Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang joins Twitter
Vice-Presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has joined social media network Twitter as @NJOAgyemang
This was hours after her confirmation as the presidential running mate to John Dramani Mahama.
The former Education Minister already has over 8,000 followers, following 13.
What has she said so far
As at press time, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast had made 20 post on Twitter, majority of them being retweeted posts.
Beyond that, she has sent her sympathy to parents over the surge in COVID-19 cases in schools.
As a mother and educationist, my thoughts are with parents/guardians who are concerned about their children in school at this time. I am praying for school children, teachers, non-teachers and school admins. Please observe #COVID19 prevention measures to #StopTheSpread #ImWithHer
— Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang (@NJOAgyemang) July 8, 2020
Relevance of her presence on social media
The importance Naana Opoku-Agyemang on social media cannot be overemphasized especially during this electioneering period as digital media is expected to play a major role in reaching electorates.
With the outbreak of the coronavirus and fears of the virus spreading easily at crowded places, it is very likely that politicians will not get large numbers attending their rallies.
Already, some politicians have taken advantage of this.
Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, periodically holds social media engagements, attracting thousands of viewers.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a while ago, also took to Instagram to engage with electorates.
According to figures from Data Reportal, Ghana, in January 2020, had about 6 million social media users.
Whilst the number of followers a politician has on social media does not necessarily guarantee their place in the mind of electorates, it will be of great disservice to any one to undermine the power of social media.
Ghana’s digital divide and election 2020
Head of the Center for Policy Discourse Analysis (CDPA), Dr. Etse Sikanku believes that political parties will have a tough time reaching out to electorates in rural areas because of the low level of digital penetration within the country.
His comments was in reaction to suggestion from the National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, urging political parties to resort to holding their campaign activities virtually because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Dr. Sikanku, in a media engagement, indicated that such a move will cause a disparity among citizens since the internet connectivity in the urban areas is better than that of the suburban and rural towns
“When you come to Ghana, there is a low level of digital penetration in rural areas and how that prevent a certain demographic from participating within the political sphere or other aspects of life. This should be a fair concern and it is important that it is taken into consideration by political parties [as the general elections approaches],” Dr. Sikanku said in a Joy News interview.
Official accounts of Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang
These are the official social media handles of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang
Facebook: @NJOAgyemang
Twitter: @NJOAgyemang
Instagram: @NJOAgyemang#ImWithHer— James Agyenim-Boateng (@jagyenim) July 8, 2020
Story by: Jeffrey Nyabor