elections...online...A new form of campaigning for Nigeria

Lagos incumbent Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola or BRF has packaged a smooth modern campaign team for the upcoming elections in January. While the last four years have seen a number of improvements and developments in infrastructure it is the modern packaging of this politician that is of interest.

While other aspirants to the position of Governor in the state remain cowed and quiet, BRF is continuing to take the limelight in what is truly a one horse race. As we have seen with politicians in the West social media is increasingly playing a part in the campaign.

The President of Nigeria is making much of his Facebook page and unusually declared his intention to run through this platform. Within a couple of hours the declaration had garnered over 1,000 comments, all of which were supportive.

Many potential candidates for the Presidency have websites dedicated to their campaigns in support or against including the famed and sometimes feared former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. A point of note here is that all three candidates are from the dominant party the PDP. Other parties are yet to move their heads above the parapet in relation to the Presidential race.

But it is BRF who is currently stealing the show with his twitter account. Posts are regular, replies are given promptly and suggestions are more than welcome.

This is something unusual for Nigeria and perhaps a sea change for customer service especially by public servants. While it is more than obvious it is not Fashola himself who is responding to tweets his team are dedicated in their work and encourage the people of Lagos to take part in what amounts to a large consultation exercise.

A simple test by myself sending encouragement alongside a complaint garnered a response alongside a telephone number and name of someone to contact. Believe me when I say this but for Nigeria a country that is grappling with technology and its uses this is impressive. The phone number even worked and a solution to the problem has been given.

The grasp of social media within the forthcoming elections is impressive.

The big players have recognised that the youth of Nigeria (the largest demographic) are key to their power and all attempts are being made to reach them.

SMS is being used by most aspirants be they senatorial or presidential aspirant and with over 60 million subscribers to GSM it is an obvious platform to use.

There is a plethora of companies offering bulk SMS services and nearly everyone seems to be acting as an agent for them. After all the election season is big, big business with some terming it the "money season'.

While taking a rest in the UK recently a friend sent me a mail to encourage me to return quickly to Nigeria. His reason: 'Elections are coming; we need to hunt contracts'. Needless to say he wasn't happy when I arrived a month later.

What is clear is that this 'business' will not slow down until January when 'Inshallah' a new President will be in place or 'God willing' the old one returned to office.

Time will tell...

Juju...jazz...high life, afrobeat and naija jamz

Having discussed juju and jazz in my previous post here, it reminded me that these terms could be confused.

In Nigeria there is a plethora of music that cannot be ignored.

The rythmical beats and and dulcet tones are combined in a maelstrom of sounds.

Nigerians know how to create some great tunes that have worth not only in Nigeria but wherever Nigerians have travelled to.
So much has been written about Nigerian music here and here for example, that ill leave others to comment.

But I will leave you with a selection of some musicians of note both in the past and present.

It is a hopeful sign that a number of modern artists have pushed the boundaries and owned their own sound, asha, Nneka and NateoC to name a few.





I should also mention Storm records and Mohits that seem to hold the majority of recognised artists to their label.

Interestingly the effects of social media have come into their own when the artist Wande Coal allegedly had naked pictures of himself posted to Twitter, within hours the topic was trending worldwide. A sure sign of the times that Nigerian music had made it big, though questions remain as to whether the artist himself is. I'll let you make your own judgements.

I aint no number...Don't need no id round my neck...

The ever chaotic policy of the Nigerian government, can be witnessed once again with the new policy of sim card registration happening in the country at the moment.

A government directive holds that all sim cards shall be registered with their owners not by one but two thumb prints and photograph.

In a country where GSM is king and individuals often have 2 or even 3 phones from different providers the phone owning population is said to be around 70million and growing.

To give an example of this rapid growth, my client etisalat has grown 4.5million subscribers in its 2 years of operation; a respectable number being the 5th entrant into the GSM market.
Nigeria is not an organised country it has to be said. The ability to search for data on demographics is limited and in my job where research on target markets is necessary means a great deal of leg work for little gain. At first glance the potential for a database of subscribers can have a valuable use in many industries and in government.

However as with many things here it is not that simple.
The government has decreed it is up to each GSM company to bear the cost and logistics of registration. Compounding this logistical nightmare is the lack of infrastructure and understanding behind the reasons.
The government claim this costly time consuming exercise is intended increase country wide security and will stop fraud and kidnapping that is so prevalent in the country and what makes nigeria renowned in the rest of the world. (see previous post).

Unfortunately the security of Nigeria is put at risk by a distinct lack of data protection laws in place. And by farming out the job to the GSM companies many of which are foreign owned; MTN for example. In real terms the valuable data is now open to being sold and disseminated to any that have a contact and are willing to pay. Many of the bulk SMS companies have 'contacts' within the likes of MTN or Glo that pass on lists of numbers at request and of course at the right price.
Without solid data protection and a trustworthy government the data of much of the population is at risk.
Many Nigerians welcome this policy unnaware of the issues that present itself and swallowing the line of improved security. To English eyes who traditionally value their personal data it is a travesty.
Pandoras box is about to be opened; after all id cards won't stop hijacked jets.