We are the ones that would build this country, any foreign Interests revolves around exploitation - Ajulu
I am an active follower of tech twitter.
Once upon a time, my timeline was filled with all kind of rosy tweets about the future of Nigeria.
And this was mostly from foreigners who had their sights set on the immense opportunity present in the most populous black nation.
Numerous pitch decks have been weaved around the prospects that our population of over 200 million present.
The numerous attention that is getting has not even scratched the surface.
According to Statista, Nigeria is going to have a population of over 410 Million by 2050.
This figure has made investing in Nigeria a No Brainer for tech giants.
Over the past five years, we have received Augusts visits from the CEO’s of Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Github, as well as high ranking leaders in big tech companies.
Earlier this week as the #EndSars protests gained worldwide attention, I expected the leaders of these companies to lend their voice to the ongoing conversation.
Their platforms host millions of people(billions in the case of Facebook) and creating awareness for what we are facing currently in Nigeria won’t have taken much much work.
However here we are, over a week later and the only significant action that we have seen in support for the protest is the tweet made by Jack Dorsey the CEO Of Twitter.
Ada Oyom a Software developer wrote an open letter to the Tech Twitter and Black Tech Twitter Community.
Shedrack another active member of the Nigerian tech community also voiced his disappointment at the lack of support from the Black Tech Community.
One brand whose silence is deafening is Facebook
They announced plans to open an Office in Lagos sometime next year.
But so far we are yet to see a significant contribution from them when it comes to support for the #EndSARS protests.
The Way Forward.
I have always believed that we have a huge role to play when it comes to making Nigeria a better place.
And even though I knew that foreign Corporations have a role to play in that, I had always known that deep down they only cared because of only the upside.
The #EndSars movement have taught us a lot of vital lessons and one of them is that we are the ones that would build the future that we desire.
We are the ones that we have been waiting for.
The desire to Japa is there, and have been often celebrated, but the truth is that not everyone would be able to Japa.
And if we let that mentality reign, we would not be able to drive change for the millions of our brothers and sisters who won’t be able to Japa.
You can afford to move yourself and even you immediate family abroad, but only few people can afford to take all their family, friends and loved ones.
Your ability to Japa doesn’t help anyone but yourself.
We as a country are living in a promised land bubble of our own creation.
We think that our plight as a country matters to the outsiders promising us a lot of shiny things.
We think that our collective fate is important to them.
We think other people care.
But with each passing day our bubble appears to become less and less transparent.
We are losing touch with what really matters and believe that the involvement of these tech companies makes any kind of difference to the society at large.
Yes, they will provide some jobs.
Yes, they will provide various opportunities for some of our citizens.
However, how are they contributing to what affects us collectively.
How long will it take Mark Zuckerberg to realise that if nothing is done about SARS, that employing people that would work in the Lagos Office is akin to putting huge targets on their backs.
Iyin Aboyeji, the co-founder of Andela had this to say.
The summary of all this is simple.
Companies need to become the change they talk and tweet about.
They need to Soro Soke when it matters the most is very Important.
We also need to realise that we are the ones that need to be at the fore front of this fight.
We are the ones that would change Nigeria.
Ajulu is among the lazy Youths lending his voice to the move for a better Nigeria
Only we the citizens can truly change our home, our country... Nigeria..
There is so much more to change but let's start with #SARSMUSTGO...