Farooq Gajo at the #LagosArewaTwitterConnect 2020
My Name is Farooq Gajo, I am a Banker, Blogger, Writer and a passionate Teacher. I am here to present the topic; ‘Arewa Twitter; A force for Good or Evil’.
Media and it’s importance cannot be overemphasized, as aptly captured by the visionary and impactful Black Human Rights leader in the struggle against racism in America, a Muslim convert and an exceptional Orator Alhaji Shabbaz Bn Malik famously known as – ‘Malcolm X’ who said;
“The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.”
There was a time in Nigeria when to control the masses one of the tools you need is a Media house – mostly newspapers or TV Stations. In fact it became so apparent that the respective regions in Nigeria each had it’s own regional newspapers which they use to control and influence the narratives in their favour, for example;
1. The Nigerian Tribune owned by Late Obafemi Awolowo.
2. The Concord Newspaper owned by the late billionaire MKO Abiola.
3. The New Nigerian Newspaper by Mamman Daura,
4. The Nation Newspaper owned by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu – the political leader of our brother here Jubril Gawat – Mr Jagz
5. Even the richest man in modern times Jeff Bezos owns a Media company known as the New York Times.
A little research into this newspapers will tell you that they exist to serve the political and business interests of their benefactors. They are mostly and usually trying to control the minds of the masses, and controlling the narratives in favour of their benefactors. And it worked, because sometimes You will find them making the innocent look guilty and the guilty innocent. That is why rich and influential people ensure they own their own Media houses to protect their reputation and interests, they mostly achieve so by controlling the narrative.
Controlling the narratives is so effective that psychologically when you are watching a movie, You will find yourself always supporting the person whose story is being told and we call that person ( The Actor or Protagonist), you tend to side him with him because the story always justifies his actions and explains his “Why”, in Movies you will notice that it is mostly the actor whose rationale is being explained, you get to see the pent up frustration He/She is going through to the exclusion of the Boss (The Antagonist), even though it’s not all the time that the actor is right, a typical example of such conditioning in Hausa setting is ALI NUHU – The most successful Hausa actor in Kannywood Film Industry. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s we watched his films, Ali Nuhu made it a trademark that, He always acts as the Protagonist (Actor) instead of the Antagonist (Boss), these endeared him to the audience so much, that psychologically we became conditioned to thinking that He is always right, and we loved him, we also hated those who antagonize him, the likes of Momo (Kumurci) who always plays the antagonist and the bad boy, and even in real life, I felt the same way about this actors.
This is one of the effects and powers of Media and Storytelling, because it’s more of a one-sided story. Another example is Olusegun Obasanjo, have you read his autobiography My Watch? There’s is no way you will read that book and not admire and be on the Man’s side, but when Nobel Laureates like Wole Soyinka comments on it, you will be wondering is the same person I read about?
I can bet you that should you watch a movie between the Colonial Masters and our Ancestors that were taken into slavery, from the angle of the Colonial Masters, you are likely to support the masters, especially when you don’t know any better.
Farooq, Classiq (Arewa Mafia) and Maryam at the #LagosArewaTwitterConnect2020
This whole scenario is aptly captured by Chinua Achebe, the prominent Nigerian novelist and essayist who said in a 1994 interview with the Paris Review, that
“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
You must be in position to tell your own story and the story of your people and that we can do effectively with Twitter.
Fortunately for our generation, Technology has caused a disruption that decentralized Media and handed it down to the masses in form of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Nobody needs to own a Newspaper company now to be able to tell their own side of the story or seek for justice, this is evidenced in the numerous HashTags we’ve used to seek for justice and also get it.
In fact, nowadays some Social Media Influencers have more reach than a whole newspaper company in Nigeria.
Traditional Media in form Newspapers is fast declining while Social Media is fast rising, and the early movers stand to gain a lot from this move.
As the migration from traditional Media to Social Media intensifies. It is in the wave of this technological disruption that “Arewa Twitter” is formed.
Northerners (i.e Arewa People) from time immemorial, have always been communal in their approach to life, little wonder they are more united than their counterparts from other parts of the country.
AREWA
This is demonstrated in their voting patterns since the first republic. Northerners are so communal that in any settlement they inhabit they seem to know each other by name, face and family houses. No matter how large the setting, for example; Agege in Lagos, where this event is holding, all of you know each other. and they are majorly of the same mindset and convictions – religiously and morally.
God being so kind, as mankind migrates to the virtual world (The Internet). The Arewa Person reproduced that same communal approach to life. A classical example is;
AREWA TWITTER.
Jamil, Farooq and Yasir at the #LagosArewaTwitterConnect
Arewa Twitter is a community of Twitter Users, that trace their roots to the North, be it they are based in the North or not, replacing the traditional village square – Dandali (Hausa) ; where we gather at night to sing, dance, play, educate, familiarize with each other in our respective villages and communities, buying and selling delicacies like ‘Dan Malelele, Hanjin-Ligidi, Tuwon Madara, Alewa – Sweets, Qarago, Rake – Sugarcane, Ragadada, shashshaka, ‘Dan bagalaje, Panke, Gyad’a mai gishiri, Alewar d’inya, Alewar gyad’a and so on. Arewa Twitter has replaced our traditional Village square (Dandali) and made it A global village square, after all the world is now global, right?
That way we don’t only get to play and familiarize with people in our immediate communities but also those in other communities take for example I now know Yasir and Jamilu though they are from a different town from mine.
Is Arewa Twitter a force for Good or Evil?
The major reason why I stand before you today is to answer the question; Is Arewa Twitter a force for Good or Evil?
To fairly answer this question, I ran a poll on my Twitter handle asking the same question, and 211 people responded.
Result & Findings are as follows;
Good: 29%
Evil: 11%
Undecided: 11%
Good & Evil: 49%
An analysis of the above result shows that Arewa Twitter is a double-edged sword, depending on which side we decide to strengthen, It can be used for either Good or Evil.
Generations before us, are wary of the impact digital disruption will cause especially the moral decadence – a topic amply discussed by my brother here Yasir Arafat in his presentation, the challenge of raising a child in this generation where immorality is celebrated as the norm, where qualifying as a “Marlian” is seen as a coveted achievement.
At the same time academics are optimistic and marveled by the opportunities “Digital Disruption” provide. We live in a time when the two largest Universities are free to attend, so long a you can afford data – “Google and Youtube”.
Arewa Twitter is Good, if we decide to be productive,
1. Support each other,
2. Support each other’s business (Entrepreneurship)
3. Debating over topics of mutual interest,
4. Islamic Reminders,
5. Educate one another and understand our problems,
6. Criticize constructively,
7. Share Job Opportunities, etc.
Arewa Twitter is Evil, if we engage in;
1. Bully,
2. Slander,
3. Needless Quarrels,
4. Libel/Defamation,
5. Drag downs,
6. Near obsessive vituperation over love relationships and marriage,
7. Male salivating and thirsting over girl posts to use for VAR,
8. Tonnes of gossip and sour friendship drama,
9. Refusing to correct your friends when they are doing something wrong,
10. Blind Support of Politicians.
As we embrace Social Media platforms like Twitter, we must learn the trick of Storytelling, we should know that if we don’t tell our story and archive it, whatever our detractors write or say about us, is what generations to come will believe.
It will interest you to know that the real-life Hausa warrior Bayajidda is not a super-hero to the Hausa infant and teenage child, but the fictional Superman and Batman that never existed in real-life.
As we go back to the streets of Twitter to tweet, let us always remember that;
‘Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter
Thank You.
Comments