Two weeks back, Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi was detained for 12days
for tweeting the jailbreak incident that happened in Abuja. He was release
following the reaction of Nigerians on social media , as concerned citizens of
Nigeria launched a campaign for his release online. Following this development,
BBC in a report described Nigeria as having the most vibrant social media
network in the world.
Read story below:
It's sometimes said that social media lobbying is the
ultimate in armchair activism, but are there lessons to be learnt from Nigeria?
Nigeria is right now in the grip of a string of horrific
attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants who've reportedly kidnapped 200
schoolgirls and killed more than 70 in a bomb blast in the capital Abuja. And
that's just in the last two days. One of the hashtags trending in response is #CitizenSolutionToEndTerrorism.
Ordinary Nigerians have been trying to come up with practical steps to stop the
horror and bloodshed.
And this weekend saw one example of a success story from
Nigeria. Yusuf Siyaka Onimisi had been detained for 12 days apparently for
tweets he posted showing an embarrassing jailbreak in the capital Abuja. He was
released and is back with his family. On hearing murmurings of his
disappearance, Nigerians on social media began to investigate - verifying if
the story was true, tracking down his friends and relatives, then launching a
campaign for his release using the hashtag #FreeCiaxon (@ciaxon is his username
on Twitter). The protest on Twitter went to the streets too, with
demonstrations in cities including Lagos, Ibadan, Kano and Kaduna.
As protests got underway, news began to emerge on social
media of his release - with photos posted online by a family friend. "I
would say with 90% certainty that if we didn't start this campaign, the guy
would still be inside," says Fola Lawal, who started the #freeciaxon hashtag.
"The government knows the weight of social media," she says.
Journalist Salihu Tanko Yakasai with Freedom Radio in Kano
also believes Onimisi would almost certainly still be detained had it not been
for the protests on social media. "People often disappear for no reason or
with no explanation," he says. "God knows what would have happened to
him." Social media, he says, has become "the single most effective
way" to hold the government to account in Nigeria.
Nigeria was an "early adopter" of social media
says BBC Africa's Miriam Quansah and, together with Kenya, has perhaps the most
active social media activism scene on the continent. The #LightUpNigeria
campaign - calling for better access to electricity - was an early example and
came a full five years ago.
But some Nigerians still don't have access to the technology
to get onto social media, points out blogger and high-profile tweeter, Blossom
Nnodim, who runs a programme called #AdoptaTweep. She's been vocal and
influential in a number of social media campaigns in the country, and says many
Nigerians who are online feel a sense of responsibility. "The young who do
have access have taken it upon ourselves to be the voice for the ones who
don't," she says. "To be the voice of the voiceless."
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