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We Can Use Digital Connectivity to Cure Instability in Nigeria
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By Joel Popoola
The only less stable countries than Nigeria are war zones. Our increasing digital connectivity must become the cure of this instability, not its cause.
There are only 10 countries in the world judged to be more unstable than Nigeria. Many of them – Syria and Yemen for example – are actual warzones.
It is in such an atmosphere of instability that misinformation can thrive.
In the past weeks, we have seen hundreds of Nigerians sharing online claims that the government has bought the major social network WhatsApp from Facebook for $7.3m in order to spy on us, and that the presidential residence, Aso Rock Villa, has burnt down.
I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but neither of those stories is true. The pictures purporting to show Aso Rock ablaze were in fact pictures of a market on fire in Ibadan, and Facebook is hardly likely to sell a company it bought for $22bn for $7.3m!
There was positive news for Nigeria however, this week when the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published figures showing that more Nigerians than ever have access to digital communications.
Mobile subscribers in Nigeria rose by almost 20m in 2020 – with digital connectivity in the South rising by 15.2% year-on-year.
On face value, these statistics show that Nigeria is making good progress towards becoming a modern digital nation, with all citizens able to take advantage of the educational, employment and engagement opportunities of the digital age.
But if these new users are receiving misleading or dangerous information on their devices it may only compound our political instability.
Voice and accountability is another international metric where Nigeria has a positive story to tell.
The international index for Voice and Accountability compares how citizens around the world perceive their freedom of expression, freedom of association, and a free media.
Nigeria is slowly but surely climbing up the rankings – we are still in the bottom half of the international league table, but we are undeniably heading in the right direction, with things a far cry from how they were in the days of military rule. We are currently ranked 121st. Twenty years ago, we were ranked 181st.
Increasing access to digital communications technology is a huge driver for this change. But we have to take steps to ensure that our increasing digital connectivity is the cure for political and social instability, not the cause or more.
At the digital democracy campaign I lead, we are determined to harness mobile technology to build credible links between government and governed.
One of our projects is a free smartphone app called Rate Your Leader. Rate Your Leader allows direct person to person communication between verified electors and verified politicians, allowing direct communication and collaboration.
Not only does Rate Your Leader allow voters to raise issues directly with the people with the power to address them, it also allows local leaders to send important messages direct to the people who need to receive them.
Rate Your Leader also allows users to rate their local leader on accessibility, responsiveness and credibility, allowing their friends, neighbours and peers to see at a glance that this is an information source that can be trusted.
Trust is important. There are those amongst us who deliberately share destabilising, damaging and dangerous information online because it aids their cause. They know how to grab our attention, and they know how to make their lives believable.
But they can only share this information from shady unverified sources. That is why it makes it so important that Nigerians know only to trust information from accounts who can prove that they are who they say they are and that have a legitimate reason to publish this information.
Nigerians know that recognised newspapers are – regardless of their politics – more rigorous and responsible in their reporting than random internet pages.
Now is the time to replicate that watermark of authority for social media accounts. Right now, there is next to nothing stopping anyone of us setting up an apparently official account on a major social media platform and beginning to broadcast lies. Enough people believe those lies, it will threaten the entire social fabric of our nation.
At Rate Your Leader we are trying to address this issue by creating credible channels of communication between voters and elected leaders.
The digital age means more Nigerians then ever have a voice. This is a national success. Now we must take steps to ensure that that success does not lead to national failure.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and creator of the Rate Your Leader app. You can reach Joel on Twitter @ JOPopoola
Accomplished media entrepreneur and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has said that nobody trusts President Bola Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election, including the President’s own supporters.
Momodu also noted that there is a belief that if the President does not win in 2027, he will not want to relinquish power.
He added that if Tinubu refuses to step down, he would be chased out of the Presidential Villa.
Momodu made the revelations while speaking on Arise News Prime Time belt.
“If you ask an average Nigerian today about Tinubu, ‘Do you trust Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election?’ I can tell you, 90 per cent of them will say no.
“Look, nobody trusts Tinubu to run a free and fair election, including his own supporters. They will tell you, ‘Oh, we are going to win. There is no way we won’t win.’ Ask them why, and they will say, ‘Oh, you know our oga now.’
