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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Maeve Shearlaw

From politics to Hogwarts: a snapshot of Lagos in six hashtags

Online campaigners have kept fighting for the Chibok girls, but what other issues have set Twitter alight?
Online campaigners have kept fighting for the Chibok girls, but what other issues have set Twitter alight? Photograph: STR/EPA

They say you can tell a lot about a city by when it goes to sleep, but what about how people tweet?

As part of our week-long focus on Lagos, we want to get under the fingertips of those tweeting about the city to find out how the major news stories, political scandals and celebrity gossip play out online.

As thousands descend on one of Africa’s major tech hubs for social media week, we asked iTrended.com to help identify some of the most popular hashtags mentioning Lagos or Nigeria over the past six months.

The results are a mixed bag, said Declan Galvin of the investigative website Sahara Reporters, showing how Nigerian social media users are challenging the political establishment.

This was evident in the 2015 presidential campaign when candidates found themselves up against “an unruly and hyperactive online community demanding political reform”, says Galvin.

According to Internet World Stats, 50% of Nigerians have access to the internet. While Facebook dominates, Nigerians are the third most enthusiastic tweeters in Africa.

Both platforms are the centre of democratic debate, adds Galvin.

From memes to city marathons to outrage over President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments about Nigerians abroad, here are six of the most popular hashtags from the past six months.

#Lagosmarathon

The city’s first marathon, held on 6 February, was one of the hottest online topics in first week of the month.

The race, which stretched from the national stadium to Eko Atlantic, was run by professional runners and hundreds of amateurs, including 68-year-old civil servant Abiola Oshodi-Adeniyibada – whose participation was celebrated widely.

The top two places were bagged by Kenyan athletes, prompting some Twitter users to joke about the marked difference in sporting prowess between the two nations:

While general reaction to the event was positive, some bemoaned the additional traffic chaos that ensued. According to Twitter user Tolu Fawehinmi one bride had to walk to her wedding due to the disruption.

Others were defeated by the 26.2-mile course, despite previous bravado:

#NigeriansAreNotCriminals

Another popular topic this month was the outrage sparked by Buhari’s remarks to the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, suggesting Nigeria’s reputation for crime made its citizens undesirable to countries where they might hope to seek asylum.

As soon as his words got back to his citizens, #NigerianAreNotCriminals started trending.

Thousands took to Twitter to accuse their president of hypocrisy, misrepresentation and overlooking their achievements.

#RedefineNigeria

In December 2014, #RedefineNigeria began to trend as citizens began to consider the ramifications of the so-called “social media bill”, which was considering making it a crime to propagate “false information” on the internet.

“The social media bill was a move by those who promised us #OpenNass [a transparent and accessible national assembly] to gag us,” explains Jeff Okoroafor, a Twitter user who first coined the hashtag.

The activist, who also founded @OpinionNigeria, said he took to social media to voice his objections – which quickly went viral.

Campaigners also mobilised around #notosocialmediabill and marched on the national assembly in Abuja. Buhari subsequently later distanced himself from the bill and reaffirmed his commitment to free speech.

#RedefineNigeria has since been used by campaigners in relation to a host of political issues, including efforts to pressure the government to find the remaining Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, and to point out the relative luxury politicians enjoy compared to their citizens.

Okoroafor, who is happy for it to be adapted, wants “everyone to have it at the back of their mind that a lot has gone wrong [and will] continue to go wrong, hence the urgent need to #RedefineNigeria.”

#KenyansvsNigerians

Kenyans on Twitter, also known as #KOT, are a force to be reckoned with, but what happened when they went up against the might of Nigerians on the platform?

No one quite knows how it started, but for a period in October 2015 Kenyans and Nigerian took to goading each other, with insults ranging from who had the best gadgets, the best leaders and best comebacks.

Who won? That’s for you decide.

#NigeriansAtHogwarts

“JK Rowling didn’t say it but there are Nigerian foreign students at Hogwarts. As a Nigerian, you learn that your patronus is your mum,” tweeted Walle Lawal, editor of culture magazine The Republic last August.

“The aim was to allow Nigerians to cast reality onto the imagined and to see and, perhaps, even enjoy the ridiculousness of the Nigerian’s world,” Lawal told Okay Africa, after sparking mass online contemplation about joining the class of Harry, Hermione and Ron.

#SecSchoolinNigeria

Another source of endless memes (and hysterical crying emojis) was #secschoolinnigeria, a place for Lagosians and the rest of country to reminisce about their time in secondary education: from tests to the joys of jollof rice at lunch.

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