It is 50 years and Nigeria, like every other country craving for a change in its affairs, has witnessed series of civil demonstrations in all its known forms: sit-ins, arm-in-arm protests, sloganeering placards, angry words from exiled citizens etc. etc. Civil demonstration is often the lot of autonomous territories. Thanks to technology, civil demonstrations have evolved into less physical, less bloody, and generally safer modes. With it, the world is moveable from a wheelchair.
In 2009, a horde of Iranian citizens each armed with nothing more than letters of the alphabets and internet emoticons trod the cyberspace to register their resentments against the irregularities and inhuman activities that characterized the country’s last election. That act, now famously dubbed – “Iranian Twitter Revolution”, has become a case study in the rather new field of digital activism. The enemy was both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – Iranian incumbent president (later re-(s)elected), and his machinery of state which he launched at will to counter any perceived citizen affront against his supremacy over the governing of that Middle Eastern state.
The impact of that cyber protestation, at least in its degree of commanding international attention & sympathy, is a proof of how social networking platforms are veritable routes of demonstrating civil discontentment. However, citing the Iranian example, or its Moldovan counterpart, as a success may be a tricky conclusion since the scale of both protests did not achieve their campaign goal which, in the Iranian situation, was to overturn an allegedly fraudulent election installed by Mahmoud. The Moldovan incident was an exercise in bringing people together to protest against the country’s Communist government.
Nigeria, so far, has had citable contributions to digital activism. Two examples come to mind – The “Enough is Enough” and “Light Up Nigeria” initiatives. The two campaigns later took terrestrial extensions in the form of demonstration to government front gates and pop culture integration (The “2010” song by Sound Sultan (Feat. MI) and the song “One Day” by ElDee. One question that nudges the mind at this point is whether both campaigns achieved, or is gearing towards achieving, their aim. Certainly, neither of them can be placed alongside their foreign counterparts in the degree of impact.
So what’s with all the ramblings? This writer was impressed with the momentum gathered when the two initiatives took wing. Twitter timelines streamed with #enoughisenough and with support from Facebook Groups, and a few blogs, the Nigerian cyberspace was electrified with a cause that promised to voice (and did) the frustrations of a people, and to install on the Nigerian space the new form of civil demonstrations. As mentioned earlier, the demonstrators reached government gates. How stunning! Online to offline. Hashtags to Iron gates.
It did enough and certainly wasn’t a fruitless mission. Besides being a disclaiming proof to what might be claims by some digital watchers that digital activity may never reap offline dividend, it is already an evidence that, with a more strategic preparation, the Nigerian youth can voice, and perhaps- cause a shiver in the spine of bad leadership. But here is a caveat – a campaign aimed at expressing the frustration of the entire citizenry against the affairs of the state will require more than a demonstration fronted only by internet-savvy individuals being led by pop celebrities. The coordination should have involved grassroots participation.
THAT was missing.
The grassroots housed the loudest decibels of frustrations. It should be left to imagination what that campaign would have achieved if market women and artisans who, without access to the internet, were reached through some guerrilla forms of communication.
If the reports are right, more than 50% of the Nigerian population is already armed with mobile phones, most of them data-enabled, which emphasises the point that the challenge of reaching the populace won’t be about access but the creative use of existing digital resource.
Shall we digress? That march, assuming the conveners thought in this direction, could have provided a template for more prospective digital campaign, and perhaps, for citizens’ voicing, say, in the next election.
So if we must tweet the desired change, at least on a grand scale, the strategy must be right. It must be an all-involving, well-coordinated one that brings together everyone, both online and offline, in a manner that registers our interests as one voice.
Stop. This is more than 140 characters.
Happy Tweeting. Happy Blogging. Happy New National Year.
Such a brilliant article. Good response to Malcolm Gadwell’s recent post (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all)
Good points, Aloofar. I know that EiE has grassroot plans that will satisfy some of the issues raised here. Also I saw the EiE RSVP billboards as far away as Alagbado and Boundry on Sunday. So the impact is already being felt.
I do agree however that a lot of the activism happening on Twitter and other social networking sites happen only there and the impact in the material world is, naturally, less felt.
In my opinion, it isn’t just enough to transfer these movements to the physical world; there’s actually a need to investigate the substance of these quests. A trend is becoming decernible; activism is becoming a status symbol.
Cheers
Good points raised, I believe people are begining to realise that the issues of Naija is more than 140 characters and status updates on Facebook…
Hello,
I did follow the EnoughIsEnough and LightUpNigeria Twitter mobilisations, whilst there as traffic that went up the Twitter ranks, it got bogged down with unrelated and irrelevant Tweets that did not further the debate or cause – people just inserted the tag in any drivel they could type.
Indeed, I believe this element of social activism might have more significance in rather less developed economies and democracies than in the West – it contrasts starkly the view that Malcolm Gladwell took about a week ago on social networking not having the impetus for revolution – he was right in general but wrong about the setting where it could be more efficacious.
I think the more people realise that this medium is both communicative and enthusing for causes there would be a time that a seed Tweet would create a harvest of returns beyond expectations.
However, direction, focus and a clear understanding of the intended purpose is important – maybe anyone who introduces a hash-tag should be able to moderate comments that hang on that tag to home the message – the Tweeted Change is coming.
Regards,
Akin
i like…
Not bcos aloofar is my person
but because this is good.