AKSU Journal of Communication Research (AJCR)

STRUCTURED-DELIBERATIVE GOSSIP AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION: A REFLECTION ON PRESIDENT TINUBU’S GOVERNMENT

Author:  DESMOND ONYEMECHI OKOCHA, PhD, AYUBA JOHN RAMADAN & RICHARD OKUJENI, PhD

Abstract
The research paper explored the origins and key concepts of structured-deliberative gossip and political communication by assessing the nature of involvement of government in originating gossip, appraising the use of gossip by government as a probable precursor for policy formulation in Nigeria, discussing the practical considerations involved in implementing structured deliberative gossip by exposing practical cases of same in Nigeria and exploring the nature of involvement of government as manufacturers of gossip. The research was anchored on Habermas’ theory on communicative action and the structured deliberative gossip theory. The study adopted the quantitative analysis method. Descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, percentages, pie chart and mean were used to analyze and present data. The major finding of this study is that some government policies are founded on gossips and some pieces of information perceived as rumours had been deliberately used for policy formation.The work therefore recommended that the Nigerian government at all levels should strive for transparency, open communication and objectivity on issues of national interest to proactively exonerate herself from any form of gossip traced to government; and also promote whistleblowing by providing protection for individuals who expose gossip sponsors.