“In fact, some people are even suggesting that if Tinubu loses the election, he will not agree to step down. I say, why won’t he agree? We will chase him away.
“Look, you do not know the determination of Nigerians. And now, I’m not resting my confidence on just my party. I’m talking about the ordinary man on the street who cannot imagine Tinubu coming back again. They just can’t.
“I can’t tell you our strategy in public. What we know is that, once upon a time, Tinubu fought for himself to secure a second term as governor of Lagos State.
“So, others are also working very hard behind the scenes. We are not going to come out in public and say this, but we know what to do to make sure that he does not get that second term. We also know that some of the people pretending to support him today—and I’m not trying to trivialise this thing.
“I know some of them. They are praying fervently that they will not have to go through this situation where governors become like houseboys. Governors are scared. Judges are scared. Legislators are scared.
“So, Tinubu has become a god whom nobody is ready to confront and say, ‘Oga, you’ve done your best. Please, go home.’”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has urged President Bola Tinubu to go home and let Nigeria breathe.
Adebayo said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.
He was responding to the President’s plan to excuse himself from the rigors of physical campaigns in some states ahead of the presidential polls.
Tinubu spoke at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, urging members to take the party’s message to Nigerians across the states and local government areas while he continues to attend to matters of governance.
In response, Adebayo argued that, if Tinubu is too tired to campaign, he is too weak to govern.
In a statement signed by his Presidential Campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the SDP standard bearer described Tinubu as a “president in absentia” at a time Nigeria needs hands-on leadership.
Adebayo said: “Nigeria is too complex, too dynamic, and currently too distressed to be governed by remote control.”
He cited what he called repeated instances of the President governing from a distance, including prolonged medical vacations disguised as working visits, absence during national emergencies and reliance on proxies to announce State policies.
Adebayo further said: “We have seen repeated instances when the President was visibly missing when the country needed reassurance.
“From unannounced foreign trips during critical economic decisions to his complete silence during widespread regional protests, he has consistently acted like a president in absentia. If you are too tired to campaign, you are too weak to govern.”
Adebayo alleged that the decision to stay off the campaign trail was not about strategy but fear.
“The excuse of bowing out of the 2027 campaign is a cowardly smokescreen. The truth is that the President is terrified of the Nigerian people,” he argued.
According to him, the administration’s economic policies – fuel subsidy removal fallout, skyrocketing inflation and currency instability -have made the President unpopular.
“He knows the pain his bad policies have inflicted on families. He is hiding because he cannot face public anger, and he knows any appearance on a campaign trail will be met with collective booing of a betrayed populace.”
Adebayo also said: “It is time to face reality: step aside, go home, and let this country breathe.”
He called on the administration to prioritise national interest over political survival and be transparent about the President’s capacity to lead for the remainder of his term.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria is set to be officially unveiled in Abuja this weekend, as the organisation prepares to strengthen the club’s fan base and promote community development through football.
Amongst the high profile personalities lined up for the unveiling ceremony include, business leaders, celebrities and notable Arsenal supporters like former Gunner, Kanu Nwankwo, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Dino Melaye amongst others.
The unveiling will form part of a two-day programme beginning on Friday, October 16, with delegates from state and city chapters expected to converge on the nation’s capital for the club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to a press release issued on Monday by the organisation, the celebrations will feature sporting activities, a community sanitation initiative and a formal launch event attended by prominent personalities and Arsenal supporters.
National President of Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria, Charles Ojugbana, said the organisation draws inspiration from the achievements of Nigerian-descent footballers, including former Super Eagles striker Kanu Nwankwo and current stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said the club aims to improve the football fan experience while expanding support for Arsenal across Nigeria.
Activities scheduled for Saturday include aerobic sessions and a novelty football match before members proceed to Wuse Market for a clean-up campaign.
As part of the outreach, the club plans to donate refuse bins and other sanitation materials to the market’s leadership, in line with its commitment to philanthropy and community development.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria operates through a governance structure comprising a Board of Trustees, a National Executive Committee and a General Assembly, which serves as the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The club also disclosed plans to promote awareness of Down syndrome among children in March 2027, as part of activities to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day.
The programme expresses the organisation’s ambition to extend its activities beyond football fandom to charitable causes and support for vulnerable members of the society.
