There is no doubt that blogging has already come to stay in
Nigeria, and its influence and benefits in today Nigeria is of course
countless, ranging from exposure of things that were secret and only known to
the selected few, to the provision of fast and cheap information dissemination
system.
Social media and blogs have the power to shape any country,
and the same way, they can shape the future of Nigeria in the next general
elections come, 2015.
Looking at some of the positive things Nigerian blogs have
achieved so far, they helped to expose a lot of secrets in Nigeria, which are
of course helping to shape the Nigerian society positively the way it is today.
We can still recall the cases of secret videos in which some unworthy men of
the Nigerian Police force, who saw it as their duty call to be extorting money
from innocent Nigerians in the name of bribe, were exposed and made viral by
Nigerian blogs to the extent that what used to be a jamboree practice for them,
turned out to be the end of their career. What about the Ejigbo woman who got
tortured and molested by some men parading themselves as vigilante group for
stealing ordinary pepper? We could also take our memories back to the sad
situation of The Nigerian Police School Ikeja, which was brought to the notice
of Mr. President after Nigerian blogs, headed by Linda Ikeji’s blog exposed the
sorry situation of that Police College, which then drew the attention of all
Nigerians, and finally the President who happens to be a listening president as
he swung into action to approve a total renovation of the school.
What about the ALUU4 killings? Plus other numerous exposures
carried out by Nigerian blogs and social media.
I can go on and on with the numerous roles blogs are playing
in Nigeria today, even in the last ASUU strike, and same way, Nigerian blogs
can as well influence who wins or loses in the next general elections in 2015, how?
By making sure they report issues as they are, and by helping to sensitize the
teeming Nigerian population on the need to vote for credibility, good
personality, vision and not just party and based on ethnic or tribal conviction
as it is today in Nigeria.
History will forever remember Nigerian blogs if they can
play a positive role in shaping Nigeria’s politics by ensuring that the right
leaders who have the interest of the ordinary Nigerians are voted into power
come 2015. But how can Nigerian blogs achieve this?
- All blog owners, editors, co-owners and reporters must strive to avoid ethnic or tribal bigotism or favoritism in their blog reports and posts.
- All blogs must avoid using their blog to campaign for any political candidate, no matter how much he or she is being offered.
- Blog owners and reporters must report political news and stories as they happened without adding any makeup story to favor a particular group of people or party.
- Blog owners must make sure that their blog posts do not incite its readers to act violently or against any political group or individual.
- Blog owners must avoid tagging or calling any political candidate or party names.
- Blog owners must ensure total and fair sensitization of its readers on the need to vote for credibility than selling their votes or mandates to the highest bidder.
These are some of the roles Nigerian blogs should play in
making sure that the coming 2015 general election favors only the best
candidates who would move the affairs of Nigeria to that enviable state we all
dream of.
We blog owners, co-owners and reporters can jointly make
this happen if and only if we abide by the aforementioned rules.
Long live Nigeria, and God bless Nigerians.
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