The Rise of Social Influencers and the Digital Revolution
This week, I had the opportunity to attend the 6th social influencers summit in Kano. As a long-time attendee since the event began in 2019, I have always found it to be an essential gathering that brings together key players in the ever-evolving landscape of technology, media, and social change. The digital revolution has fundamentally transformed how individuals across the globe interact, communicate, and conduct various aspects of their daily lives. Among the most impactful developments in this revolution is the rise of social media, which has redefined social norms, behavior, and interactions, especially among the youth.
Social media platforms have become powerful tools for spreading ideas, trends, and behaviors. At the heart of these shifts are individuals often termed ‘social influencers’—people who, through content creation and networked presence, affect what others see, think, or do. While earlier theories of influence focused on mass media and celebrity endorsement, the rise of peer-to-peer networks and algorithmic recommendation systems has made influencer roles more diffuse, accessible, and powerful.
The allure of social media lies in its ability to connect users across vast distances, offering a virtual space where they can share experiences, ideas, and content in real-time. For Nigerian youth, this connectivity provides a vital link to both local and global communities, enabling them to participate in a shared cultural dialogue that transcends geographical boundaries. However, the same platforms that foster connection also facilitate the spread of fake news and hate speech, which have become significant markers of our time. These narratives are designed to confuse, disinform, and cause harm, influencing electoral outcomes and shaping social and political dynamics.
The Impact of Fake News and Hate Speech
Fake news and hate speech have existed for a long time, but over the past decade, their scale and banalization have increased significantly. This is due to the complete transformation in the technology and use of social media. Mass communications were historically structured and controlled through regulatory controls of the organizations that operated them. Strong penal, political, and financial sanctions, including the threat and practice of the closure of organs, provided for a strong control regime that could impose order and minimum quality in the mass media. In some instances, authoritarian regimes used their power to impose propaganda narratives and hateful speech on media organs, making the structure of control even stronger.
Today, the structure and nature of social media have enhanced the centralization and universalization of the media but atomized the production of media content. For example, there are 38.7 million Facebook users in Nigeria, most of whom produce media content. Many of them use pen names, making their identities unknown, which frees them to say things they know should not be said. The absence of attribution emboldens them. Regular users of X are about 7.57 million, while 51 million Nigerians use WhatsApp regularly. This means that there are millions of people producing content that are not easily amenable to control. The owners of social media platforms have so far resisted calls to invest sufficiently in control mechanisms and processes to curb fake news and hate speech.
The Post-Truth World and Algorithmic Influence
We live in a post-truth world fueled significantly by algorithms run by tech companies, and social influencers help them create agency. It is a multi-billion-dollar industry of mass surveillance, misinformation, and the spread of false and targeted propaganda that produces vast profits for tech companies. In this new world, the main interlocutor in communication becomes a small screen on a hand-held electronic device, and the target of communications are social media friends most of whom are not known to the communicator. Gradually, people became deeply engaged with people they do not know, and specific forms of narratives emerge based on aggregation around specific ideas and values.
In the process, the values of truthfulness and respect were replaced by the numbers you can reach and the impact you can have on people. This leads to “the triumph of the visceral over the rational, the deceptively simple over the honestly complex.” Understanding complex processes was no longer important, positions are taken on the basis of belief and opinion, and interactions with social media “friends” are used to validate the position.
The Role of Algorithms in Shaping Content
The agency for social influencing is governed by algorithms, which are complex systems designed by platforms to personalize the user experience and maximize engagement. They determine which content users see in their feeds, in what order, and what recommendations they receive. These algorithms are sets of rules and calculations used by platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to determine what content shows up in your feed. This system can create “echo chambers,” limiting exposure to different perspectives. Algorithms are “black boxes,” often opaque to users and researchers.
The Media Landscape in Kano
Kano is predominantly a radio society despite the growth of social media. The state boasts over 30 FM radio stations and numerous television channels, both conventional and online. The internet has further expanded the media landscape, spawning more than 40 online newspapers, multiple online radio stations, blogs, and podcasts. Most radio stations maintain websites and active social media accounts, providing live broadcasts and textual/audio content, thereby functioning simultaneously as radio, television, newspaper, and social media platforms.
There is no surprise that the phenomenon of Sojojin Baka developed in the city. Originally referred to as Yan Gwagwarmaya (social justice advocates), before they were renamed Sojojin Baka by Zulyadaini Sidi Mustapha Karaye, a Kano-based political journalist. Karaye explained:
“I observed their courage and doggedness in criticizing or defending governments, political parties, and political godfathers. On radio, they behave like army commanders issuing orders. Many were jailed, tortured, threatened, or banned, yet persisted. While soldiers wield guns, Sojojin Baka wield their tongues.”
Sojojin Baka are self-appointed radio commentators who praise politicians, defend parties, or voice community concerns. Many operate full-time in this role, often with financial backing from political actors. In Kano, they are often more valued by politicians than by the electorate, enabling many to accumulate wealth and influence. Notable figures include Abdulmajid Danbilki Kwamanda (APC), Sani Garka Dambatta (APC), Alhajiji Nagoda (NNPP – Kwankwasiyya), Aminu Muhammad Adam (Labour Party), and others. It is a formal group that operates under the Gauta Club, a coalition of political commentators led by Alhaji Hamisu Danwawu Fagge.
Profiles of Influencers at the Summit
One panel in the Summit was devoted to social influencers, and one of them profiled was Danbilki Kwamanda. He is one of Kano’s most vocal radio-based political commentators and is a familiar voice on Rahama Radio and Vision FM Kano, hosting Sunday evening political commentary programs. He is bold, and his often-controversial remarks have made him a polarizing figure in northern Nigerian politics. Kwamanda’s greatest strength is his eloquence—the ability to communicate complex political issues in Hausa with humor, wit, and emotional appeal. His programs and social media content on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube have built him a substantial following, making him a mobilizer, influencer, and occasional controversial figure in Kano’s political discourse.
Other social influencers profiled at the summit include Dan Bello, the skit producer battling corrupt leaders in northern Nigeria, J.J. Omojuwa, the Twitter/X advocacy guru, and the Hausa music maestro, RaRaRa. Others are Rinu Oduola, the young lady at the heart of the #EndSARS protests, and Rabiu Biyora, the Facebook agitator. They have all grown to be leading activists with a significant voice that has been augmented and amplified by tech company algorithms, and they are all using the power that has accrued to them to serve the politics they or their masters have chosen.
