The advent of technology and social media has brought about new thinking in governance and service delivery. In the past 16 years, nobody knew it would be possible for people to directly liaise and engage their representatives in government beyond the traditional style of meeting which used to bring leaders and citizens together for discussion at the town hall.
In this age of digital technology, the town hall meetings have collapsed and a new approach of digital governance has replaced the old practice. Leaders and citizens now meet on social media to engage in discussions that border on collective good and development.
One of the greatest achievements of digital governance in Nigeria is the boundless opportunities it offers the citizens to contribute to fiscal appropriation process and make inputs to decisions and policies of the government.
Now, it is becoming a norm for government officials to engage the people through the social media; having knowledge on how social media works now seems to be part of the skills of our representatives in government.
This perhaps was the thought of the National Assembly (NASS) leadership under the chairmanship of Senate President Bukola Saraki, who announced in November 2015 that announced that federal lawmakers and their aides would be ‘schooled’ on how to use Facebook and other social media platforms.
By sheer ignorance, many people lampooned the NASS leadership for proposing an inconsequential exercise. After the announcement, the social media was in buzz, as more than 16 million Facebook users joined about seven million Nigerians on Twitter to lampoon the NASS leaders, days and nights.
But still, Saraki insisted his colleagues must receive the digital education. We should ask why the Senate President stuck to his guns. Beyond the criticism that greeted the announcement, I see liberalisation of governance process which would bring more transparency in the way Nigeria is governed.
Before now, the proceedings in the National Assembly used to be shrouded in secrecy. Nigerians did not have opportunities to contribute to budgeting process despite public hearings usually held before budgets got passed.
It appears Senate President was convinced that a digital approach is the only way to productively engage people in governance process and build a citizen-legislature nexus where the people would remain abreast of the ‘official’ dealings in the legislative body.
After the NASS members were trained on the use of social media on November 16, 2015, the developments that followed showed that the digital governance approach adopted by the NASS leadership is yielding good fruits.
If asked, I would say there is more to social media than posting pictures and irrelevant things. Aside the insights into how Facebook played key roles in the emergence of erstwhile President Barack Obama as the first black man in the White House. The whole gist about digital governance is that the NASS is creating a sustainable paradigm for participatory democracy and digital governance through the social media.
A new era has beckoned on the Nigeria’s parliament in terms of the efforts to make process of lawmaking open and engaging. There is now a breath-taking pace of how information is disseminated and accessed. The Nigerian Senate Facebook live streaming gets an average view of four million unique clicks, monthly. On the other hand, the instantaneousness of the live tweets from the Senate’s Twitter handle (@NGRSenate) is another landmark that has received global plaudit.
From the foregoing, it is good to note that digital governance is gaining momentum in Nigeria. Transparency is the bedrock of democracy.
From the NASS and beyond, the rise of the digital media is a clear indication that the Nigerian political landscape is fast transforming, despite the tides of the present challenges. As it is, it is noteworthy that the new trend has sharply decreased the entrenched marginalisation of any group in governance and civic engagements.
But yet, we can do better. We would be more proud when the parliament fully sets another record of e-parliament and disclosure of budget details.
A Nollywood actress, Bukky Wright, on Thursday advised other celebrities to be careful about the personal information they posted on social media.
She said that such information could be so sensitive that it could hinder their careers in the future.
“I am a perfect example of one out of many celebrities who never post private life affairs on social media.
“I’m very careful about what I post on social media. I post what is needed to be posted and not frivolities. I don’t have to post, especially, if it has to do with my private life.” It’s my private life and I believe my private life should remain private,” she said.
The actress said that many celebrities continued to wash their dirty linens in the public, especially, on social media platform.
“I try not to share many things, because one thing about too much information is that when it gets back at you, not everybody wants to know why you shared it.
“I will rather not put very sensitive things out there just to avoid mishaps,” Wright said.
The actress said that she had done a good job in hiding her lover from the media.
She said, “There’s nothing wrong with you being in love with the right person. Love is a beautiful thing.”
