media use as a tool for crisis management among academic staff union of universities in osun state. This study will be beneficial to the following to Students: The findings will serve as a tool for further research on the topic Academically, this research work will therefore advance knowledge. The academic community will use this work as a reference point and in the execution of similar studies

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is limited to audience perception of social media use as a tool for crisis management among academic staff union of universities in osun state

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The Researcher is likely to encounter certain problems in the course of conducting the research work, some of which may be

Financial Constraint:  A good and successful research project will involve various activities and processes, it will require sufficient finances. However, due to the researcher's limited financial means, this research project may run into financial difficulties.

Time Constraint: The institution has set a time restriction for the research work; nevertheless, this time limit may not be sufficient for the research job to be completed, limiting the breadth of the research.

1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

USE: the meaning of use is to put into action or service. The study shows how ASUU use social media to help manage the problem of industrial strike

TOOL : A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. The tool being extensively discussed in  the study is social media and how it has impacted in solving the problem of recent ASUU strike

CRISIS : Crisis is a state of feeling; an internal experience of confusion and anxiety to the degree that formerly successful coping mechanisms fail us and ineffective decisions and behaviors take their place. As a result, the person in crisis may feel confused, vulnerable, anxious, afraid, angry, guilty, hopeless and helpless. Therefore in the study crisis being discussed is the ASUU strike with reference to the most recent which occurred in 2022

AUDIENCE: An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature, theatre, music, video games, or academics in any medium. Audience members participate in different ways in different kinds of art. Audience in the study is the general public who were interested in the ASUU recent strike

PERCEPTION: Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sensory system. The study tend to shows the influence of social media on audience and how this will negatively or positively influence the perception of the public especially during the ASUU strike

SOCIAL MEDIA: Social media are interactive technologies which are also part of media that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. The study opined how ASUU members use social media as a tool in creating awareness among the public and it members

CRISIS MANAGEMENT: Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s.The study will depict the types of crisis in tertiary institutions and how it can be managed using social media as a powerful tool.