(a) Define opinion poll. (b) State five factors that make the conduct of public opinion unreliable in West Africa.

(a) Definition of opinion poll

An opinion poll is a method of sampling and measuring the views, feelings and attitudes of a section of the public on a particular issue, candidate or policy, by questioning a carefully selected representative sample of the population and using their responses to estimate what the whole population thinks. It is a scientific tool for gauging public opinion, commonly used before elections to predict likely outcomes or to assess the popularity of a government or its programmes.

(b) Five factors that make the conduct of public opinion unreliable in West Africa

1. High level of illiteracy: A large proportion of the population cannot read or understand the questions, so their responses are often uninformed or wrongly recorded, distorting the results.
2. Poor communication and transport network: Many rural and remote communities are inaccessible, so pollsters cannot reach a truly representative sample of the population.
3. Ethnic, religious and sectional sentiments: Responses are frequently coloured by tribe, religion and sectional loyalty rather than by genuine opinion on the issue, biasing the outcome.
4. Fear and suspicion: Many people, out of fear of victimisation by government or others, give false or guarded answers or refuse to disclose their true feelings.
5. Inadequate funds and trained personnel: Poll organisations often lack sufficient money and skilled, honest interviewers to design and conduct polls properly, leading to sampling and processing errors.
6. Manipulation and bias of the pollsters or sponsors: Polls are sometimes sponsored and rigged by interested parties to produce predetermined results.
7. Unstable and changing opinions: Public opinion is fluid and people frequently change their minds, so a poll taken at one time may not hold at another.
8. Lack of accurate population data: The absence of reliable census figures makes it difficult to draw a properly representative sample.