Some participants at the ongoing 5th Social Media Week (SMW) Lagos, have differed on whether the role of social media on journalism is competitiveness or complementary.
The participants were discussing on the theme: “The Rise of Social Media Journalism: Competition or Complementary?’ at the SMW 2017 in Lagos on Friday, scheduled to end on March 3.
The session was hosted by Corporate & Financial Porter Novelli, a Public Relations firm.
Mr Fisayo Soyombo, a former editor of the Cable Newspaper said that social media journalism was competing with the traditional media.
Soyombo, however, said that the competitive nature of the social media journalism would not lead to the extinction of the traditional media.
He defined social media journalism as the gathering and dissemination of news with or without a trained journalist.
According to him, social media journalism is more of an individual forming an audience around the story articles being put on the internet.
“Social media journalism is more of a competition than a complementary journalism to traditional media.
”The traditional media must delve to interpreting the news more, rather than just reporting stories taken over by events.
”The competitive nature of social media journalism does not have to do with any impediment in the traditional media, it is just because of the rise of the internet,” he said.
Soyombo said that social media journalism had led to plagiarism as people just copy and paste stories without bothering about credible sources.
He said that social media journalism was parasitic on the traditional media as 80 per cent of contents on the social media were from the traditional media.
Soyombo said that 70 percent of revenue from the traditional media was now going to the social media journalism.
Mr Anthony Osae-Brown, the Editor of BusinessDay Newspaper said that the social media journalism was the future of journalism, hence, was it neither competitive nor complementary.
Osae-Brown said that it was not strange that the traditional media seemed to be lost to the social media because the social media was a form of disruptive technology.
He said that it had been difficult for the traditional media to transit to the social media because they were afraid that it might not pay their bills.
”Social media is the future; it has changed the media stage. Anyone can now set the agenda.
”Since everyone has a voice, the outcome of social media journalism can be good and bad, positive or negative, since public discourse cannot be controlled,” Osae-Brown said.
He, however, said that the traditional media remained the credible check for social media journalism.
Ms Tosin Ajibade, the founder, Olorisupergal.com said that social media journalism was gradually taking over the traditional media.
Ajibade said that the social media journalism worked with time, speed and verification.
She, however, urged social media audience to double check a story before accepting it as truth or false.
SMW Lagos is a weeklong conference that provides ideas, trends, insights and inspiration to help people and businesses understand how to achieve more in a hyper-connected world.
The event featured a central stage for keynotes and panels, multiple rooms for workshops, master classes and presentations, and an area dedicated for co-working, networking and interactive session.
SMW Lagos 2017, which ended on March 3, brought together IT experts and stakeholders in various fields including education, health and politics to discuss the benefits and implications of social media on the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
From twitter to facebook and instagram, church leaders are embracing social media platforms to evangelise and reach millions outside their folds, reports Sunday Oguntola
Faith Ohi’s early morning routine has remained largely unchanged in recent months. “I wake up, catch a brief devotion and log on to the social media for inspiration and news,” she shared.
Her first point of contact is always the official twitter of founder of Daystar Christian Centre Lagos, Pastor Sam Adeyemi. “I am sure he will have one or two inspiring notes to drop each morning. I look forward to them like I do to my main meal of the day,” the chartered banker stated.
Though she worships with a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) parish, Ohi has come to more or less adopt Adeyemi as her pastor, at least on the social media. She reads and retweets almost all the tweets of the preacher. She laps up his inspirational messages and follows him religiously.
David Oyedepo
Like Ohi, many Christians have found the social media as alternative platforms to stay in touch with their favourite preachers whose churches they cannot attend for one reason or the other.
Daniel Oke is one of them. Though he worships with an Anglican Church in Abuja, Oke’s day is never complete without a visit to the social media platforms of the General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. “I find his tweets and prayer points very helpful. I take those prayer points as if my life depends on them,” Oke, a public servant, said.
Shadrach Ene misses services almost every Sunday, especially when he is on calls as a medical doctor. But he hardly misses the physical connectivity of Sunday worship. “I can confirm that I am more blessed than even thousands in the worship centres.
