AN ADDRESS BY THE GOODWILL ADVOCATE, COMRADE ERASTUS AFIA , YOUTH AMBASSADOR AND FOUNDER OF ERASTUS AFIA MOVEMENT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE ( E.A.M ) AT THE MAIDEN EDITION OF EKET SENATORIAL DISTRICT SOCIAL MEDIA HANGOUT 2021 WITH THE THEME ” PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA” HELD AT THE MEDIA ACADEMY, NO 30 PARK ROAD, EKET ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2021.
The Chairman of the occasion, special guests, social media practitioners, friends , stakeholders distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I salute you all in the of solidarity.
I consider it a rare honour and privilege to be a part of this conversation bordering on the potentials of the social media.
As many can attest to, it has become increasingly difficult to keep pace with societal changes fueled by technological advancement.
Rapidly and steadily, social or digital media has become a huge part of our contemporary existence and the situation is not likely to change any time soon. In fact, it is disheartening, even scary to imagine how our lives will look like without social media.
Life devoid of social media can even seem like a return to the days of the caveman; dull, boring, uneventful and uninteresting.
By definition, social media are computer – based technologies that facilitie the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests and other forms of expressions through virtual communities and networks. It is one of the ways for people to connect with one another.
It not only allows people to stay in touch across continents and time zones but also with friends who live just a few houses away.
Through the magic of social media, we are connected today in ways, previous generations could not have dreamed of. It allows us to create highly interactive platforms where individuals, communities and organisations can share, co – create, discuss, participate and modify user – generated on self- curated content posted online.
We can also use social media to document memories, learn about and explore things, advertise ourselves and form friendships.
In general, the power of social media is the ability to connect and share information with anyone on earth or with many people at the same time.
Key statistics show that there are about 4.5 billion active social media users across the world as of October 2021,equating to about 57.6 % of the total global population of about 7.8 billion.
Presently, Nigeria has approximately 43 million social media users with this figure being projected to grow to 103 million by 2026.
According to social media expert,Craig Smith, Facebook has become a continent on its own with over 2.5 billion monthly active users presently. Some other popular social media networks with more than 100 registered subscribers include Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Tiktok, Baidu, Ozone, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google, YouTube etc.
Available statistics indicate that the average time spent daily on social media by Nigerian users is between 3 to 4 hours. Quite phenomenal!
Social media outlets differ from the traditional media; Print magazines, Newspapers, Tv and Radio Broadcasting, in many ways which include quality, wider reach, frequency, visibility, relevancy and permanence.
Over time, and with easy access to mobile devices, social networks have evolved from being a handy means for keeping in touch with friends and family to being used in ways that can have real impact on society as we are examining today.
It is shaping politics, business, world culture, education, careers, innovation etc. Twitter played a significant role in the emergence of Barack Obama, the first ever African American President in 2008 while in Nigeria, Twitter and Facebook were extensively deployed for political mobilization and communication during the 2015 Elections by then opposition party, All Progressive Congress (APC ) in dislodging the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) from power at the centre.
Additionally, the October 2020 Endsars Protests were coordinated through the instrumentality of the social media.
PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
The achievement and enthronement of good governance across all levels of government and society is the cardinal objective that led to the founding / emergence of our organisation, ERASTUS AFIA MOVEMENT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE ( E.A.M ). For us, it has been a dedicated struggle over which EAM has invested a considerable amount of time, effort and other resources.
In our considered opinion, good governance is not necessary an ideal but an achievable goal and we are not, in any way, resting on our oars.
WHAT REALLY IS GOOD GOVERNANCE?
Governance, in itself, refers to the process of decision -making and also the process by which such decisions are implemented (or not implemented ).
Relatedly, good governance means the process by which leaders, organisations, governments etc produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of available resources.
The World Bank defines good governance as ” the manner, in which power is exercised in the management of a country ‘s economic and social resources for development “.
Good governance has 8 (Eight ) major characteristics which include that; it is participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, inclusive and it follows the rule of law.
In terms of participation, people should be able to voice out their own opinions through legitimate organisations and representatives and the social media enables them to express such opinions and engage directly with their leaders.
The platform that social media offers covers the youths, vulnerable sections of society, backward classes and minorities.
Since the aim or end of good governance is to achieve a better society, social media can be deployed as a watch dog for information and monitoring of elected leaders.
In principle, the Endsars Protests ( largely against police brutality) and coordinated using the social media was a struggle for promotion of good governance.
At the leve of accountability, social media can help ensure that individuals, organisations, institutions, private sector, governments and even civil society organisations are accountable to the public and institutional stakeholders.
Accountability, in simple terms, means the obligation to explain, justify and take responsibility for your actions.
In the area of transparency which is the state of things being done in an open way without secrets, social media can help make information accessible to the public with such information clearly understood and monitored.
On the whole promotion of good governance through the social media will ensure that corruption is minimized, the views of the minorities are taken into account and the voice of the most vulnerable section of society heard in decision making leading to the satisfaction of the present and future needs of society.
PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
In this context, development is the act or process of growing or causing something to grow, become larger or more advanced while sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet its own needs.
3 (Three ) components or pillars of sustainable development include economic growth, environmental protection or ecological stability and social inclusion.
Notably, one of the critical offshoots of economic growth is poverty eradication and the social media can help reduce poverty by harnessing the power of information sharing to raise public awareness and involvement.
Sharing powerful images on social media can spur quick action or intervention. An image of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian boy who got drowned while leaving Syria for Greece helped in drawing world attention to the pitiable conditions of Syrian refugees and the raising of $2.3 million donation in one month for their assistance.
Digital media can also be deployed in sharing emerging markets, business and investment opportunities to the less-privileged while equally serving as an inclusive forum for people who have experienced poverty to share their experiences, concerns and opinions for the benefit of others.
Amongst other things, social media can be used to raise awareness on environmental protection through sensitisation on climate change and the need for developing and expanding renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind, hydropower ,liquid and solid biofuels, biogas etc which do not emit green house gases to the atmosphere and therefore are ideal for the environment and human health.
Additionally, in terms of social inclusion, social media can be helpful in achieving or promoting gender equality, girl child education, women empowerment, eradication of child marriages etc through effective sensitisation.
PROMOTING PEACE OR CONFLICT PREVENTION
Peace which, contextually, can be described as the absence of disturbance, violence or war is a sine qua non for the progress and advancement of any area , society or country.
Regrettably, it must be noted that because social media is largely unregulated, there are many instances where it has stirred conflict rather than prevented them. It has been used in spreading fake news, rumours, misinformation, hate speech etc, resulting in unnecessary and avoidable breach of the peace or conflict.
However, one cannot ignore the power or potential, social media has to transform the society and its capacity to have a positive impact in conflict prevention or resolution.
In this regard, it is fundamental to invest in those people and organisations who are mostly affected by conflicts, empowering them through the use of social media and enabling them to embrace positive change.
Social media, with its huge potential for creating change, can help spread the message of peace, tolerance and accommodation, encouraging dialogue amongst people from diverse ethnic, religious, political, social backgrounds and nationalities.
However,it must be noted that it is the ordinary citizens, the change makers at the grassroot level that are the keys for effective action in the enthronement of peace.
Engaging them and making them of the power of social media is a crucial step in transforming the society and curbing conflict or violence.
Thank you for your time and opportunity to rub minds with you.
WISHING YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY/PROSPEROUS 2022!
MAY GOD BLESS, PROTECT AND PRESERVE US ALL IN JESUS NAME! AMEN!
COMRADE ERASTUS AFIA AFIA
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