There is perhaps no better time to analyze the implication of social media for Nigeria than at this moment in time. After all, the biggest of the social media companies, Facebook, just announced its intention to go public a few weeks ago, via the American security process of an initial public offering (IPO). Although a lot still needs to happen before the real value of Facebook is known, and there are memories of the internet bubble, it seems as if the IPO will attract a lot of investors, and a cash cow might just be on its way to the founders of Facebook. In today’s article, however, I am more concerned about local ownership and technological self-empowerment.
The Nigerian scenario
Whenever I hear of a Nigerian talking about his or her Facebook page, my mind goes on automatic on two issues. The first automatic thought that comes to mind is that the person is in touch with technology, which is good.
Technology is the way of the future, so no one should be left behind. Not in Nigeria, not anywhere. I get even more excited if the person in question happens to have seen a few years on earth, older than fifty, maybe. For some reason, young people adopt technology so quickly and almost naturally, that they are never the issue when it comes to accepting the new technology realities.
The second issue is a bit more problematic for me. I unconsciously find myself asking, “Shouldn’t these consumers be thinking of developing an application that functionally looks like Facebook, but one that is culturally more attuned to Nigerians?” Social media technology, unlike writing operating systems (Android, iOS, Windows), is not that complicated to develop, and it seems like a technology that could be developed in Nigeria, given the right circumstances, such as infrastructure, funding, entrepreneurial gusto, sane environment, and the love of innovation. I say this because of the smartness of some of our Nigerians programmers.
If I were a Nigerian public figure, like the President, a minister, or the Chief Justice of the Federation, I would probably maintain a Facebook page, but with some apprehension. I would be uneasy because people look onto their leaders for guidance. As such, I would most likely be thinking of a locally-owned alternative to Facebook, being that I would probably want to make conditions right for indigenes to be able to play in this technology field.
This is because, as mentioned above, the particular technology associated with social media development is really not rocket science. In some countries, official cars have to be selected from brands that are locally manufactured or assembled. This has a purpose. It spells patriotism and pride in your country’s products. Although Nigeria does not manufacture cars, Nigerians need to create their own things, rather than depending on the western world and now Asia to produce things for us. Note that the burden on the leaders is a lot more than on the ordinary folks.
I may not have an issue with the rank-and-file developing Facebook pages, since we really do not look onto them for leadership. There are instances in other countries, for example China, where the government actually encourages the development of local content, such as alternatives to Google search engines and/or social media applications. It is my conviction that there are programmers in Nigeria who indeed could manage local social media projects.
It is my belief that many Nigerians tend to prefer foreign things, including culture and a way of life, at the expense of the rich and original culture that they are born into. Consider our languages and dialects, as an example. I know quite a few of young people who, although were born and bred in Nigeria and haven’t stepped an inch outside of the Nigerian border, cannot speak any Nigerian dialect or language, including their own mother tongues! All the language they speak is English. What is even more disconcerting is the fact that many young people can actually speak the local languages, but they will rather not. I am made to understand it is all about status symbol, a.k.a. colonial mentality!
These tendencies carry over to the technology arena. I have heard of cases where Nigerian technology companies go outside of Nigeria to hire foreigners, not because those foreign people are better than the available Nigerians, but perhaps because of their misguided perceptions about the capabilities of those foreigners.
Even some Nigerian entrepreneurs seem to believe that their chances of getting government contracts in Nigeria are significantly higher if they put these “expatriates” at the forefront. This is obviously an unfortunate situation, and one that everyone should hope is temporary, pending when we get our acts together. Of course, I am not against hiring any one from anywhere in the world but let them be as technically qualified as the local pool of potential applicants.
Are Nigerians afraid to dream of their own Facebook because of ignorance or the lack of skill in the appropriate technology? Should our leaders be concerned with the unfortunate status quo that presently exists in Nigeria? Where is the role of education in all of this? What will be Nigeria’s identity in, say, a hundred years from today? Would we have succeeded in merging our cultures with the need to adopt modern technology? Would we be able to handle the balance? The foregoing questions are not rhetorical, but are intended get all of us thinking about the future. Answers to them might help shed some light into what is needed to move us forward technologically, develop our own Facebook, while maintaining the good components of our rich culture in the process.