Social Activism has always been an interesting and engaging way to pursue change in society. For the right cause, activism is almost certainly worth it. Thanks to activists, humans all over the planet enjoy numerous benefits ranging from affordable healthcare to universal human rights, women rights, environmental protection, among many others.
But the activism has never been an easy venture. For decades and even centuries, activists have risked their lives and the lives of other to promote the change in society that we have today.
However in the digital era, the world has changed fast.
Today, thanks to the power of the internet, activists can easily promote their cause and get the support of millions of people. Similar to non-digital era, activist on social media garner a lot of appeal and their posts create profound thinking about societal issues from different sections of the population.
Yet, unlike previous periods, activists on social media do and risk very little promoting their causes. Previously, when activists want to support or speak out against an issue, the most popular way to do so is to make demonstrations.
Rallies and protests have always been popular methods of demonstrations. These forms of demonstrations carried significant risks. For instance the Tiananmen Square Protests in China in 1989 was a pro-democracy rally. However the government brutally crushed the protesters, killing hundreds, injuring thousands and dozens of arrests. The protest organisers were arrested and many were executed.
But thanks to activists using social media today don’t have to lift a finger to organize a protest or any demonstration. From the comfort of their houses, these activists can influence the decisions of thousands of people and inspire others to have conversations around certain issues.
One the one hand, there’s no harm in this strategy. In fact, the use of social media opens the door for more people to speak and share ideas around issues.
On the other hand, social media makes it too easy for unscrupulous people with large followers to deceive and misdirect people.
One contemporary and trending example is Charly Boy’s “Our Mumu Don Do” campaign. Originally billed as an anti-corruption and anti-Buhari campaign, Charly Boy mobilized followers from social media for protests in Abuja. The protests were held but they were quashed by the government and Charly Boy subsequently tear-gassed during the protests.
https://twitter.com/mo_shuues/status/1108695391522959360
However, months later details have now emerged that the protest leader had actually received hefty financial payment for an anti-opposition song. In his words, “I told them, ‘hey you can’t use my work for free, you have to pay for it’”. According to him, he received over N100 million for this song and “had no problem sharing the sum with others”.
This is a clear insult on the hundreds that came out to support his anti-corruption cause.
Another example of a social media activist is Nnamdi Kanu. After making several charades and claiming to support the Igbo cause, Nnamdi Kanu fled the country once the government began to take him seriously. His lawyers believed the government actually had him in their custody, only for him to post another picture on social media on a pilgrimage to Israel. Nnamdi Kanu played on the intelligence of the Igbo cause and his “cause” led to the death of supporters who stood up against the military.
Another crucial reason to worry about social media activists has to do with gender relations, particularly feminism. Feminism had always been a controversial issue, but in Nigeria, the issue is complicated online thanks to so called “social media feminists”. While claiming to support women and the overall goal of gender equality, many Nigerian “feminists” resort to men bashing and tactics.
https://twitter.com/AffiSupaStar/status/1105768563170791424
https://twitter.com/AdakuUfere/status/1109760452613959681
Few make any attempts to support gender parity, but instead resort to poisoning the minds of their followers and promoting hatred online.
And this issue is more pathetic because, in the past, feminists movements supported the gender equality cause by supporting laws, organizing demonstrations and holding talks that support women. Nigerian social media feminists rarely do any.
Of course there have been many events that support women, but rarely do you see these social media feminists attend or talk about them.
So in theory, social media has widened the playing field and made it easy for activists to spread and promote their cause. But in practice, the digital era has reduced barrier and made activism an easy and risk free venture for many people.
But what’s more painful, Nigeria has few real influencers. Unlike other countries where influencers exist for anything from sports, politics, and even food, true Nigerian influencers are few. And many who claim this name tag are, frankly, quite ignorant about a host of issues they claim to know about.