“I do not only follow the live streaming but also contact twitters for minute-by-minute updates of the service. I can quote many of the bible portions and topics of services in the last few months, though I have not been in church physically,” the Gynaecologist shared.
Realising these, many church leaders in the nation have been paying more attention to their visibility on social media platforms. From facebook to twitter, they position themselves to fish for souls and carry out ministerial assignments without physical impediments.
Adefarasin
Our correspondent observed that most Charismatic Pentecostal preachers have noticeable presence on social media to shore up their visibilities. The reason is because some of them have branches and members worldwide with whom they interact via the platforms.
The same cannot, however, be said of the mainline preachers and churches. Many of them have readily available membership with biological, ancestral or familial affinities. For them, they will always show up in church whether or not their pastors care to connect with them on social media.
But the new generation churches cannot afford these luxuries. They have to aggressively build a strong membership base and appeal to the upwardly mobile with strong bias for personal branding and appeals. To attract and maintain these highly exposed members, the social media becomes inevitable for their pastors.
The big players on twitters
On the micro-chip platform twitter, for example, Christ Embassy founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, boasts of over 1.2 million followers. This is despite the fact that he had only 1,711 tweets as at last Wednesday. He joined the twitter community on June 2010 and has not been active since November 2015.
Adeboye, with the handle @PastorEAAdeboye, joined in January 2011. He has 322,000 twitters with 356 likes. His last tweet was on February 19 during the Sunday service, which earned him 47 retweets.
Adeboye has a penchant for sharing prayer points at specific times of the day on twitter and inspirational messages. His followers reply most of his tweets but hardly engage him in conversations, perhaps due to the reverent image they have of him.
Sam Adeyemi
Adeyemi with the handle @sam_adeyemi has 350,000 followers as at last Wednesday. He follows 141 people, mostly foreign-based preachers, global leaders and protégés with a handful of Nigerian preachers. The arguably most active twitter preacher in the country engages people in conversations when he can.
He also retweets many followers, a strategy that earns him even more fan base. His tweets stand at 10,300 with 359 likes. It is believed that he is personally in charge of the handle considering how freely he engages followers.
His wife, Nike, is certainly in charge of her handle. Her 11,600 tweets have earned 133,000 followers and 3,471 likes as at last Wednesday. The rise in the community she joined in March 2012 is largely due to a weekly series for women and ladies on relationship, career and parenting. The tweet-chat receives a lot of retweets and trending status.
Fiery preacher, Tunde Bakare, is also a big player among pastors on twitter. He joined in September 2011 but has only 768 tweets, an indication that he doesn’t particularly enjoy tweeting. Going through his timeline, it is obvious he tweets only during special occasions or events. He follows only 15 people.
But despite his little activities on the platform, he has 225,000 followers, hinting his TV ministry and activism might have shored up his fan base on t_bakare.
Pastor Paul Adefarasin of House on The Rock joined in March 2011 and is likely to be in charge of the handle going by the irregular activities on the page. He follows only seven people with just 678 tweets and 29 likes.
But when he tweets, his 69,400 followers pay attention. For example, his last tweet on a deceased gospel singer got 416 retweets on February 19.
Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Ministry, otherwise called Winners Chapel, has joined the platform since December 2010 with 105,000 followers. He has 10,500 tweets as at last Wednesday. But he has recently become more active considering the activities on his timeline.
Senior Pastor of Fountain of Life Church Lagos, Taiwo Odukoya, has been around the platform since January 2011 with 2,885 tweets. His handle @pastortaiwo, however, boasts of 51,200 followers with 91 likes. He mainly retweets the official handle of the church.
Senior Pastor of Elevation Church Lekki Lagos, Godman Akinlabi, has recently stepped up his activities on twitter. Though he joined since August 2009, it was only recently he became very active with his Mr and Mrs. series on Friday afternoons.
For his efforts, he has 38,300 followers after 22,200 tweets. He is believed to be one of the most engaging, addressing a variety of issues from marriage to relationship and spirituality with his regular activities.
