Political cartoons readership among Uyo residents of Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria

Abstract

This article examines the readership of Nigerian political cartoons in an effort to test the claim by Nigerian editors and cartoonists that cartoons are alternative communicative art form directed at the lowly educated and illiterates in countries with a low literacy rate. Those who registered during the February 10 and 17, 1997 voters' registration were sampled, and editors and cartoonists on the newspapers selected for the study were interviewed. A self-administered questionnaire with three cartoons appended for interpretation by the subjects was employed. The result showed that, although there was an audience for political cartoons, many of them hardly understood the message the cartoons carried. Also, contrary to the view that cartoons were largely for the lowly educated, it was found out that the readership was made up of the educated and politically conscious class.