Influential Role Of Twitter (X) In Mobilising 2020 #Endsars Protests In Nigeria
Festus Prosper Olise, Barikui Nnaane
Keywords: #EndSARS, Lekki-Toll Gate, Nigerian Army, Twitter (X), Hashtags
Abstract
This study examines the influence of Twitter (X) in mobilising the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Enamoured with the capacity for mobilising for social action, X has become a social media platform of choice in planning, coordinating and galvanising protests across the globe. Its affordances and architecture make it easier for organisers of protests to use hashtags to call for action. In Nigeria, the many years of police brutality resulted in the unprecedented massive protests that rocked the country. This study adopts a cross-sectional survey research design involving the administration of questionnaire to 384 respondents in Lagos and Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. The study sample consists of youths who took part in the protests. Lagos was the epicentre of the protests. It was in Lagos, at the Lekki-Toll Gate that the Nigerian Army massacred some of the protesters who were unarmed on October 20, 2020. Major results of the study indicate that X was quite instrumental to the success of the uprising because it helped in the creation of awareness, mobilising for protests, creation of strong bond among protesters, and de-emphasising ethno-religious differences among the youths. The study concludes that using the social media, especially Twitter (X) for massive mobilisation of citizens coalesce in influencing political establishments even without the full support of conventional media. The study recommends that protesting youths and social media influencers should always avoid the use of deepfakes and other forms of fake news (misinformation and disinformation) so as to maintain the credibility of protests.
Author Biography
Festus Prosper OLISE
Department of Mass Communication, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Benin-City, Nigeria
Email: festus.olise@uniben.edu
Barikui NNAANE
Diplomatic Volunteer/Visiting Scholar-in-Residence (Technical Aid Corps) Programme, School of Journalism and Digital Media, The University of The Gambia, Kanifing Campus, Gambia
E-mails: bnnaane@gmail.com; bnnaane@utg.edu.gm