THE POWER OF A 'WHY' | SOCIAL MEDIA AND REVOLUTION

 

2020 has been many things for me. It has held many firsts for me, most notably being that it has become what I call my ‘social media awakening’ year. The phrase sounds special but it just means that I got on Twitter and Instagram(you’re free to shake your head here).

 

I have had my own personal biases towards social media and I still hold, to a certain extent, that it affects interpersonal communication negatively, but in lieu of recent events it is without a doubt established that social media is the new weapon of revolution.

 

What makes me say that?

 

Traditional media is very easily compromised. Many of them can be easily influenced to tell a side of a story favourable to those with power.

Social media on the other hand is as direct as anything can get from source to recipient and back again. And depending on the platform, has means of unifying a subject of interest. Something that is not achievable with newspapers or TV stations.

 

This post is not to tell how I feel about the ongoing movement as many articles do justice to that for me.

Like this one, Mgbodichi on the End SARS movement

 

 

However, this is to hammer on the importance of a ‘why’.

Why this all started, why it is still on, why we want it to continue. The WHYs are so encompassing that they include who we do it for.

 

 

It is actually mentally overwhelming, reading stories or watching clips that tell of victims of police brutality. Victims of a failed system, people killed for the most insignificant reasons and without means to bring the perpetrators to justice. Situations where crimes committed by robbers or terrorists at night are carried out by men in uniform during the day. Brooding over this can easily lead one to depression or a feeling of hopelessness.

Thing is, you might not even need to think on it for it to have an effect on you. Fear of the uniform, thoughts like ‘it could be me next’ or worry for loved ones over things that are not natural disasters or accidents are uncalled for in any ‘democratic’ society.

A popular line goes… only wrongdoers should be afraid of those in power.

 

It is okay to be weighed down, it is fine not to feel okay with all the stories. It is also important to keep hearing them all the same because the power of a WHY is evident in its absence. It is very easy to deviate from a purpose or goal once the WHY has been either forgotten or drowned out by other things.

 

 

Why it started

 

The movement started as a cry of a people who are tired of oppression. People who were tired of being asked for their voices only during election campaigns. People who either experienced(directly or indirectly) or saw the implications of unaccountability of a government to its people. People who don’t want to join others in silence as abuse of power, office or uniform becomes a normal thing.

 

 

 

Why it is still on

 

It is still on because we cannot afford to let it pass as a trend. We cannot afford to have gotten this far and come only this far. We have seen that with just ourselves we have set up systems to aid our cause; systems that a normal Nigeria doesn’t enjoy. And we did it with selflessness, accountability, effectiveness and togetherness- things we want to be replicated in our government.

As in ehh!

We will probably never be taken serious again if we don’t produce results that show generations older and younger, the power of a unified people.

 

 

 

Why it should continue

                                 

There is so much more to address and fight for. We are starting at police brutality and then every other thing that affects us as a people. Things we have rights to but are being sacrificed at altars of personal gains and sheer wickedness. We can only reach them if we continue.

 

 

 
Who do we do it for?

 

·         For those gone: 

      We do it for those who died unnecessarily and those who died for the cause. For those who fell to a system that was supposed to raise them. Names like Tony Zitta and Jimoh Isiaq. For the many gone and many who will still go if this is not addressed. REMEMBER THEIR NAMES!

·         For coming generations: 

      For those who have no idea of what it means to be a Nigerian in these times and who shouldn’t meet it like this. Those who deserve to bear Nigerian as a badge of honour not a symbol of prospective corruptive/criminal tendencies

·         For ourselves: 

      Because we deserve better and should reap the fruits of our labour. And because the National Anthem should not just be a song sang at attention, but a story of people who made a government pay attention.

 

Funny ba? but it's also not.

 

 

These and many more are the core reasons why the movement is on. Why people are protesting, praying, donating and aggressively leveraging social media to get the message out, that change is more than a campaign slogan, it is with the people.

Soro soke!

 

Lend a voice, a hand, a prayer, a naira note(or notes), an information, a tweet, a post, anything you can do to join a worthwhile cause. Raise awareness to what is going on. This is bigger than us and is for us.

 

Add more whys in the comment section and share this post to increase awareness or just to remind them.

 

DON”T LOSE FOCUS!

SPEAK UP!!

END POLICE BRUTALITY IN NIGERIA!!!