A walk from facebook
On facebook, the situation is a bit chaotic because of the propensity to open many fictitious accounts. Many of the preachers keep respectable distance from the popular platform because of fear of impersonation and operation of parody accounts.
Adeboye, Adeyemi and Oyedepo have at different times denied accounts opened in their names by unscrupulous elements soliciting for donations and unsavoury activities. But founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, has a very active facebook account where he dishes out predictions and prophecies.
He recently pulled down a post where he predicted Hillary Clinton was going to win the last United States of America’s presidential election after Donald Trump was declared winner.
Despite the vulnerabilities of facebook, many of the preachers simply stick to official church page where they share materials they can totally control. Many of their members, however, post videos and materials of sermons, mostly after Sunday services.
Avoiding banana peels
A social media expert, Keji Ola, is of the opinion that church leaders have all to gain by embracing the new platforms. “Ministry is no longer restricted to the four walls of churches. There are several hurting, willing souls out there.
“The more they are exposed to the words of God, the more the ministers can fulfil their mandates and influence society for good. It is no more time to run but embrace the social media,” he stated.
However, he warned that there are pitfalls they must avoid in the new adventure. “For me, I prefer they handle their handles themselves. But if they cannot, they must have a mechanism for seeing everything before it goes out.
“They must trust those who handle their accounts absolutely to protect their best interests. There mustn’t be any misrepresentation or slips because, on the social media, a mistake is hardly forgivable.”
He continued: “I think they should avoid revealing personal details but stick to ministerial issues and activities. It is not about them but the souls waiting for the word of hope through them. They must realise this as much as possible and remember every post reflects their personal brands and project their value systems.”
SINCE President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical vacation began, it has been one long and exasperating moment of crazy social media speculations, rebuttals, and more intensely frustrating rumours. Presidential aides and spokesmen have had a tough time dealing with this complex modern phenomenon. The more Information minister, Lai Mohammed, debunked negative speculations about the president’s health, the more convoluted the matter became. And the more the president’s spokesmen try to filter news about the same subject, the more incredulous the social media becomes. For the president and his men, it seems the matter is a no-win situation.
The president’s spokesmen began by questioning the semantics of medical vacation, but both the public and the social media simply ignored them and intensified their description of the president’s United Kingdom trip as a medical vacation. The president is well, hale and hearty, and is not in hospital, say the aides. And he is not in hospital but in Abuja House, they add. Whatever proof they have, say the social media mongers and denizens, should be taken with a pinch of salt. Even pictures, the denizens say, are either not real or are file photos. As far as they are concerned, the president is either dead or dying. But what if he were to come back on a hypothetical tomorrow? Why, the social media would still not believe. They seem sworn to disbelieving everything about the president, everything.
On Monday, the president, as well as President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, spoke on telephone with United States president, Donald Trump. “Give us the transcripts,” say the social media, as if even if that were to be done they would believe. But Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesman spoke of the inappropriateness of recording telephone calls, let alone releasing the transcripts. Except that is done, say the talebearers, no one will believe.
Now, as ultimate proof that the social media, if not the Internet entirely, has gone absolutely berserk, when the president eventually returns, social networking sites and those who feed on them will not believe that the president has truly returned, not even if they see him on television and he visits their locality. The social media feeds on untruths and, in more sober moments, on alternative facts. It will be so in the foreseeable future despite President Buhari, and regardless of what happens to him. It is the new reality Nigeria, nay, the whole world, will have to live with.
The Nigerian Army has accused some of its ex-personnel of sponsoring a campaign of calumny against it on the social media and warned them to desist forthwith or be dealt with accordingly.
Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman gave the warning on Saturday in Abuja in a statement.
Usman said that the attention of the army had been drawn to the campaign by those “faceless persons.’’
He said that they had been making “spurious and unfounded allegations bordering on payment of troops operations allowances, rotation in the North East and comparing troops’ pay to what obtains in neighbouring countries.’’
“The fabricators are most probably being sponsored by the categories of people that frustrated themselves out of the army and political self-defeatists.
