Social media helped bring about change of govt – Omojuwa

Weekend Magazine: How easy has it been for you to drive political and societal change via social blogs?
Japheth Omojuwa: It has not been easy. We started from a point where most young people thought social media was a place for them to have fun and discuss unserious stuff often related to entertainment and their personal lives. We had to find a way to get them interested in politics and governance. We did that by getting interested in what they were ordinarily interested in, so we talked football, discussed mundane things together and shared opinions on movies, music videos and the like. We adjusted ourselves to their interests and we then added politics to it. Eventually politics became a top issue on their minds and today, it has become the norm. It was tough, it took years of strategic planning but it worked in the end. Young people helped to deliver the chance to make the change Muhammadu Buhari promised to happen. I can say social media brought about the desired change Nigerians needed.
WM: What strategies have you devised to drive discussions around issues on Twitter?
Omojuwa: Like I already mentioned, we adjusted ourselves to understand what young people were interested in and we gradually got into that space and the conversation. Having achieved that, we then focused on how we needed them to pay attention to how they were being misgoverned by the Jonathan administration. When elections came, they knew exactly what to do without being told.
WM: Having mobilised youths to fight for their rights and change via social media, what are your expectations from the new government concerning youths?
Omojuwa: My expectations are like those of many Nigerians who agreed Nigeria needed change! As at July 2013, I had written about how “anyone who wants to be voted for as president in 2015 must come on the altar of change!” Change would mean going after those who have rendered our people poor and helpless from security threats and terrorism. Change would mean appointing ministers first on merit rather than paying attention to regional distribution. Change would mean managing our debts and bringing about development in the country. Many Nigerians would expect that the administration would help grow our wealth and our foreign reserve which is at its lowest in over a decade. As for young people, we will not be carried away by tokenism, we would be impressed by the government making the economy work so as to provide our people well-paying jobs and restoring the dignity of the internally displaced people in the North-east by not just helping them return home but building their villages. There is a lot to do, the administration has its work cut out but if they set out being sincere, if they set out working with the right people, if they start out understanding that the reward for being a politician is totally unacceptable in a country where poverty is the norm rather than the exception, we would have started the journey towards genuine change. That is why we supported them and that is how we will judge them.
WM: What are some of the challenges you have had to face while driving this cause on social media spaces?
Omojuwa: The Jonathan government later realised it was behind on social media so it engaged certain young people to dedicate attacks at us. They would curse us from morning till night. That only helped our resolve. We were also blacked out from certain opportunities while having to constantly watch one’s back. You also had to deal with orchestrated accusations about how we were doing it for money. Since these accusations were not rational or organic, they were sponsored, there was no point asking them how anyone would have paid for five years of consistency on issues when some people who used to be at the forefront of that change had since found a new cash-making end by singing the praises of a government Nigerians eventually voted out. Everything we faced was worth it and I am not saying this because we successfully changed the government, I am saying this because we did it for ourselves, we stood with our values and we trusted posterity to see that what it was. Winning was just a bonus.
WM: Was social media something you had always wanted to do right from the start?
Omojuwa: If the start means since 2008, yes! But if the start means from being a kid or teenager, no! What I always wanted was to be in a position where I could influence people’s decisions using the tools and tactics of advertising. I always loved writing and by the time social media came, I realised exactly what I could do with it very early. Long before the benefits accrued, I was already writing about the power of social media. But no, I could not have envisaged the birth of social media to say that is what I always wanted to do. Even today, it is only a part of what I do, not the whole.
WM: Has your foray into political blogging and your Twitter profile opened doors for you?
Omojuwa: More than doors, it has opened hearts, families and territories. I have met people willing to pay my bills in Canada. I have met teenagers and mothers in Kaduna telling me how much they appreciated what we do with social media and conventional activism. In terms of financial reward, to some extent because I am an ambassador for several brands but the real benefit has been in the opportunities and privileges to meet so many great people across so many countries. It has paid bills without a doubt. We reach millions of people every day via our social media accounts, companies want to reach this people and they trust us with the message to reach them. We reach them. The companies win, the public wins, and we win. Everybody goes home happy.
WM: What advice would you give the president concerning involvement of youths in his government?
Omojuwa: Don’t ignore young people. Don’t tokenise their issue. Engage them, listen to them, support their businesses, make the environment right for them to get jobs, make sure their parents are lifted out of poverty through well thought out government policies that allow the private sector create well-paying jobs. When this is done, everybody wins. Otherwise, Nigerians will call for change again. We don’t want that to happen because it would then mean nothing changed. It is time to deliver that change!