The unfolding events are beginning to show that Nigeria’s politics may be tilting toward digital. Online support will equate to offline support. Online political campaigns will equate to offline campaigns.
Social media are powerful tools depending on how effective you can make them work for you. Be it business, politics, religion, etc., they work. From a political standpoint, the recent presidential election in Nigeria has proven that social media remain sacrosanct.
In 2021, there were approximately 43 million social network users in Nigeria, and this figure is projected to grow to 103 million users in 2026, according to Statista.
During the electioneering process, Nigerian youths campaigned rigorously for their preferred candidates. These relentless youths, popularly known as “Obidients” unanimously rendered their support to billionaire businessman Peter Obi in a bid to disrupt the political space.
The former Governor of Anambra State who became the flag bearer of the Labour Party and arguably the most preferred candidate according to several reports enjoyed an avalanche of good wills from the teeming Nigerian youths who are ready to ‘take a bullet’ for him from the opposition.
Obidients are all over the Internet space to either brand Mr. Obi as the best or vehemently refute any demeaning posts or remarks from the opposition – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against him.
On social media, these “structureless youths” organized conferences and meetings to discuss how to dismantle an already existing institutionalized political process that has not yielded any positive.
Strategy sessions were held. Mr. Obi’s supporters raised funds, designed banners, and got influencers and volunteers who were able to push the goal offline. Emphatically, these activities gradually transcended offline. In a few months, the opposition started feeling the heat from all angles.
On several occasions, the opposition parties who are conspicuously glued to the old style of politics disregarded how powerful Obidients can be. They made comments like “you can not win an election on social media,” “they are just online people,” and Obidients have no structure,” etc. Social media just proved all those theories wrong.
In an interview on September 2022, the then National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole (now Senator-elect), said Obidients were just “4 persons tweeting in a room. This phrase has been used by Obidients to mock opposition whenever they pull out large crowds offline for Mr. Obi’s campaign.
Oshiomhole said:
“These Obidients of disobedience time will tell. We now live in a world where we can have 4 young men and women in one room, whether motivated or not motivated. They can churn out 1 million stories using different names. You need to find out that this whole thing is being done in one room. Time will tell.”
https://twitter.com/Ebenplusworld/status/1629460660143759362
Till date, the Obidients have been waxing stronger, leveraging social media to get things done. Mr. Obi’s candidacy has shown that politics has gone digital. Just as the local grassroots are important, digital grassroots are also vital.
From the last presidential election, it’s clear that social media can influence the political space of any society, challenging the narrative that one needs to have structure. If a candidate has strong support online, such a person is likely to have support offline.
At the polls on February 25, 2023, the Obidients who kickstarted the journey online came out en masse to cast their votes. The outcome has been impressive. Some of the old politicians who underestimated the power of social media lost the elections. Some of these positions were lost to Obidients‘ Labour Party.
Specifically, the presidential election was allegedly marred with irregularities that were exposed by the Obidients. At several polling units where Obidients supposedly won, they made videos and shared them on social media. They also shared videos of where manipulations and thuggery occurred. These videos went viral on the Internet. The world was able to see these exhibits.
Expectedly, the election was described as unfair, controversial, and largely flawed by both local and international media. While several petitions at the law court have been flying here and there. All of these were made possible by the Obidients who understood the power of social media. The battle has just begun, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out, eventually.
More importantly, it is high time public officeholders became more accountable and regain the trust of the Nigerian youth who has clearly made up his/her mind to bring your political careers to a halt.
The economy must start working; the business environment must be friendly enough, public funds must be used appropriately for the public good, amongst other things that make up good governance.
Otherwise, “these four men Tweeting in a room’, could rock your political boats.