“They are clearly sentimental and lack knowledge of the Nigerian Army of today,’’ he said.
Usman, however, said investigation was ongoing to determine the full identity and source of the mischief and all those found connected with it.
He vowed that they would be dealt with in accordance with the “extant provisions of the military justice system.’’
“We wish to reiterate that the Nigerian Army is a voluntary Service.
“We are not running a conscript Army, all those not satisfied are at liberty to apply for voluntary retirement or discharge as the case may be.
“We cannot afford to have disloyal or disgruntled elements in the system.
“Anybody caught to be involved in this ignominious campaign would have himself or herself to blame.
According to him, the Nigerian army of today cannot be compared with that of any other period.
“So much has been done in the areas of operations, training, general administration, logistics and general welfare of troops and their families,’’ he said.
The army spokesman also said that the families of fallen colleagues were being given adequate attention commensurate with the established terms and conditions of service.
He said that in addition, concern on troops’ welfare had been extended to their families through the creation of the Barracks Investment Initiative Programme (BIIP).
Usman said that under the programme, officers and soldiers families and dependents actively participate.
“The Nigerian Army has an elaborate exit plan for all officers and soldiers involved in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists in the North East this year, subject to operational exigencies.
“That is why all efforts must be geared towards mopping up the remnants of the desperate terrorists still bent on causing mayhem wherever they can.
“Any soldier who is not satisfied with the professional drive of the Nigerian Army and that of the government can do himself a world of good by voluntarily discharging from the Nigerian Army.
“Otherwise all must desist from rumour mongering and outright falsehood which are unprofessional and have no place in today’s Nigerian Army.
“Fifth columnists will not succeed in their mischief as they will be fished out and dealt with,’’ he said. (NAN)
Prof Kehinde Taiwo of the Department of Food Science and Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife, has said the inclusion of social media in classrooms will foster quick and easy learning among students and their teachers.
Taiwo spoke at the maiden edition of Society of Educational Administrators of Nigeria (SEAN) programme titled ‘Bridging the educational gap for sustainable development in Nigeria’ held at the Faculty of Education’s conference hall, Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo.
She delivered a lecture titled: “The role of technology in bridging the educational gap for sustainable development in Nigeria” She said: “Today’s students thrive on two things-technology and social interaction. A combination of both helps students and teachers learn from one another, which result is a thriving and vibrant climate of education.
She continued: “Classroom blogging platforms allow entire classes to receive support with new materials it also encourage participation and discussion of topics.
“Also online problem solving games address critical thinking skills in a funny and exciting way’’.
Going down memory lane, Taiwo said technology has caused a great transformation from the primitive modes of communication down to the present social media technologies.
She said despite that it has impacted positively on students, it still poses a challenge to some teachers.
“A large percentage of teachers even young teachers are still lagging behind, technologically speaking when compared to their students,” she added.
“This may cause many problems when teachers try to both engage their students in the materials and stay ahead of their ability to learn”.
In order to improve teachers’ efficient utilisation of social media, Taiwo said there is need for digital professional development resources for teachers which would help them to effectively and productively develop their own skills.
Another speaker, Dr Grace Oshun noted that one visible gap the government creates in the education sector is the deployment of corps members who are non teachers to teach subjects in schools.
Mrs Oshun, who is from the department of Education Management, said government still sponsor students to study abroad rather than in their own country, a development which she said, shows a gap in development.
LASU Vice Chancellor, Prof Lanre Fagbohun praised SEAN initiative which membership comprises practitioners of all specialisations within the field and practice of educational administration, for using their management functions of planning organising,monitor among others educational programmes in all institutions.
Fagbohun said: ” It behoves us as leaders, educational experts and managers of educational institutions to engage ourselves in order to identify gaps and lapses and as well propound solutions to fix our education system.”
The coordinator of SEAN, Mr Babatunde Asenuga said the programme is a way of addressing issues in the education system and finding ways to solve them.
SIR: The advent of the social media as a medium of lightening up our dark world via information is one innovation that humanity will forever be grateful for because it has succeeded where the conventional media failed or feared to tread.
