African Politics and Social Media: The Youth as the Gravitational Force
Author: Oluebube Christopher Offor (Nigeria) | 2nd place winner of the 2024 Youth & Elections in Africa Essay Contest
Preamble
The memorable political events that happened between February 25, 2023, and February 3, 2024, in Nigeria and Senegal respectively, where young citizens took the bull by the horns and confronted the trajectory of the presidential elections, left a shimmering hope in the narratives of African politics. In Nigeria, the Obi-dient Movement, spearheaded by H.E. Peter Obi and championed by disgruntled youths became more than what many political critics described as an idle Twitter-driven campaign/movement motivated by unorganized youth who clustered to tweet about a “formless” political movement. But these mere tweets, led by an army of social media users in Nigeria, later became the cornerstone that increased full political participation and exposed the deep-seated clandestine activities of the electoral system in the Nigerian political underworld after securing a large vote (about 30% of the total votes) in the recent presidential election.
Following the recent emergence of President Faye Bassirou Diomaye, the youngest Senegalese President ever to emerge since the time of independence, we saw, through the lens of social media, how the Senegalese youth fought tooth and nail to remove the sit-tight despotic leadership of Macky Sall who attempted to remain and seize political power through arbitrary means after 22 years of leadership. Even in the face of uncountable threats and series of arrests, we witnessed an evolution of a spirited youth-led movement that leveraged the power of social media to mobilize public participation.
Social Media, Youth Actions and the Happenings in African Politics
In Africa today, the bastardization of democracy, and the sit-tight leadership culture has stood out in our political system. We saw the vehement crackdown that happened after the octogenarian Cameroon leader, Paul Biya, who won another election for the seventh time, having spent 36 years in the presidential office. The announcement of the 85-year-old Paul Biya on October 7, 2018, in the heat of economic downturn, instigated youth uprisings and resistance. Reports from the Brookings unveiled that the military forces had conducted several raids in the anglophone areas to stop the imminent protest. Weeks of violent clashes and senseless massacre culminated in the aftermath.
In the Republic of Zimbabwe, the election of late President Robert Mugabe, a leader who ruled Zimbabwe for four decades, was lambasted as a masterclass of electoral fraud by the international communities. The alleged stolen ballot boxes, incomplete participation and other irregularities, including the manipulation of mass media and the judicial system became a growing concern. Many Zimbabwean activists were tortured and mutilated — some beaten to death — by war veterans in the 2008 presidential electoral experience.
These ugly electoral experiences are but a tip of the iceberg regarding the poor state of democracy in Africa. By and large, however, we have seen the dominant movements led by vibrant African youths in driving a political transformation across the continent. On Twitter and Facebook, we saw the Soro Soke movement advocated by the Nigerian youth to end police brutality, bad economy, and ill-going in the political system. A movement that gravitated to a global recognition and precipitated petitions against all wrongdoings in the political space. Over 220,000 petitions, according to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), were signed and sent to international communities to penalize the government of the day.
The youths of Kenya, on the other side, are not resting on their oars. With the introduction of the 2024 finance bill — artfully aimed at repaying the Kenyan humongous debts through tax increase — the citizens have turned to WhatsApp and Twitter to expose government lavish lifestyles and the adverse economic impacts of the proposed finance bill. More than 5,000 signatures have been gathered through public media awareness campaigns which led President William Ruto to scrap off the bill. With the new youth-led initiative known as YouthVoteKE, Kenyan youths are at the forefront of awareness campaigns on fair elections. The question now is: How can we then consolidate this progress and encourage other African youths to follow suit?
Consolidating our Progress: Policy Recommendations
To consolidate our progress, the African youth should establish a unified online forum (called: The African Youth Renaissance). Not only would this forum focus on monitoring the political affairs of their respective nations, but that of Africa in general to help African countries with limited online presence combat public corruption and unregulated electoral malpractices.
Just like the people of Kenya and the Endsars movement in Nigeria, the young people of Africa must boldly reject corruption, brutality, and electoral malpractices in the face of worsening poverty and economic doldrums. We must continue to Soro Soke (speak up) through social media, peaceful protests, online petitions and signatures, until the government of the day acts in the public interest. Further collaboration with the international communities would go a long way.
Finally, it is equally important we create a financial account where individuals and non-governmental organizations can support the fight against electoral incitements. This account must be managed with keen transparency, accountability, and auditing to ensure that funds are utilized for their intended purposes. Grooming a cavalry of young tech enthusiasts would protect our online forum from cybercrime and political manipulations.
Concluding Remark
It is high time we began to realize that the youth are the most vital and dynamic asset of every nation. The events of February 2023 and 2024 that happened in Nigeria and Senegal would remain a dazzling mirage if we had stood on with hands akimbo. I have a dream, and it resonates with the African Ubuntu, “I am because you are.”