These issues make it extremely hard for Nigerians to trust social media activists. Are they correct? Do they really believe in what they say? Do they really care about the issues they’re raising? These are critical questions that many Nigerian social media users think about today when they see activists online.
But the activism has never been an easy venture. For decades and even centuries, activists have risked their lives and the lives of other to promote the change in society that we have today.
However in the digital era, the world has changed fast.
Today, thanks to the power of the internet, activists can easily promote their cause and get the support of millions of people. Similar to non-digital era, activist on social media garner a lot of appeal and their posts create profound thinking about societal issues from different sections of the population.
Yet, unlike previous periods, activists on social media do and risk very little promoting their causes. Previously, when activists want to support or speak out against an issue, the most popular way to do so is to make demonstrations.
Rallies and protests have always been popular methods of demonstrations. These forms of demonstrations carried significant risks. For instance the Tiananmen Square Protests in China in 1989 was a pro-democracy rally. However the government brutally crushed the protesters, killing hundreds, injuring thousands and dozens of arrests. The protest organisers were arrested and many were executed.
But thanks to activists using social media today don’t have to lift a finger to organize a protest or any demonstration. From the comfort of their houses, these activists can influence the decisions of thousands of people and inspire others to have conversations around certain issues.
One the one hand, there’s no harm in this strategy. In fact, the use of social media opens the door for more people to speak and share ideas around issues.
On the other hand, social media makes it too easy for unscrupulous people with large followers to deceive and misdirect people.
One contemporary and trending example is Charly Boy’s “Our Mumu Don Do” campaign. Originally billed as an anti-corruption and anti-Buhari campaign, Charly Boy mobilized followers from social media for protests in Abuja. The protests were held but they were quashed by the government and Charly Boy subsequently tear-gassed during the protests.
https://twitter.com/mo_shuues/status/1108695391522959360
However, months later details have now emerged that the protest leader had actually received hefty financial payment for an anti-opposition song. In his words, “I told them, ‘hey you can’t use my work for free, you have to pay for it’”. According to him, he received over N100 million for this song and “had no problem sharing the sum with others”.
This is a clear insult on the hundreds that came out to support his anti-corruption cause.
Another example of a social media activist is Nnamdi Kanu. After making several charades and claiming to support the Igbo cause, Nnamdi Kanu fled the country once the government began to take him seriously. His lawyers believed the government actually had him in their custody, only for him to post another picture on social media on a pilgrimage to Israel. Nnamdi Kanu played on the intelligence of the Igbo cause and his “cause” led to the death of supporters who stood up against the military.
Another crucial reason to worry about social media activists has to do with gender relations, particularly feminism. Feminism had always been a controversial issue, but in Nigeria, the issue is complicated online thanks to so called “social media feminists”. While claiming to support women and the overall goal of gender equality, many Nigerian “feminists” resort to men bashing and tactics.
https://twitter.com/AffiSupaStar/status/1105768563170791424
https://twitter.com/AdakuUfere/status/1109760452613959681
Few make any attempts to support gender parity, but instead resort to poisoning the minds of their followers and promoting hatred online.
And this issue is more pathetic because, in the past, feminists movements supported the gender equality cause by supporting laws, organizing demonstrations and holding talks that support women. Nigerian social media feminists rarely do any.
Of course there have been many events that support women, but rarely do you see these social media feminists attend or talk about them.
So in theory, social media has widened the playing field and made it easy for activists to spread and promote their cause. But in practice, the digital era has reduced barrier and made activism an easy and risk free venture for many people.
But what’s more painful, Nigeria has few real influencers. Unlike other countries where influencers exist for anything from sports, politics, and even food, true Nigerian influencers are few. And many who claim this name tag are, frankly, quite ignorant about a host of issues they claim to know about.
These issues make it extremely hard for Nigerians to trust social media activists. Are they correct? Do they really believe in what they say? Do they really care about the issues they’re raising? These are critical questions that many Nigerian social media users think about today when they see activists online.
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