However, like they say, there is nothing with a positive side that doesn’t have a negative one and for one, the negativity of the social media as a means of peddling lies, falsehood, misinformation and distortion of facts is worrisome because of its adverse effect on society.
One has observed genuine and factual reports of online media organizations being distorted to suit particular purpose, interviews and statements concocted and distorted, fake blogs reporting incidents that never happened, etc.
All these acts of irresponsibility, incitement and criminality are part of the ills of the society that the social media has become of which we seriously need help to eradicate, if it is not to lose its flavour as a medium of information, education, interaction, communication, discourse and entertainment in the 21st century.
Thus, as responsible persons, it behooves on us to admonish one another in our own little way, to be circumspect and vigilant in making comments and sharing information lest one be a collaborator in contributing to the menace that some people have manipulated the social media into lately.
Any church that wants to be relevant in the present era must never neglect the value of social media, Pastor of The Breath of Life Youth Church Lagos, Temitope Odebiyi, has stated.
She spoke during a digital marketing training by the Church.
According to her, a church without social media will lose its young people and is as good as dead.
She noted that there is need for the church to upgrade to the 21st century knowledge and skill, which includes the use of social media to disseminate information and reach the younger generation.
She warned that the entertainment sector might hijack the social media from churches if they don’t step up on time.
According to Odebiyi: “There is lot of information on the social media and the church must teach youths to learn right morals in their social media pursuit.
“It is the responsibility of the church to impact these morals into the young people so that when they go on the social media, they will remember the morals they have being taught and not get distracted.”
She urged youths to use the social media to propagate Christ, right morals and ethics.
She noted that the main objective of the training is youth empowerment.
A 35 -year- old man, Michael Atanda, who has been extorting money from four ladies with threat to expose their nude pictures on the social media has been arrested in Lagos.
Atanda, a computer science National Diploma holder of a popular computer school based in Ikeja, was arrested on Thursday by the surveillance Team of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command after about five days of baiting and monitoring.
The Police in a press statement said the accused, ex – convict and father of three, had collected N121,000:00 from his four girlfriends with the threat but wanted the ladies to pay more or have their nude pictures leaked on social media.
The suspect who bears Segun Bayo on facebook and a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile – Ife, reportedly said he usually adds several ladies on Facebook and after two weeks, he would start chatting with them.
“The profile picture on my facebook account is that of a guy based in London, and so as part of my introductions to ladies, I tell them that, I am a Construction Engineer as well as that my parents and I are living in Europe” the suspect said.
” After sometime, I would lure them into sexual conversations during which, I persuaded them to send their nude pictures to me. They would send and I would send mine to them too.
” Before that I would pretend that I was seeking a serious relationship with them, and that very soon, I would be coming to Abuja on a business trip, during which I would see them.
“I would again feign my seriousness by calling them with the aid of computer software that transforms my Nigerian line into an international line. Meanwhile, I would warn them that I was calling through a public phone booth.
” As soon as they have sent their nude pictures, I would come up with all manners of stories. And begin to extort and blackmail them. Through this means, I have collected over N121, 000:00 from my latest victims.
” I was jailed last year in a similar circumstance after fraudulently collected N700, 000:00 from a lady I met through a dating site. I was eventually bailed but the case is still pending in the court” he confessed .
” I have collected only 10,000:00 from Funmilola, Motunrayo, N6,000, Joy, N5,000 and Lizzy, N100,000:00” .
Apart from Lizzy, who reported the incident but declined to press charges, three other suspects, who were discovered during investigations, acknowledged on phone calls they have been paying the suspect so that he doesn’t leak their nude photographs online.
Though, investigators have reached out to more victims after checking the suspect’s facebook conversations with a number of ladies, all of them have reportedly refused to come forward, after confirming they were paying the suspect through his bank statement.
Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Suprintendent Dolapo Badmos, said that the Police were carrying out a thorough investigation on the case to aid prosecution.
The suspect has been transferred to SCID for further investigations.
