Hausa Political Music and Political Engagements on Social Media during Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections

The use of Hausa political music has become a key feature during electioneering campaigns in northern parts of Nigeria. This paper examines how Hausa political music were used for political engagement during Nigeria’s general election 2023. The paper specifically focuses on the social media trend of engaging users to promote political participation through Hausa political music. The Democratic Participant Media Theory was applied as theoretical framework to explain the trends of political engagement with voters through messages in the Hausa political music. Methodologically, the study utilised in-depth interview with the composers of Hausa political music to ascertain the trends of political engagement with social media through Hausa political music. The findings reveal that one of the trend of political engagement through Hausa political music is the performance challenge. The performance challenge provide avenue for the social media users who are potential voters to submit entries of video performance. The social media users mime the lyrical renditions of Hausa political music and upload on Tiktok and Instagram by tagging the composer and judges. The study concludes that Hausa political music has become a modern trend especially in the digital age where people find social media platforms as avenue for entertainment, political and civic engagement. The 2023 election has demonstrated the significance of Hausa political music in fostering democracy and political engagements.