Communication Patterns in Nigeria's COVID-19 Twitter Data

Abstract

The human race has always been challenged with a myriad of illnesses and diseases. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 is however, highly unprecedented because of its rapid and wide spread across different countries of the world. Its rapid spread led to a series of immediate interventions including lockdown of socio-economic activities in many countries, including Nigeria. Many Nigerians adopted social media platforms as a ready tool for COVID-19 related communications. Twitter, one of the most prominent social media platforms, constitutes a source of huge data from which useful insights on citizens’ behaviour during the pandemic could be generated. The present study, using data mining methods, sought to determine communication patterns in Nigeria’s COVID-19 Twitter data. The study revealed, amongst others, that users were mostly engaged in retweeting. The study also found that only a few participants were very prominent actors in posting original tweets and also in being retweeted and getting direct mentions, among which were reputable media establishments, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and a number of igh-profile individuals. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the apex Centre for disease control in Nigeria, is one of the most visible participants in Nigeria’s Twitter communication on COVID-19. The study also revealed the most prominent themes and sentiment polarity in
Nigeria’s COVID-19 Twitter data. The study recommends amongst others that the use of Twitter by relevant bodies to disseminate useful health information in emergency cases in Nigeria should be encouraged so as to provide useful information to satisfy people’s needs in health and other safety critical events.