PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE INTRODUCTION OF “KEKE” AS MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION IN AKWA IBOM STATE. (A STUDY OF THE RESIDENTS OF UYO)

CHAPTER ONE

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

1.1     Introduction

Public opinion is an indispensable aspect of organizational activities as much as productivity is at the core, like public relations, public opinion is not easily explained. In borrowing the language of Joseph Kraft, that public opinion is the unknown god to which modern’s burn license. There are innumerable graduations of opinion and perception on an issue as there is no one public opinion because there are many different publics. The only thing required to do is to describe the distribution of opinions amongst the public about a particular question/issue.

According to Alfred A. Knopf public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitude or beliefs shared by some portion of adults. In actual fact public opinion always favours the passage of the equal right Amendment (ERA). A more accurate description of public opinion on this issue would be so percent of the particular population that supports the amendment whereas 40 percent oppose if or has no option.

Marcus Dennis (2005:112) remark that the sum total of opinion and perception regarding happening is influenced by attitudes, information, indoctrination and beliefs. People are conscious of what are exposed before them, as they can potentially exert tremendous effect.

Marcus continues that people’s perception is usually grown out of experiences, exposures and practical. Analysis of events and situation. A political scientist of a school of thought defined public opinion as what government fines it prudent.

It therefore means that for public to be effective, enough people have to hold a particular view with such strong convictions that a government feels its actions should be influenced by it.

In explaining the contest of public; in public perception, Daniel Deal (2005) says that public means those groups of people, internally and externally with whom an organization communicates. It is a group of people, a collectively of people, which exist because of the individual component; they share and are confronted by the same problem. The existence of public is an issue about which a group has a common interest. For example, a group of workers confronted with the issue of “whether to go on strike or not”.

Supporting the above assertion, while Brown (1978:112) says:

Public also means all the audience or people that are interested in the affairs of an organization. It extends to a group of people bound together by a common interest that is specific to them and their situation.

          The group that makes up the public may not necessarily be located geographically. It may not be a community characterized by locality and common living nor is it a particular crowd. It is not a number of people at the same time and at the same place. But then public may be scattered all over the country. They are called a public because of the common interest in advertising, public is called audience.

Therefore, in assessing the elements influencing public opinion and perception regarding the introduction of KEKE in Uyo the researcher seeks to critically appraise the extents of acceptability of the policy by the public’s, diagnosing that perception. This is to influence government decisional policies.

1.2 Statement of problem

          Public perception has to do with the belief of the public’s regarding policies and programmes, especially that of the government. It traditionally seeks to explore tendencies of the ethics gratitude or displeasure.

Such expressions and perception are usually at the stance of controversy and displeasure. How be it, the government is supposed to respond either negatively or positively to such situations. In whatever the case, public opinion and perception are products of the best informed and intelligent.

Therefore, in Uyo metropolis, it is practically uncertain of the perception of the people regarding the introduction of KEKE by the government, the people may have either favourable or unfavourable disposition about the decision. If they are of negative opinion and perception, what could possibly inform that displeasure, what are the basic constituents of their perception regarding KEKE introduction in Uyo metropolis?

1.3 Objectives of the study

This study seeks to:

• know whether the groups are of positive or negative perception regarding KEKE introduction;
• know the problems associated with KEKE introduction in Uyo metropolis;
• know the importance of KEKE introduction in Uyo metropolis.
• Know whether KEKE has any reasonable contribution to the economic growth of Uyo. and
• know government measures of implementing the policy.

1.4 Research questions

          This study raises the following questions: