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 Social Movements and
Digital Activism in Africa
Ufuoma Akpojivi
 Social Movements and Digital Activism in Africa

“This book, authored by Ufuoma Akpojivi, is compelling by all standards, a must

read for everyone, especially scholars and students of communication, media, poli-
tics, and governance. The book examines social movements and digital activism in
Africa focusing socio-politically on three sub-Saharan African countries: South
Africa (SA), Nigeria and Ghana. The book frames #FeesMustFall in SA,
#OurMumuDonDo and #BringBackOurGirls in Nigeria, and #OccupyGhana in
Ghana as movements of social transformation and alternative pathways to social
justice in the socio-politically rigid contexts represented in the book.
What is fascinating is that the book is motivated by real-life social and political
happenings that appeared to have rattled the sensibilities of citizens. The book
analytically portrays how the happenings generated strong and spontaneous
hashtag counter actions by social movements to contest the political and social
orders in digital spaces.
The book displays a good understanding of its setting, as it provides in-depth
background knowledge of the demographic and socio-economic indices and dis-
positions to frame issues that have necessitated the rise of protest actions, social
movements and digital activism in the sub region. The about 233-­page book’s
central argument is that digital activism has evolved in Africa and has become a
veritable tool for citizens to protest inherent colonial, political, economic and cul-
tural incongruities, which have continued to plague the development of postcolo-
nial societies, such as those in Africa.
The analysis of the book is aptly underpinned by Steve Biko’s black conscious-
ness theory and Ayittey’s (2005) notion of the ‘tiger generation’. These decolonial
theories call for a proper deconstruction of colonial inhibitions in post-­
independence territories. These theories again provide a critical and alternative
lens to an understanding of contestations concerning the monotonous normative
politics of nationalist and suppressive post-colonist leadership using colonial lega-
cies that have inhibited the development of postcolonial states. These theoretical
perspectives are complemented by a robust methodology that adopts ethnography,
cyber ethnography and in-depth interviews to draw data for the analysis.
In reading this book, one gets a sense of the author’s intentions to provide a
door to an understanding of digital activism and social movements, the
actors/activists, their background and how their various backgrounds shape their
ideologies, goals and objectives; and how the movements influence and are influ-
enced by the interplay between the activists and the state. In doing this, the author
goes beyond the scope of studies in the field that are mostly country based and
usually about content on Facebook, Twitter and the like. This book, thus, makes
a bold and significant contribution to the emerging field of digital activism and
social movements and, through this, charts a research path for others to follow.
Above all, the book is written in a lucid, easy to read and understandable style
that makes the reading itself exhilarating and the content accessible to any reader.
The book is a whole package and experience; by reading it, one enjoys a narra-
tive in which domains of inquiry such as history, sociology, politics, governance,
culture, among others are imbibed for a holistic appreciation of the region covered
by the book.”
—Modestus Fosu (PhD), Dean, Faculty of Integrated Communication
Sciences, University of Media, Arts and Communication,
Ghana Institute of Journalism Campus, Accra
Modestus.fosu@gij.edu.gh
 Ufuoma Akpojivi

Social Movements and

Digital Activism in
Africa
Ufuoma Akpojivi
Advocates for International Development
Policy, Research and Learning Lead
London, UK

ISBN 978-3-031-30206-0    ISBN 978-3-031-30207-7 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30207-7

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2023
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To Linda, Oghenemaro, Ogheneyoma and Oghenefejiro
I love you all and I appreciate the sacrifice.
 Preface

The decision and desire to write a book that examines social movements
and digital activism in Africa was influenced by the abduction of the
Chibok schoolgirls on April 14, 2014, in Nigeria and the subsequent
activism that followed. I watched keenly the reaction of the then govern-
ment of President Goodluck Jonathan towards the #BringBackOurGirls
movement and how the movement was able to sustain itself and mount
pressure on the state, despite the criminalisation from the state. Within the
sociopolitical context of the Nigerian state, the movement is considered a
force to reckon with, as, within the streets, the movement was credited to
have played a germane role in ousting President Goodluck Jonathan from
power and instituting the transition in government from one political
party to another, making it the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria
from the fourth republic.
I noticed that similar occurrences were happening in other African
countries that I have closely followed, such as Ghana and South Africa. In
addition, in my observation, I realised that these movements that began to
emerge from the late 2010s in these countries were not just challenging
the state in relation to economic, political and cultural issues, which most
social movements are interested in, but were challenging inherent, deep-­
rooted cultures and practices. For example, in South Africa, the first digital
movement, #RhodesMustFall, subsequently led to the formation of move-
ments, such as #FeesMustFall challenging deeply embedded colonial cul-
tures of lack of transformation, white supremacy, and more, that have
continued to impact the socioeconomic, political, and cultural develop-
ments of black South Africans. Likewise, in Nigeria, the #OurMumuDonDo

vii
viii PREFACE

movement and the #BringBackOurGirls movement questioned the inher-

ited normative approach of governance, ways of thinking by the populace,
and ways of doing things by the state inherited from colonialism. Thus,
the objective of bringing about a mental revolution among the populace,
as a catalyst to instituting social change of good governance which has
been a bane in the country right from the colonial era to
postindependence.
Furthermore, in Ghana, #OccupyGhana has become a movement that
is at the forefront of advocating for change from the normative approach
of governance and accountability structures that has been in operation
since independence to a governance structure that empowers and places
citizens at the helm of governance and demanding for good governance
by facilitating accountability within state and nonstate actors.
Therefore, what this book attempts to do goes beyond the normative
approach of reading social movements and digital activism that emphasises
utopianism, egalitarianism and participation. It argues that for scholars to
be able to read and understand the rise of social movements and digital
activism in the examined case studies of Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa,
this should be placed within the ideological backgrounds and contexts in
which they exist. Such ideological backgrounds will reveal the micropoli-
tics within the movements (its formation and ideological contestations)
and how it shapes the wider micropolitics and engagement with other
state actors as a way of bringing about social change that has long eluded
these countries. In attempting to buttress my argument, I have used deco-
lonial theories such as Steve Biko’s black consciousness theory to argue
that these movements’ call for social change is a drive to achieve what
Fanon (2005) termed ‘true decolonization’ as a way of achieving the
desired social change. As the movements used social media platforms in
the form of digital activism to not only educate and create awareness of
social problems but also bring about a revolution, a change to ways of
thinking and doing things which have hindered the sociopolitical, eco-
nomic and cultural developments of these countries. I situated this within
Ayittey’s (2005) notion of the ‘tiger generation’, who is tired of the nor-
mative politics of nationalist and postcolonist leaders that have suppressed
the developments of postcolonial states using colonial legacies.
Consequently, such action-revolution via social movements has led to
contestation between the state and the movements. Using resource mobil-
isation theory (Jenkins, 1985; McCarthy & Zald, 2001), I argued that
these movements were able to mobilise resources for their campaigns and
 PREFACE ix

protests as social actors to counterpower the ideologies of the state and

their attempt to ‘control the minds’ of citizens by using digital activism
not only to speak back to power but also to educate and liberate citizens.
Furthermore, I argued that in reading social movements and digital
activism within the selected countries, there is the need to understand the
place of social constructs or structures such as ‘elitalisation’ of the move-
ment and the ‘personalisation’ or ‘brand nature’ of these movements and
the role of such structures in influencing or determining the operation of
these movements and their successes. As in Nigeria and Ghana, it is evi-
dent that social movements or digital activism are personalised as a way of
giving and selling the credibility of the movement to the public. Likewise,
such personalisation tends to influence the basis of engagement between
the movement and the state and other nonstate actors. While such action
can be considered to be a good strategy by social movements, it raises
salient questions about the extent to which such movements are vehicles
or tools to push the interests or ideas of the person whose identity or
brand is used by the movements.
Hence, I concluded by stating that in rethinking social movements and
digital activism in Africa, the social structures of the movement and how it
impacts its operations and the context in which the movement exists must
be recognised, as these realities will, to a large extent, influence and deter-
mine the ability of such movements to bring about the needed social change.
My decision to focus on three sub-Saharan African countries, that is,
Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, is not to make generalised statements
but to allow for wider analysis and answer questions that cannot be fully
addressed within a single context. Voltmer (2008) posits that adopting a
comparative approach of looking at multiple cases allows for broad analy-
sis, which will enable me to show if there are common patterns between
the movements from these countries and if these patterns can be used to
provide further insights into the readings of social movements and digital
activism. I hope and pray that I have been able to successfully do that in
this book.
This book would not have been possible without the support and assis-
tance of organisations and individuals who played a significant role during
the conceptualisation of the idea and the writing process. I will start off by
acknowledging the American Council of Learned Societies, which awarded
me the African Humanities Program fellowship to undertake this project.
Additionally, I want to appreciate the National Research Foundation
(NRF) South Africa for its funding that enabled me to complete the study.
x PREFACE

Without these funds, it would have been impossible to undertake a study

of this nature.
My sincere thanks go to Peggy Ama Donkor, Nana Aferba, and Mitaire
Ikpen for providing me with useful contact details while in Ghana and
Nigeria. Additionally, I want to thank Fiona Chawana for her assistance in
collecting the South African data. My special thanks go to my wife, Dr
Linda Boniface Oyama, who was more interested in me finishing this book
than I, providing me with all the necessary support, especially when I felt
like giving up due to some challenges encountered during the period of
writing. To my parents, Dr and Mrs Raymond Akpojivi, and my sisters,
Oghenetega Akpojivi Utake and Blessing Akpojivi, thank you very much
for all the support, especially for the jokes, laughter and providing invalu-
able logistics while in Nigeria. I love you all dearly.
I want to thank my daughters, Oghenemaro, Ogheneyoma and
Oghenefejiro, for their love and support during the process of writing this
book. I apologise for the times I was away collecting data and busy trying
to complete this book. I promise to make up for all the lost time.
I accept full responsibility for any errors, and these people should not
be blamed for them.

London, UK Ufuoma Akpojivi

 Contents

1 Introduction  1
Digital Activism in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa   7
Brief Overview of Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa  11
How to Read Social Movement and Digital Activism in this Book  15
Communication Power: Activism and Social Change  20
References  31

2 #OurMumuDonDo
 and #BringBackOurGirls: The Rebirth
of Consciousness in Nigeria 37
OurMumuDonDo Movement  39
Mental Revolution  44
Ballot Revolution  55
The Charly Boy Brand and the OurMumuDonDo Movement: The
Inseparable Twin  65
#BringBackOurGirls Movement  70
References  80

3 #FeesMustFall
 Movement: The Revolt for Decolonization 87
Genesis of #FeesMustFall  89
#FeesMustFall and Social Change in South African Higher
Education  93
Decolonization of the Curriculum and University  94
Curriculum Reform 101

xi
xii Contents

Free Education 110
What Is Free Education? 111
References 118

4 #OccupyGhana:
 New Wave of Democracy and
Accountability in Ghana?123
Background: From OccupyFlagStaff House to #OccupyGhana:
The Rise of the Middle Class in Protest 125
Whose Accountability? The Clash of Individual and State Interests  139
#OccupyGhana and Social Change 147
Conclusion 156
References 158

5 The
 Politics of Performance by Social Movements in Africa163
Performance and Ideological Spread 165
Performance Politics Within Social Movements in Africa 172
References 188

6 Rethinking
 Social Movements and Digital Activism in
Africa: Challenges and Prospects193
Rethink Social Movements and Activism in Africa? 201
References 204

Bibliography207

Index225
 List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 Poster used for the protest. Source: OurMumuDonDo Movement 51
Fig. 2.2 Men arrested in the Osun State governorship election in 2018
with a bag of rice branded in the image of the political
candidate ready to be given out as part of vote-buying.
Source: Naij.com 60
Fig. 2.3 Notice at the entrance of Charles Oputa’s house in Gwarinpa
Estate Abuja 67
Fig. 2.4 Some of the security assets at Unity Fountain 74
Fig. 2.5 Some of the security men behind the cars. The venue was
surrounded by security men daily 75
Fig. 4.1 FlagStaff House, Accra Ghana 127
Fig. 4.2 #OccupyGhana Facebook page 140
Fig. 5.1 BBOG display of school desks on the 5th Anniversary of
BBOG. Source: (https://www.facebook.com/
bringbackourgirls/photos/a.218484111695963/
1100203693523996/?type=3&theater)179
Fig. 5.2 Coconvener Aisha Yesufu inhaling teargas from the Nigerian
security force. Source: https://www.facebook.com/
bringbackourgirls/photos/a.218484111695963/85351
5444859490/?type=3&theater)180
Fig. 5.3 Nude protest at Wits University. Source: https://www.google.
com/search?q=nude+protest+at+wits+university&rlz=1C1G
CEU_enZA822ZA822&sxsrf=ALeKk00PmaA2reoTHZPRNnB
MbNkSIQQeA:1582720947759&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X
&ved=2ahUKEwjalfrnu_nAhVNxIUKHZwtBx8Q_AUoAXoEC
AsQAw&biw=1920&bih=979#imgrc=UJVC_KoS1b5sxM186

xiii
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The idea of this book was conceived following the abduction of 200 or
more Chibok schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School in
Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria, on April 14, 2014. As usual, the news led
to a public outcry, as citizens criticized the persistent failure of the Nigerian
state, both military and civilian governments, to protect citizens, which
should be their primary responsibility. At first glance, one would think that
the outcry from the public would die down with time, and Nigerians
would return to and continue with their daily activities as they have always
done with other sociopolitical, economic and cultural issues that have
affected them since independence in 1960. This outcry that started in the
digital world via digital activism using hashtags of #BringBackOurGirls
and #BBOG has continued. In addition, the past five years have also wit-
nessed the rise of other digital activism, such as #OurMumuDonDo and
#RedCardMovement, among others, as a way of addressing salient issues
confronting the Nigerian state.
This scenario is not different from events occurring in other African
countries. In South Africa, there has been a rise of what Nyamnjoh (2016)
terms #WhatMustRise to ‘#WhatMustFall’ in digital activism, as digital
activism has become a common phenomenon for ordinary South Africans
to express their dissatisfaction with the everyday running of the country
using hashtags. For instance, digital movements such as #RhodesMustFall,
#FeesMustFall, #ZumaMustFall, #BlackHairRocks, and #MenAreTrash
emerged in 2015, and these hashtags have not only assisted in addressing

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2023
U. Akpojivi, Social Movements and Digital Activism in Africa,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30207-7_1
2 U. AKPOJIVI

political, economic and cultural issues challenging post-apartheid South

Africa following 23 years towards democracy but have also redefined rela-
tionships between the state and its citizens. Mandela and Langa (2017)
stated that the South African state faced serious transformation issues that
had affected the ability of citizens to enjoy the fruits of democracy. This
has consequently led to a series of service delivery protests by citizens who
believed that the dream of democracy had not had any impact on their
day-to-day existence. For instance, there were over 3000 service delivery
protests within two years and eight months in South Africa (News24 cited
in Akpojivi, 2018a). With the rise of digital activism, the nature of protests
that have characterized South African society has changed, as citizens not
only need to toyi toyi1 but could use hashtags in organizing their toyi toyi
and enforcing the legitimacy of their protest. For instance, #FeesMustFall
can be regarded as a successful movement due to its disruption of universi-
ties across the country for two years via online hashtag activity and offline
protest activity. Similarly, in Ghana, citizens have adopted social move-
ments and digital activism as a form of holding governments accountable.
For example, #OccupyGhana has become a fundamental tool in building
a positive mindset among citizens on the need to promote good gover-
nance and demand transparency and accountability in governance at all
levels. Likewise, #FixThisCountry, Stand Point and Pepper have been at
the forefront challenging deep-rooted societal issues affecting the socio-
economic, political and cultural development of women in Ghana. Not
only have these movements or protest actions challenged deep-rooted
societal issues, they are now considered the vanguard of Ghana’s democ-
racy, as they drive and push ideologies and discourses, and are considered
by the public as the ‘watchdog’ of society. This assertion is in no way
replacing the mass media, which Edmund Burke termed the fourth estate
of the realm due to their watchdog roles, but such activism has played a
pinnacle role in strengthening Ghana’s democratic process.
Across the African continent, protest actions and digital activism have
been dominant, as citizens are not only using new media technologies to
challenge nation states and but also shape the politics of their states.
Tufekci and Wilson (2012), while drawing from the Arab spring experi-
ence, argue that in Egypt, social media has provided an alternative public

1
Toyi toyi is a Southern African phrase that stands for protest. This protest sees ordinary
citizens gather in the street and engage with security agencies. This protest is usually violent
as citizens burn tyres, and throws stones at security agencies.
 1 INTRODUCTION 3

sphere for citizens to deliberate on issues that affect them. Therefore, the
rise of protest actions in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa can be argued to
be citizens that were once excluded from the democratic project of their
countries due to socioeconomic, political and cultural issues capitalizing
on these new media technologies and their affordances to speak about
societal ills and shape the polity of their respective countries. In Nigeria,
according to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), the tele-
density as of April 2020 is 99.96, with 190,475,494 active mobile (GSM)
and 107,443 fixed lines (NCC, 2020). This growth in the penetration rate
of mobile and internet services has made Nigeria the fastest growing tele-
communication industry in Africa. The case is not different in Ghana, as
the National Communication Authority (NCA) in their report of March
2020 posited that there are 41,959,298 mobile voice subscriptions, of
which 25,479511 are mobile data subscriptions during the said period
(NCA, 2020). Likewise, in South Africa, there are approximately 36.5
million active internet users and 34.9 million active mobile internet users
as of January 2020 (Statista, 2020). The above numbers show a significant
increase and connectivity within these countries following their poor and
weak infrastructure (especially Nigeria and Ghana) during colonialism and
at the beginning of the democratization and redemocratization processes
(see Akpojivi, 2018a). Ndukwe (2011), while buttressing the above, pos-
ited that in Nigeria, there were only 18,724 telephone lines as at indepen-
dence in 1960 and approximately 500,000 lines in 2000. However, this
does not neglect the fact that there are still massive inequalities in relation
to access due to social inequalities and the urban–rural dichotomy that has
made many people unable to access these new media technologies affor-
dance and communicative space (Smith, 2006). Despite these exclusions,
it can be argued that the increased penetration rate of both mobile and
data services has created an alternative public sphere for citizens to hold
their leaders accountable and press for social change via activism and pro-
test action (see Bosch et al., 2020). Diamond (2010) regards these tech-
nologies as ‘liberating technology’, as citizens’ application of these
technologies has resulted in challenging authoritarian regimes or even
democratic regimes that are perceived not to deliver on democratic goals.
According to Bosch et al. (2020), while expounding this idea of liberat-
ing technologies, these new media technologies, such as social media, have
created ‘communicative platforms for political discourse’. In most demo-
cratic countries, mainstream communicative platforms such as the mass
media have been hijacked by people with political and economic powers,
4 U. AKPOJIVI

preventing ordinary citizens from participating in such communicative

and deliberative platforms (see Akpojivi, 2018a). Therefore, it can be
argued that the upheave of activism and protest actions that has character-
ized sub-Saharan countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa is
based on the fact that citizens are trying to circumvent restricted commu-
nicative platforms by using these liberating technologies to call for good
governance, democracy and transparency.
Some scholars, such as Boudreau (2013), have likened the emergence
of these protest actions and digital movements to the rise of black con-
sciousness and thoughts that seek to challenge normative societal values
that promote germane political, economic and cultural issues. Steve Biko,
in his book titled I write what I like, argued that Africans should resist
societal cultures and systems that seem to degrade them, and impact nega-
tively on their everyday lives and humanity, and their development.
Therefore, the perception that the rise of digital activism across the African
continent seeks to promote African identity that will facilitate the sociopo-
litical, economic and cultural developments of citizens while challenging
colonial values and coloniality, which is believed, will lead to true decolo-
nization. For instance, the #OurMumuDonDo and #FeesMustFall and
#OccupyGhana have all called for a rebirth, consciousness, and decoloni-
zation of their respective countries. This call emphasizes a new societal
value and culture that is at the heart of any decolonization project. On the
other hand, scholars such as Chiumbu (2015) asserted that the rise of
digital activism is a result of radical democracy that has grown on the con-
tinent in which people are now empowered more than before to engage
with the state and press for the betterment of society. This means that citi-
zens are better informed and ready to hold government accountable
instead of being on the sideline. This is in line with Mudhai’s (2004) asser-
tion that digital activism and new media technologies have offered plat-
forms to ordinary citizens to speak back to power on issues that affect
them, and this has changed the dynamics of governance.
Despite these different positions about digital activism and its potential
to bring about social change, some studies have criticized this technologi-
cal determinism approach or studies (Mutsvairo, 2016a, 2016b; Mudhai,
2013; Diamond, 2010) that have often characterized the discussion of
social movements and digital activism in Africa. Recent events and studies
have shown that social media and digital activism have not expounded on
the democratic space but have threatened it due to the ease with which it
can be manipulated to advance certain agendas (see Olaniyan & Akpojivi,
 1 INTRODUCTION 5

2021). Mutsvairo (2020), while buttressing on this, argues that despite

the significant increase and adaptation of social media in Africa, social
media and digital activism have not brought about the needed social
change and development in the continent. On the other hand, studies
from Deibert et al. (2008) and Morozov (2011) argue that these tech-
nologies are being restricted by nation-states and therefore cannot liberate
or bring about social change. While these studies have provided invaluable
insight into digital activism and information communication technology
usage on the African continent, there is a need to examine the processes of
these activities. The actors involved, the ideologies of these actors, how
these ideologies are playing out and leading to social change, and the
interplay/intersection between the different actors and their ideas. The
need to examine the above is centered on questions that continue to linger
in my mind and have not been properly addressed in previous studies.
Questions such as: Why have citizens resorted to the use of digital activism
as a way of addressing their concerns and engaging with the state? What
ideologies drive these movements and protest actors? Why and how have
these forms of activism continued despite criticism/criminalization from
the state and accusations from other stakeholders? What is so unique about
these social movements and digital activism that have defied previous
norms of public outcry and criticism against the state? Invariably, this
study is interested in the micro-macro relationship of social movements,
digital movements and protest actions.
Therefore, this book explores the ideas of social movements and digital
activism and their actors and ideologies for two reasons. First, in under-
standing digital activism and social movements, scholars should be inter-
ested in the role of actors, i.e., activists, their background and how their
various backgrounds shape their ideologies, goals and objectives of the
movements, and influence the interplay between the activists and the state.
This understanding is salient, as one will be unable to understand activism
and social movements without a holistic understanding or knowledge of
the actors involved. As Brandes and Engel (2011: 5) put it, to understand
social and digital movements, there is a need to study these movements
against the historical and sociopolitical surroundings from which they
emerged. Second, the ideologies of these movements need to be examined
to interrogate and understand the influence and impact of these ideologies
on the polity of the national state. These ideologies will help establish the
relationship between the various actors, i.e., government, citizens and
other stakeholders. Such relationships will determine the nature of
6 U. AKPOJIVI

discourse and counter-discourse that will be produced by the different

actors in digital activism and how this shapes the polity of nation-states.
In examining the actors, their ideologies and relationships, this book
argues that digital activism has evolved in the African continent and has
become a variable tool for citizens to protest against inherent colonial,
political, economic and cultural issues that have been embedded in society,
which has continued to hinder the development of society and citizens.
Consequently, due to the importance of digital activism in addressing ‘for-
bidden issues’, the everyday processes and structure of digital activism and
social movements have changed. This change is because digital activism
and social movements are regarded as the ‘third force2’ of society where
citizens ascend to what Dr. Oby Ezekwesili termed the ‘office of the citi-
zens’ to demand accountability and good governance, and this can only be
achieved when these citizens collate and actively use digital or social move-
ments as a force to question and press for good policies.
The need for this ‘third force’ within the African continent cannot be
overemphasized, as the continent is faced with poor governance, infra-
structural deficits, poor economic growth, high mortality rates and poor
living standards that have led to lower life expectancy, which has resulted
in African countries being labelled ‘shithole countries’ by former President
Donald Trump. While this remark from former President Trump has
drawn wider criticism, many socialist thinkers have accepted this label due
to the underdeveloped and unprogressive nature of the African states.
Consequently, digital activism and social movements are seen as the only
hope to drive good governance and accountability. Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, while buttressing the above fact, further
held that for democracy, development and good governance to strive, it
depended on a movement commitment to banishing poverty, undemo-
cratic tendencies and despair. A cursory look shows that movements have
been sweeping across the African continent in the form of digital activism
and social movements.
Additionally, this book argues that because of the vested or narrow
interests of the actors involved in activism, social movements and activism
could easily be manipulated to reflect the selfish interests of the leader or

2
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his letter to President Buhari titled ‘The Way
Out: A Clarion Call for Coalition for Nigerian Movement’ likened social movements to a
third force that can check government and bring about a new wave of transparency and good
governance.
 1 INTRODUCTION 7

main organizer, and this could be extremely dangerous to the democratic

culture of society, as not only does it derail the movement from achieving
the overall objectives, but it could lead to shrinking the alternative space
of engagement. Although some scholars might see this as a good thing
due to the splitter groups of activists, I have argued that within the African
continent where democratic cultures are not ‘new’, such an act will lead to
distrust from the public about the purpose or essence of social movements
and activism. Consequently, there is a disconnect between the actors and
the public, which will not advance the democratic project or culture.

Digital Activism in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa

A great deal of activism has been apparent on the African continent, as
previously mentioned, and scholars have written about this activism from
the perspective of Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and the Arab
Spring experiences (see Gladwell, 2010; Mutsvairo, 2016a, 2016b;
Mudhai, 2013; Nyamnjoh, 2016). However, the focus of this book is
centred on three countries, i.e., Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The
rationale for focusing on these countries is that I have visited them,
watched and paid keen interest to the political, economic and social devel-
opments of these countries. I realized that ordinary citizens are coming
together to address salient inherent issues that have consistently affected
their development using digital activism in the form of hashtags. As
Olaniyan et al. (2010) describes, the perennial abuse of power by elites
and states in postcolonial states since independence has made citizens
become anti-state, the coalition of nonconformists who seek to challenge
the status quo of repression and massive corruption and social injustice. In
addition, the sociopolitical, economic and cultural backgrounds of these
countries have influenced the upsurge of digital activism and social move-
ments in these countries, pressing for political, economic, cultural and
social redress, which has been ignored for too long. Thus, the high expec-
tations and hopes in the affordances of these technologies to liberate these
countries from massive underdevelopment and anti-democratic cultures of
corruption, vote buying and election rigging, insecurities and economic
inequalities.
In South Africa, for example, Statistics South Africa in its 2017 report
held that the poverty level had seen a significant increase to 55.5%, which
means that over 34 million people are living in poverty. Likewise, unem-
ployment is estimated at 26.6%, attributed to corruption and the state
8 U. AKPOJIVI

being accused of capture by a few business people who have economic

and political interests (Pauw, 2017). In Nigeria, there has been an
increase in crime from Boko Haram, herdsmen and kidnappers, coupled
with an economic crisis (recession), a high unemployment rate (14.2% as
of 2016) estimated by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and
a poor governance record. Likewise, in Ghana, the country is faced with
a poor economic situation and a lack of basic amenities such as good
roads and drinking water amid high levels of corruption. All these prob-
lems have necessitated the rise of protest actions, social movements and
digital activism such as #BringBackOurGirls, #RedCardMovement and
#OurMumuDonDo, #OccupyGhana, #FixTheCountry, Stand Point,
Pepper them, #ZumaMustFall, #FeesMustFall, and #RhodesMustFall
from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. These different movements have
influenced the polity of the different states and impacted the relationship
between citizens and the state. As Mutsvairo (2016a) puts it, ordinary
citizens have used mobile technologies to adopt social initiatives,
empower themselves and inspire ‘collective political and social involve-
ments’ to address societal problems and challenges.
Therefore, this study adopts ethnography, cyber ethnography and
interview approaches to examine four different social movements and
digital movements. #BringBackOurGirls, #OurMumuDonDo, #Occupy
Ghana, and #FeesMustFall, respectively. I am aware of readers having
different readings or meanings of ethnography, as this is because of the
diverse field of anthropology in which ethnography is a primary approach.
In this study, my usage of the word ethnography highlights two things.
First, I am concerned about studying people in their lived environments
and realities (Hallett & Barber, 2014: 307). These lived realities of people
entails their interaction and engagement with others, and, in the context
of this study, interaction within the social movement and with other stake-
holders, i.e., state or nonstate actors. To understand these lives realities, I
had to engage in some of the public activities of the studied social move-
ments and protest actions and, in some instances, observed and inter-
viewed participants in the field. This leads to the second point, which is
that in the discourse of ethnography, it is generally referred to going to the
field, which ascribes a physical space to the field (Geertz, 1973). Street
and Coleman (2013), while buttressing the above further, posited that
people using ethnography should immerse themselves in the field-physical
space. However, when we speak of the field of study, it is not limited to
 1 INTRODUCTION 9

physical place or space, as the emergence of new media technologies means

that these technologies could be sites of study.
According to Haverinen (2015: 81), social media sites or new media
technologies are rich with good contextual material for research activities,
making them a site of study that can be undertaken using cyber-­
ethnography3 or digital ethnography (Postill & Pink, 2012). New media
technologies are sites of study because they have become people’s lived
realities and experiences as they are ingrained into their everyday lives and
how they interact with society, hence the assertion that these technologies
are an extension of man. Consequently, Gupta and Ferguson (1997) criti-
cized the traditional notion of ethnography and the physical field of study
due to its limitations. Therefore, in this study, the field of study, i.e., where
data are collected, is not bounded by physical place or space, as data were
collected using traditional ethnographic tools of interviews, observation
and cyber-ethnography of collecting and using data from social media sites
and observing the interactions.
The rationale behind using these movements is that these movements,
to a large extent, have revolutionized not only social movements and
activism but also everyday processes and formation. As such, the processes
of activism and social movements have changed from the rudimentary way
of protest to a more coordinated approach. As Olaniyan et al. (2010) puts
it, these anti-state forces, such as social movements and digital activism,
have adopted coordinated, unconventional methods or approaches in
their protest actions. These could be online actions of tweeting, posting
on Facebook and blogs or offline actions of street protests and campaigns,
or in some instances the combination of both online and offline
actions (Tufekci & Wilson, 2012). According to Tufekci and Wilson
(2012), drawing from the Egyptian experience during the Arab spring,
coordinated approaches of using mainstream media for gathering infor-
mation and social media for mobilizing and offline protest actions were
key during the Egyptian revolution. This coordinated approach has wit-
nessed mixed results. Successes and failures; for example, while
#FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall were considered successful due to
their coordinated approach of online and offline activism (Daniels &
Mutsvairo, 2016), #ZumaMustFall was not successful despite embracing
the same approach (Akpojivi, 2020).

3
According to Postill and Pink (2012), cyber ethnography or digital ethnography is used
in the context where researchers analyse how offline phenomena readily affect the use of
online phenomena.
10 U. AKPOJIVI

Hence, using a comparative study of these different protest actions,

activism and social movements in these countries, it will be possible to
understand and situate these movements around the political, economic
and cultural context and ascertain the extent and degree to which these
movements influence and impact the polity of the nation state, and pro-
mote and achieve their set objectives. This study departs from other stud-
ies that have examined digital movements in Africa, as those studies mainly
focus on and examine discourses from Twitter and posts on Facebook
pages. For example, Aina et al. (2019), Olutokunbo et al. (2015), and
Njoroge (2015), among others, approached social movements method-
ologically from discourses emerging from tweets or Facebook posts. Much
has been written about activism, movements and their discourses, but little
about the politics, ideas and macro-micro relationship from the perspec-
tive of the selected cases. Other studies, such as Gustafsson (2012),
Castells (2012) and Bosch (2012), have focused on the technological
determinism approach, that is, how citizens use new media platforms for
political purposes. As stated earlier, in this study, I am interested in the
micro and macro relationship within social movements and protest actions
and how this relationship influences engagement with other stakeholders.
According to Opp (2009), an understanding of this micromacro relation-
ship will provide an in depth perspective on what motives people take in
protest actions and social movements, and the incentives they seek to
derive. Therefore, I am interested in the politics and ideologies of the
selected social movements and their usage of social media to push their
ideas and engagement with state and nonstate actors. Additionally, I am
interested in the ideologies of these social movements and how these ide-
ologies shape their interaction and engagement with state and nonstate
actors. By focusing on the inner politics and ideologies of these move-
ments, I will be able to show the intersection of social movements’ micro-­
macro relationship and their influences in the societal polity.
This approach will suffice in providing a nuanced perspective of the
social movements’ actors, their ideologies, internal politics, and their abil-
ity to facilitate social change. Therefore, this study, by adopting interviews
with the actors of the movements, ethnography and cyber-ethnography of
the activities of the movements, will be able to effectively interrogate the
actors, their ideologies, their strategies, and their ability to facilitate social
change in a society, which are the main crux of this study.
Additionally, using a comparative approach of these different case stud-
ies will help provide rich detailed information in relation to common
 1 INTRODUCTION 11

patterns, trends, and differences between these digital movements (see

Voltmer, 2008). Such information is invaluable in providing knowledge
about human interactivity and relationships in a changing dynamitic
society.

Brief Overview of Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa

Nigeria, located in West Africa, gained independence from Great Britain
in 1960. The struggle for independence, according to Nyamnjoh (2005),
can be regarded as violence-free, as nationalists used the mass media
actively in the struggle for independence. Therefore, the struggle for inde-
pendence in Nigeria was different from that in other countries whose pro-
cesses were violent. However, the euphoria that characterized the
attainment of independence, i.e., political stability, economic growth and
development, and cultural unification, was short lived due to complicated
internal issues such as ethnic sentiments and division across the country,
the failed promises—hence the military coup and civil war that occurred
almost immediately after independence (see Osaghae, 1998). Osaghae
(1998) argues that following independence, the Nigerian state had been
confronted with a series of political and economic issues, and these prob-
lems that faced the new independent Nigerian state were attributed to the
colonial legacy and the attempt by the new political elites to emulate colo-
nial practices (see Uko, 2004; Osaghae, 1998). Fanon (1967), while but-
tressing the above position, argued that the drive for true decolonization
and solving African problems was hindered due to the emerging African
leaders and elites emulating colonial practices as a result of their desire to
be like the colonial master.
Uko (2004), while supporting this point, stated that the post-­
independence Nigeria political class emulated colonial tendencies, which
impacted the stability of the new state. However, the coming together of
civil societies and the active participation of the media helped foster demo-
cratic culture in 1999. Nevertheless, the embrace of democracy in 1999
and the stability of this democratic culture4 has not necessarily transformed
the Nigerian state, as the country is believed to be deeply rooted in cor-
ruption, neo-patrimonial political culture, widespread underdevelopment

4
Nigeria’s democracy can be regarded as fragile as since independence there have been
about seven coups with the first occurring just six years after democracy. The redemocratiza-
tion project that started in 1999 is regarded as the longest democratic experience in Nigeria.
12 U. AKPOJIVI

and citizens’ dissatisfaction (see Adetula et al., 2010). Consequently,

Campbell (2011) alleged that due to the challenges confronting the
Nigerian state, Nigeria is dancing on the brink of becoming a failed state.
Although this sentiment has widely been criticized, citizens’ actions in the
form of street protest and the rise of hashtag activism have attested to a
strained relationship between citizens and the state.
Nigerians have resorted to the use of hashtags and social movements as
a way of addressing the fundamental problems facing the country. This is
to avoid the case of using the same old strategy of engagement between
citizens and the state, which has not yielded the required results. As
Chinua Achebe puts it in his book titled There was a Country, ‘an Igbo
proverb tells us that a man who does not know where the rain began to
beat him cannot say where he dried his body’ (2012: 1). In other words,
the identification of societal problems will determine the approach(es) to
be used in addressing the problem, as the old means of addressing societal
problems have not been effective. The use of hashtags, i.e., Digital activ-
ism, has led to a change in interactions, as citizens can directly engage
with societal problems, and demand improvement and accountability
from the state or actors involved (Browne, 2015). Thus, digital movements
such as #OccupyNigeria, #BringBackOurGirls, #RedCardMovement, and
#OurMumuDonDo have sprung up as a way of transforming the Nigerian
state into what citizens expect.
Similarly, Ghana, located in West Africa, can be regarded as one of the
first countries to gain independence from colonial imperials in 1958. The
independence of Ghana was birthed by the political renaissance that was
sweeping across the continent. According to Kwame Nkrumah, ‘wind of
change has become a raging hurricane sweeping away the old colonialist
Africa’ as Africans were tired of colonial powers who arrogated to them-
selves rights and entitlements to the determination of Africa (1961: ix).
Therefore, Nkrumah and five other people (Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward
Akufo-Addo, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey
and William Ofori Atta) considered the ‘big six’ founded the United Gold
Coast Convention (UGCC), which was instrumental in the struggle for
independence. As they organized protest actions and boycotts against the
colonial authorities, these, and the active use of the media, resulted in
Ghana attaining independence in 1957 (Nkrumah, 1961).
At independence, the vision was to build an ‘economic freedom for
Ghana, and Africans’ emancipation and unity’ was considered a primary
objective for the new independent state because Ghana’s independence
 1 INTRODUCTION 13

was considered by Nkrumah to be meaningless if it was not economically

free and if other African countries were still under colonialism (Nkrumah,
1961: 111). According to Nkrumah, ‘the independence of Ghana is
meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African
continent’ (Nkrumah, 1961: 111). Nevertheless, this vision was short
lived, as Nkrumah was removed from power by the military under Colonel
Kotaka citing the economic crisis and Ghana’s overinvolvement in trying
to liberate other African countries. This subsequently led to governance
issues as Ghana witnessed numerous coups and changes in government
from civilian to military and military to civilian (see Akpojivi & Fosu, 2016).
However, the 1990s witnessed a new drive to redemocratization as
Ghana transformed its political space and embraced multiparty elections in
1994 (Akpojivi, 2018a). This move, according to Hasty (2005), was facili-
tated by economic pressures from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), World Bank and Western governments. This redemocratized era
has been sustained by civil societies and the media that have constantly
been engaging with the state and other actors by questioning both state
and nonstate actors, and demanding accountability. Hasty (2005), while
exploring this idea, further stated that the participation of the public and
the ability of civil societies to give voice to the subaltern helped to
strengthen the democratic process, as people were able to express them-
selves and demand action from the new political order. This development
does not ignore the fact that there have been changes and challenges to
the political and economic situation in Ghana. Challenges such as inflation
that resulted in the devaluing of the currency, high corruption and unem-
ployment, among others. Furthermore, the assertion that Ghana was the
first nation to gain independence in the Sub-Saharan African region and
not living up to the expectation of political transparency, good governance
and accountability was needed to facilitate political, economic and cultural
developments.
Consequently, these challenges have led to the establishment of social
movements or digital activism that seek advocacy for good governance
and transparency within society. According to Tilly (2004), social move-
ments and digital activism have become tools for highlighting problems in
society and the need to address these problems. It is believed that high-
lighting these problems and the dissatisfaction of citizens, government
and other stakeholders will be able to take action to address these prob-
lems (see Akpojivi, 2018b). Hence, movements such as #OccupyGhana
have sprung up, acting as a platform for Ghanaians to advocate for
14 U. AKPOJIVI

development and holding governments accountable for their actions and

inactions.
South Africa, considered the most developed African country, and a
beacon of democracy on the continent, has not been left behind with the
wave of social movements and digital activism. South Africa gained inde-
pendence in 1994 following years of settler-colonizer colonialism, which
significantly impacted not only the socioeconomic, political and cultural
development of the country but also the structure of the country. By this,
I mean, every discussion on South Africa has to be contextualized within
its unique historical attendance that has continued to determine or influ-
ence the readings of the country. In 1994, the dawn of democracy, the
challenge confronting the state was fostering unity among all and advanc-
ing political and economic emancipation (Mandela & Langa, 2017),
which influenced the policy approach of the country.
However, 23 years following the institution of democracy, there has
been unrest amongst the citizens who question the path of the country
and the democratic culture. According to Brunlof (2017), due to the
inability of citizens to attain economic transformation, there is the belief
that South Africans were sold a ‘pipe dream’ of democracy. Therefore, the
incessant protests that have characterized the South African state over ser-
vice delivery, drive for accountability and good governance persist.
Although protest is not a new phenomenon in the South African state due
to the antecedence of apartheid, postapartheid South Africa has witnessed
a significant increase in violent protest. Von Liere (2014) claims that these
violent protests are centred around one fundamental problem: service
delivery. These protests, which usually occur in predominantly black com-
munities, attest to the inequality that has characterized infrastructural
development. Pauw (2017) added that corruption within governmental
establishments has contributed to the disconnect between citizens and the
state. Transparency International, in its corruption perception index
report of 2017, scored South Africa 43 out of 100 and ranked the country
71 out of 180 (https://www.transparency.org/country/ZAF). This dis-
satisfaction, coupled with the need to address inequality, has resulted in
social movements and digital activism such as #FeesMustFall, which will
be discussed in Chap. 3. These movements have highlighted the deeply
inherent transformational issues ranging from governance to racial contes-
tations confronting South Africa. Therefore, the need to ask whether
social movements and digital activism have a role to play in facilitating
social change? Whose ideas inform or shape social movements and digital
 1 INTRODUCTION 15

activism? How do the contestations of ideologies play out during the pro-
cess of social movement and digital activism and in their drive for social
change? These and many other questions concerning social movements
and digital activism in Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana are discussed later
in the chapters that follow.

How to Read Social Movement and Digital Activism

in this Book

Social movements and digital activism are concepts that will often be men-
tioned in this book. Both concepts mean different things to different peo-
ple, and this has influenced how scholars conceptualize both concepts. For
instance, some scholars have approached the concept of social movement
from the characteristic approach, that is, what features can be found or
should a social movement exhibit/display (see Aminzade, 1995). Others
such as Castells (2012) and Tilly (1984) have approached social move-
ment from the outcome perspective, i.e., participatory and engagement.
These different approaches in which social movements can be conceptual-
ized have made it difficult to have a universally acceptable definition, and
in most cases, such definitions are problematic due to the simplicity of
such definitions (Opp, 2009). According to Opp (2009), most of these
ideas from scholars about social movements are from the narrow prism,
which is mostly influenced by the neo-classic economics perspective, and
the wider prism of social movements is usually embraced by sociologists.
Leslie (2006: 21) defines social movements as “a sustained interaction
between a specific set of authorities and various spokespersons holding a
set of opinions and beliefs and preferences for changing some aspects of
the social structure and reward distribution of a society.” This definition
focuses on the characteristics of social movements, as it identifies actors as
well as the change that social movements seek to achieve either socioeco-
nomic or ideological as central features of social movements. This defini-
tion emphasizes the sustained interaction between different actors, and
this sustained interaction differentiates social movements from protests.
The above definition can be regarded to focus on the macrostructure of
social movements, that is, the social behaviour and the coordination and
usage of resources to achieve set goals (Opp, 2009). Such a definition
ignores the microstructure of the social movement and the view that any
discussion of social movement must integrate or view social movements
16 U. AKPOJIVI

from the macro-micro structure. As Opp (2009) describes, the impact of

one of the structures, whether macro, will shape or influence the micro,
and likewise, the microstructure will impact the macro. Therefore, juxta-
posing the argument that a holistic examination of the macro-micro rela-
tionship of social movement must be reflective in any definition. For
instance, Opp (2009), while showing the interconnectedness of macro-­
micro relationships within social movements, argued that ‘proponents of
the macro approaches (resource mobilization and political opportunity
perspectives) as well as those who focus on micro model (identity and
framing approaches) propose a model that includes macro as well as micro
hypotheses’.
Hence, by focusing on ideologies of social movements and the intersec-
tion of all the actors of the selected cases, this study invariably adopts a
macro-micro approach to social movement study. Therefore, in this book,
what I mean by social movements is the coming together of people to cre-
ate awareness of social issues to challenge the relevant authorities to take
action (Smith et al. 2001). This working definition highlights the ‘fruitful
criteria for theory basis’ identified by Opp (2009) that every social move-
ment must meet since it is impossible to have a universally acceptable defi-
nition. These are collective identity and actors, protest groups, and
sustained engagement (Opp, 2009). On collective identity and actors,
Opp (2009) posited that social movement is the collectivity of people
coming together to address social or societal issues. Mair et al. (2002)
further posits that social issues such as economic inequality, access to edu-
cation, and social injustice, which are deep-rooted societal issues, bring
people together to advocate for social change in society. This means that
social movements are activism-led movements that are facilitated by soci-
etal problems, and the need to address these problems brings different
people irrespective of background, gender, race or class to come together
to fathom ways of addressing these problems via collective action (see
Castells, 2012).
This collective action is reflected in the collective behaviour to engage
with relevant stakeholders/actors and bring about social change. Tarrow
(2011) argues that the idea of collective is critical in social movements, as
it guarantees the impact that a movement can make. According to Leslie
(2006), social movement actors rely on each other and maintain the exist-
ing social networks for increased opportunities for success. In addition,
they do this via their collective actions of pulling resources (financial and
humans) and mobilizing others to join their cause (Dobash & Dobash,
 1 INTRODUCTION 17

1992). Dobash and Dobash (1992) argue that for social movements to
make more significant impacts, the resource mobilization stance allows
them to lie dormant for periods and resume when issues they focus on re-­
emerge in communities or when there are new possibilities for change.
This is indicative of the ever-transforming nature of social movements and
how the element of collective has remained key in the operations of social
movements. While the collective is inherently good for social movements,
Dobash and Dobash (1992) argue that a critical component within a col-
lective is the existence of radical factions within movements because they
ultimately push for the most extreme of changes through the most radical
means, making the demands of moderate factions seem more moderate
from within and outside the movement.
This idea of collectivity and the transformative nature of sustained series
of engagement brings to bear the notion of contentious politics by move-
ment actors as posited by Tarrow (1998, 2011), as it includes collective
acts by movement actors to coerce the state into giving in to their demands.
Tarrow (1998: 2) argues that ‘contentious politics occurs when ordinary
people, often in league with more influential citizens, join forces in con-
frontation with elites, authorities, and opponents’ (1998: 2). The notion
of contentious politics brings to the fore the issues of confrontation
between movement actors and the state, particularly authorities such as
the police and army during the processes of sustained interaction.
Therefore, I highlight the sustained series of engagement between the dif-
ferent actors involved in addressing the problems. This shows that social
movement is about engagement, which usually has the state or instru-
ments of the state as key political actors, and there is a contestation for
resources. As Tarrow (1998: 2) puts it, ‘contentious politics is triggered
when changing political opportunities and constraints create incentives for
social actors who lack resources on their own. They contend through
known repertoires of contention and expand them by creating innovations
as the margin. When backed by dense social networks and galvanized by
cultural resonant, action-oriented symbols, contentious politics lead to
sustained interaction with opponents. The result is a social movement’.
This speaks about the political struggle by different actors, and the
nature of the struggle and change that the social movement seeks to
achieve, as this will set the tone for actions the movement organizes and
implements to achieve maximum impact. According to Leslie (2006: 42),
‘in order for social movements to realize their potential to effect social
18 U. AKPOJIVI

change, they need to exert control over the state apparatus’. This can only
be achieved by exerting pressure on the state, as the state is the key actor
that most movements seek to transform, therefore making the state key to
the operations of social movement action. While identifying the state as a
key actor within social movement politics, Leslie adds that ‘social move-
ments make demands on the state yet, paradoxically for social change to
prevail it has to have the support of the state… the state is the architect of
the political environment within which social movements emerge and
operate, thus creating the opportunities for action and, alternatively,
imposing restrictions on movement activities’ (Leslie, 2006: 35).
Consequently, social movement actors are in a precarious position, as
social movements are born out of the failures of the state, but social change
can only be realized with the support of the state. Whether it relates to
policy changes or the provision of essential services, social movements
heavily rely on responses from the state.
Consequently, social movements are a formidable tool for ordinary citi-
zens to organize themselves and address social injustice in society through
their constant engagement with the state and other relevant stakeholders
(Tilly, 1984). Tilly (1984: 5) emphasized this constant engagement in
social movements, as it is this ‘sustained series of interactions between
challenging groups {social movement) and the state’ that will bring about
the needed change. This ‘engagement’ between the movement and the
state broadens the democratic process (Beck, 1992), as citizens are able to
contribute to societal discourse on issues affecting its development. Such
a contribution enhances participation between social movement members
and the state, thus building and strengthening ‘relationships’ with each
other and having ‘meaningful interactions’ with themselves, expounding
the democratic culture and process. Klandermans (1995: 3) added that
such interaction and relationship is the main motive of social movements,
as social movements seek to facilitate a four-way interaction mechanism,
i.e., interaction with citizens, interaction with social movements, interac-
tion with the state and interaction with various political representative
systems.
This four-way interaction mechanism highlights that social change to
political, economic and cultural issues that social movements seek to
address is tied to the complex structure of society, and by building a
‘healthy interaction and relationship’ between the different actors involved,
i.e., state actors and nonstate actors is what will drive the process of change.
Therefore, social movements are a pivotal tool for initiating social change
 1 INTRODUCTION 19

through activism. Social movement activism is manifested in different

ways. Rudimentary activism on the street via protest and occupying public
spaces or digital activism—activism that involves the use of technology in
advocacy. Joyce (2010) sees digital activism as the use of digital technol-
ogy by people to initiate and facilitate campaigns for change in policy
reform in the political, economic and social spheres. These digital tech-
nologies used for digital activism include the internet and web-based
applications on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube (see Akpojivi, 2018).
There has been a significant shift from the rudimentary activism of
social movements, which has been widely studied by Castells and Tilly, to
digital activism in the Global South, especially in Africa. The rise of digital
activism in contemporary society is rooted in three factors. First, there has
been a significant increase in the penetration rate of mobile phone tech-
nology on the African continent. Although the internet arrived first in
Africa, due to a lack of infrastructure, its penetration was limited.
Nevertheless, with the emergence of mobile and smart mobile phones,
there has been a significant increase in the usage of mobile phone technol-
ogy and the internet (Otieno, 2009). According to Otieno (2009: 18),
the penetration rate of mobile phones has skyrocketed in Africa, as there is
no single African country that is left out of mobile phone reach. Access to
mobile phones has enhanced communication and the free flow of informa-
tion. Second, the security associated with the usage of mobile phones for
digital activism has led to an increase in digital activism. These technolo-
gies, to a large extent, are devoid of state monopoly and control, and
authoritarian governments are thinking of ways to regulate or control
these technologies (Morozov, 2011). Third, Ghobadi and Clegg (2015)
argue that digital activism through the use of hashtags helps to challenge
dominant powerful elites and power structures in society. With digital
activism, awareness is easily created as people become informed about
events occurring in society. The ability of local, national and international
publics to be aware has necessitated digital activism, despite government
control of the mainstream media (see Akpojivi, 2014), and has made digi-
tal activism an agent of social change. Assange (2014: 10) attested to this
fact by stating that social movements in the twenty-first century had
adopted digital activism (use of new media platforms) because it offered
people with ‘shared culture, shared values and shared aspirations’ a plat-
form to engage with themselves and seek ways of addressing societal
problems.
20 U. AKPOJIVI

It is this shared culture, values and aspirations that constitute the col-
lective action of digital activism. However, scholars have questioned the
ability of digital activism to have collective action as a result of the diverse
people coming together with personal interests (see Fenton & Barassi,
2011). However, the idea that people could come together despite their
personal motive to seek to address a societal problem, which is the shared
value and aspiration, makes digital activism a good source of collective
action. Through the use of hashtags and other new media/social media
platforms, citizens are able to engage with themselves irrespective of their
backgrounds and personal interest to form a collective interest that pushes
and campaigns for social change to economic, political and cultural issues
that affect their development. Porta and Mosca (2005), and Bennett
(2003: 124) argue that it is this collective action through the use of new
media technologies that have made digital activism ‘efficient’ in taking
‘political action…or change the political game itself’. Hence, justifying
Assange’s (2014: 10) claims that digital activism ‘has become a place
where history happens, a place people identify with’.

Communication Power: Activism and Social Change

The purpose of this section is to explain the theoretical framework ground-
ing the arguments made in this book. This section will discuss three theo-
ries, i.e., communication power theory by Manuel Castells, resource
mobilization theory by McCarthy and Zald, and black consciousness by
Steve Biko. All three theories will be used to examine the macro-micro
relationships of all selected cases in this study, that is, the ideologies of the
movements and their engagement with the states, and to show how the
intersection of both macro-micro relationships impacts their abilities to
achieve or bring about social change as reflected in their causes. The argu-
ment made in this section is that communication is central to any activism
and the need to bring about social change in society. This communication
is over the minds of others (state actors and nonstate actors) to take action
over an issue, and this process is contentious or what Tarrow (1998) called
‘contentious politics’, as the mind is considered a battle place (Biko,
1978). For social movements to win in this contentious politics between
themselves and the state, they need to pull all their resources (human,
financial, moral, time) in collectivity for the sake of societal good and to
achieve their set objectives. The desire and consciousness of the social
problems in society will make social movements come together in a
 1 INTRODUCTION 21

collective, pulling all resources as a means of engaging with the relevant

stakeholder (mainly the state) to address the social problem. As Biko puts
it, it is the consciousness of social injustices and the need to address them
that will prompt citizens to take action. This consciousness in the form of
social movements and digital activism can be regarded as the ‘current wave
of decolonization project’ that is sweeping across Africa to press for
improved sociopolitical, economic and cultural life. Or what Maldonado-
Torres termed the logic of coloniality of being, i.e., the struggle for a new
order of life that would be beneficial to all and not the normative few
(Wynter, 2003).
Manuel Castells, in his book titled Communication Power, examined
the power relationship and dynamics that exist between state and nonstate
actors, i.e., citizens, government and other stakeholders. By communica-
tion power, Castells means that communication is a very important com-
ponent of ‘power structure’, as it influences and shapes the human mind
to take certain actions/decisions in their interactions with the social and
natural environment. According to Castells (2012: 5), ‘the way people
think determines the fate of the institutions, norms and values in which
societies are organized’; consequently, government and state actors have
always tried to control and influence processes. Therefore, Foucault
(2000) argues that government and those in power define and interpret
discourse, knowledge and truth. By so doing, they exercise and influence
people’s understanding of society via discourse, and this attempt has
resulted in constant struggles between all the actors in society or what
Tarrow (1998) labelled contentious politics. Although Tarrow (1998)
argued that this struggle or contention is to influence social polity, this
argument can be extended to the public, that is, the struggle for the public
to accept the position of the state, as their acceptance of the position of the
social movement will to a large extent highlight the ills of the current soci-
etal polity or social injustice and, hence the need for reform or social
change. One way the different actors try to establish their power and influ-
ence other stakeholders (public) in the struggle is through communica-
tion, thus making communication a germane element in the ‘structure
and dynamics of society’ (Castells, 2009: 3).
There is a constant struggle in the communication process of society, as
in most African states, governments and state institutions exercise control
over the information that is disclosed and shared with the public on
national issues (Assange, 2014). For instance, in Cameroon, the govern-
ment of Paul Biya shut down the internet in the Anglophone region of the
22 U. AKPOJIVI

country for over four months in 2017 during its struggle against separat-
ists. Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni imposed a social media tax of 200
Ugandan Shillings on users of social media platforms such as Twitter,
Facebook and WhatsApp that allowed an alternative source of information
for the public. Similarly, in Kenya, the government of Uhuru Kenyatta
censored the media and information about the political crisis of 2018 and
likewise the attempt by the Nigerian military to censor and monitor infor-
mation shared among new media technologies and the resultant ban of
Twitter in 2021. The fundamental basis for the strict control of informa-
tion is to prevent citizens from being informed and empowered to chal-
lenge, critique and hold the government accountable. A democratic
culture is centred on an informed public and the free flow of information.
However, media or social media has become a dominant site for the strug-
gle for information between stakeholders and a site of engagement. For
instance, Mare (2020) argued that governments have militarized commu-
nication through their act of shutdown/censorship of the media or inter-
net, and this has become a common feature in postcolonial African states.
In other cases, state actors could criminalize the activities of these counter-
powers to control and maintain the status quo, and such criminalization
includes the use of state police or military machinery to suppress the coun-
terpower flow from social actors (see Okonjo-Iweale, 2018; Nyamnjoh,
2016; Mare, 2020; Mutsvairo, 2020; Morozov, 2011; Olaniyan &
Akpojivi, 2021). Alfandika and Akpojivi (2020) argue that the media and
social media, as vehicles for information, have become ideological sites for
contestation between the different actors in society trying to influence or
shape polity, and, in such ideological control, as Mare (2020) and Akpojivi
(2018) argued, the state is always at an advantaged point due to political
and economic powers that allow it to project a single view or ideas.
Such control is to allow for a single view or idea of society that limits
citizens’ ability to critically engage with the state. Morozov (2012), but-
tressing the above, posited that states had gone beyond the normative
control or censorship of information in the mainstream media to include
new media technologies. Repressive tendencies are now witnessed within
new media platforms, as evident in the examples previously mentioned.
Such repression encapsulates the struggle for the human mind, as accord-
ing to Castells, ‘if a majority of people think in ways that are contradictory
to the values and norms institutionalised in the state and enshrined in the
law and regulations, ultimately the system will change’ (2007: 238–239).
 1 INTRODUCTION 23

Castells’ assertion highlights the fact that the control of information

and of the human mind revolves around power, i.e., who has the power to
say what, do what {influence what} and in what ways, therefore giving
room for contestation between the state and other actors. To Castells,
‘power is more than communication, and communication is more than
power, but power relies on the control of communication’ (2011: 3), thus
making communication a principal tool in the contestation for power.
Mbembe (1992) argued that most postcolonial African states were not
willing to share this power, hence the need for a counterpower that Castells
reasoned was able to highlight the capacity of other social actors to chal-
lenge and change the power relations institutionalised in society. This
counterpower is made possible with the use of communication (alternative
ideology) to question and critique the dominant ideology of the state.
According to Castells (2012), the rules and power relations between the
different actors in society are changing as social actors such as social move-
ments and activists use {alternative} information to appeal to the emotions
and agency of other actors, i.e., the public and the state to compel them
to either change them in the struggle or address sociopolitical, economic
and cultural concerns. Therefore, citizens and the general public are
empowered to take a stand over national issues that might be contrary to
the interests of the state and other relevant actors (Arendt, 1958).
However, as already highlighted, these alternative social media outlets are
not devoid of government control (see Mare, 2020; Mutsvairo, 2020;
Morozov, 2011; Olaniyan & Akpojivi, 2021).
The principal idea of Castells behind communication power theory rec-
ognizes that there is a constant contestation and struggle of ideas by dif-
ferent actors and stakeholders, and this struggle is won based on the power
of communication for the human mind and heart via the flow of ideology.
Ideology is pivotal to social movements, their struggles and in bringing
about social change. Eagleton (1991), while explaining ideology and its
impact on society, argues that ‘ideology is a system of concepts and views
which serves to make sense of the world while obscuring the social inter-
ests that are expressed therein, and by its completeness and relative inter-
nal consistency tends to form a closed system and maintain itself in the
face of contradictory or inconsistent experience’. This means that people’s
sense of the world or events is based on the ideas or views that are domi-
nant in society mostly from the state and propagated by the media, and, in
most cases, these ideas or views are from elites. As Marx puts it, ideology
grows from the jurisdiction of production, which reflects the ruling class
24 U. AKPOJIVI

and seeks to maintain the status quo to keep them in power. In the context
of this study, it means that societal ideologies are produced by the state,
and the ruling class and social movements seek to counter this dominant
ideology of the state by producing a counter ideology that highlights the
failings of the state, thus the contestation over not just the ideologies that
are produced but for the ‘human minds’ and their consumption of these
ideologies. The public consumption of ideology, whether from the state or
social movement, will influence the reality of society and its line of action.
Additionally, the formation of most social movements, as this book will
show, is influenced by elites, i.e., the middle class or people with some
form of political, economic or cultural power. They established move-
ments and used the movements to either counter state dominant ideolo-
gies or push their ideologies to bring about social change. Therefore,
fitting into Marx’s idea of them being part of the base or superstructure of
society in which ideology originates and is pushed into society.
This ideology, information flow and communication structures (main-
stream media or new media) are important to social movements, their
strategy/action plan and their engagement with the state. Consequently,
Marx argues that the awareness of people about their exploitation will lead
to a fundamental change in ideology, as the people will organize and
demand social change in the political, economic and cultural structures of
society. As such, information and communication provide the ‘means by
which competing views of the world and what is possible or not possible is
articulated, transmitted, contested and mediated’ (Loader, 2008: 1922).
Therefore, black consciousness and resource mobilization theory are
brought into play.
According to Steve Biko, the founder of the black consciousness move-
ment, black consciousness revolves around the idea that for society or the
black man to live a decent and meaningful life, the black man has to rally
together around their cause to fight injustice and break free from the
shackles that hold them down to a life of servitude. Although Biko was
speaking more about apartheid South Africa and the need for black people
to rally together to fight against the white apartheid state to achieve free-
dom, his idea of the ‘collectivity action’ of people is salient to any debate
on resistance and social change. For Biko (1978), the realization of injus-
tice in society and the need to address such injustice should encourage
people to come together to fight and press for change for the betterment
of society. The consciousness of injustice in society breeds anger and self-­
affirmation among people to resist such injustice and press for social
 1 INTRODUCTION 25

justice. That is, the realization of the failure of the state to fulfil its respon-
sibilities to citizens, whether political, economic or cultural, should
encourage people to come together and take collective action to address
such failures. Most studies on social movements and activism within the
African continent have highlighted this collectivity based on the con-
sciousness of the people. According to Mutsvairo (2016a), the rapid
increase in digital activism within the continent is the consciousness and
desire of the people to bring or change the status quo. On the other hand,
Olson (1971) posited that this consciousness and collective action is for a
‘public good’, as such public good will lead to coordinated mass gathering
and participation of citizens in achieving a desirable change or outcome in
society due to the contestation of ideas and exploration of alternatives that
will occur due to social movement providing the platform for such
contestation.
Du Bois (1903), while buttressing the above further, alluded to the
idea of double consciousness within a black man, the awareness of oneself,
deprivation, injustice and the awareness of an alternative and the desire to
crave a better alternative based on their experience. Although Du Bois’
(1903) usage of the double consciousness is based on race and colonized
people in an oppressed society, the ideas of self/internal conflict, oppres-
sion in society and awareness of alternatives are germane arguments within
the context of this study. According to Du Bois, there is self/internal
conflict within man, as the awareness of the present state and desire for
change brings about strife. As Du Bois puts it ‘however, the vistas dis-
closed as yet no goal, no resting place, little but flattery and criticism, the
journey at least gave leisure for reflection and self-examination; it changed
the child of emancipation to the youth with dawning self—consciousness,
self-realization, self-respect. In those somber forests of his striving his own
soul rose before him, and saw himself, -darkly as through a veil; and yet he
saw in himself some faint revelation of his power, of his mission’ (1903: 4).
Consequently, this awareness of the injustice and oppressed nature of soci-
ety will prompt anger, protest and the need to seek social change. As there
is a longing for an alternative, a society where citizens’ concerns and
oppression are addressed. According to Fatton, ‘consciousness is a place of
moral anger and self-affirmation which embodies an ethical and political
standard that condemns the existing social order and offers the vision of
an alternative society’ (1986: 39). Fatton’s assertion highlights the fact
that until there is a consciousness among the people, the status quo will
remain, as it is the awareness of political, economic and sociocultural issues
26 U. AKPOJIVI

that will prompt people coming together to take collective action against
the state or the relevant stakeholder. This idea is in line with Amilcar
Cabral’s (1966) position of ideological weaponry, which recognizes alter-
native ideas as a ‘weapon’ to address social injustice that has affected the
sociopolitical, economic and cultural development of Africa.
This consciousness coupled with the desire to resist and withstand the
criminalization of the state or what Choudry (2019) termed the ‘pedago-
gies of repression’, that is, the ability of activists to resist and circumvent
the architecture of the state not only surveilling activists and their activities
but also harassing and criminalizing them, is what will lead to change and
adaptation of the alternative. The state largely sees these activists and social
movements as enemies of the state that should be controlled or squashed.
As the dominant idea or view of activists, social movements and their ide-
ologies ‘challenge the prevailing social, economic and political order as
criminal activity, a treat to national security’ (2019: 4). Therefore, they are
to be avoided by all means, as states see them as ‘dictatorship of the mob’
(Taine 2002 cited in Borch, 2012: 39). Hence, there is a contestation of
ideas and struggle between the state and social movements within the
African continent. This contestation over ideas, the control of communi-
cation, and consciousness help explain the micro/macro structures of
social movements and digital activism in Africa. It sheds light on why
ordinary citizens are increasingly becoming aware/conscious of the per-
petual injustice of poverty, underdevelopment, lack of transparency and
good governance that has eluded the continent, while a few continue to
enjoy the benefits accruable to all. How this consciousness has led to peo-
ple coming together irrespective of their ethnic, gender or class back-
grounds to form a group to rid themselves of the shackles of injustices by
protesting and critiquing government policies and actions. Using com-
munication as a crucial tool, these movements battle to win the human
mind by using the consciousness of social injustice in society to influence
and change the human orientation or perception about such issues (see
Castells, 2009). However, this leads to the final theory of resource mobi-
lization adopted by this study. The theory of resource mobilization is key
to social movement studies. As the theory encapsulates how the pulling or
aggregation of resources, i.e., material and immaterial resources (money,
labour, media, advocacy, etc.) are central to the realization of social move-
ment goals. McCarthy and Zald (1977), who postulated the theory, argue
that the collective action and behaviour of actors/activists towards collec-
tive gathering and pulling of resources to publicise societal injustice, align
 1 INTRODUCTION 27

with media, create alliances with other relevant actors, gather support
from the public and government, etc., are pivotal to bringing about the
public good that social movements seek to achieve.
In other words, the ability of social movements to raise consciousness
about the injustice and the oppressed nature of society and highlight the
alternative is dependent on the collective action of activists to pull together
all necessary resources, i.e., communication, sensitization and education
of the public to accept the projected public good. Within the context of
this study, the notion of resource mobilization cannot be ignored, as the
study showed that all the selected cases of social movements embrace
resource mobilization of money to fund protest actions and to create pub-
licity, used experts to formulate and push ideas, and use the media and
new media technologies as platforms for publicizing and engaging with
relevant stakeholders, including the state. Alfandika and Akpojivi (2020)
argue that activists and their desire for reform are rooted in communica-
tion and their ability to counter the hegemonic narrative of the state, and
this can only be done with effective coordination, i.e., ‘collection action
and behaviour’ of resources needed to facilitate the desired social change.
As McCarthy and Zald (1977: 1212) put it, the theory is interested in the
‘relationship of social movements to the media, authorities, and other par-
ties, and the interaction among movement organizations’.
Therefore, showing the intersection and connectivity of all three theo-
ries, i.e., communication power, black consciousness and resource mobili-
zation to this study. As communication is key to activism, as without any
communication or information, activism or social movement is dead
(Porta & Mosca, 2005), as is their objective of the public good. Likewise,
the consciousness of injustice or the oppressed nature of society will result
in collective action, and this collective action is reliant on communication
for strategic organization and engagement in the realization of the public
good. On the other hand, this public good attainment is rooted in the
effective coordination of both material and immaterial resources.
These theories have not been without criticism, as Fuchs (2009) argues
that the communication power theory of Castells over-emphasized the
place of technology in society and its ability to bring about change. Fuchs’
position critiqued the technological determinism position that has
informed the growing use of new information technologies. While Fuchs
is right to support this position, today’s social movements and digital
activism highlight the place of agency, as social change will only become a
mirage if agency and consciousness of societal issues, and how to use
28 U. AKPOJIVI

technology to address these issues are not determined. It is the use of

agency for both online and offline strategies that has differentiated the
successes recorded by different movements and activism.
Additionally, social movements and digital activism are alleged to be
elite-driven, as digital activism presents a platform for these elites to push
an agenda that is self-oriented and not communal. Fenton and Barassi
(2011), while elaborating on the above, held that in most cases within
these movements and activism, people ask the ‘questions of who are
involved in digital activism and for what purpose?’ According to Fenton
and Barassi (2011), while problematising these movements, the individual
interests of those behind such movements were made to become the col-
lective interests or identity of the movement. Therefore, the belief in some
quarters of society that disgruntled members of society, mainly elites, used
digital activism and social movements as a tool or opportunity to settle
scores with the state. Although the concept of elitism is complex due to
the different positions with which scholars approach it, in the context of
this book, I have approached it from the social construct perspective, i.e.,
in the context of political, economic and cultural privileges (see
Akpojivi, 2018b).
Within social movements and digital activism, it is the consciousness of
injustice that can only be derived from privilege to be aware of better
political, economic and cultural systems that will necessitate the need to be
involved in the struggle for a better society. This struggle entails political,
economic and cultural resources and factors to bring about social change.
Fenton and Barassi (2011) call these the social relations and structures of
society. In other words, for a movement or activism to be successful, social
relations and structures such as political, economic and cultural relations
are essential, and movements are beginning to tap into this idea by using
all resources available at their disposal to address deep-rooted societal
issues. Consequently, there exists the belief that these movements and
activism are elite-oriented. Previous struggles in Africa have seen people
with political, economic and cultural influence shaping activism. For
example, Cabral, Fanon, Biko, and Nkrumah, among others, used
resources available to them to press for social change during colonialism.
Therefore, today’s activism requires people with the necessary political,
economic and cultural structures to address a deep-rooted issue that has
continued to affect socioeconomic, political and economic developments.
Hence, individuals providing these services within digital activism and
social movements should not be constructed as ‘negative’, i.e., tools for
 1 INTRODUCTION 29

pushing a personal agenda instead of a collective or communal agenda. In

most cases, these personal agendas of ‘good governance, transparency,
good living conditions’ are for the wider benefit of society, and this should
be acknowledged in the discourse of social movements and digital activism.
The subsequent chapters will examine some of these movements and
how they are advocating for social change in Nigeria, Ghana and South
Africa. The discussions will examine the actors involved in the movements
and their ideological contestation with relevant stakeholders in the process
of bringing about the needed change.
This book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 justifies the study on
the need to examine social movements and their activism from the per-
spectives of Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana. The chapter argues that
there are common characteristics of corruption, state failure, and dissatis-
faction among citizens in these countries, and these dissatisfactions have
resulted in or given birth to a new wave of consciousness among citizens
who are demanding good governance, transparency, and accountability.
Additionally, this chapter situated its argument within Biko’s black con-
sciousness theory, McCarthy and Zald’s resource mobilization theory,
and Castell’s communication power theory. It argued that the struggle
between the different social movements, i.e., #OurMumuDonDo,
#BringBackOurGirls, #FeesMustFall and #OccupyGhana and the state
was for the human mind, i.e., they acknowledge the injustices confront-
ing them and the need to rise together by empowering themselves to
address the injustices confronting their states.
In Chap. 2, the discussion focused on Nigeria, as the dire socioeco-
nomic, political, and cultural situations facilitated the creation of two
movements, i.e., #OurMumuDonDo and #BringBackOurGirls that are at
the forefront calling for the creation of a new Nigeria. The chapter argues
that the ideological background of the movement’s actors—founder/
coordinator—influenced their decision to establish these movements,
which, to a large extent, shaped the goals/objective and ideologies of the
movements. Their ideology calls for the rebirth of every citizen to be
politically conscious and demands good governance, accountability, and
transparency from the state. As the politics of the ‘bigman’ that has char-
acterized the Nigerian state since 1960 has led to a neopatrimonialism
relationship between the state and citizens, which has consequently
resulted in high levels of corruption and lack of security, Campbell (2011)
posits that Nigeria is becoming a ‘failed state’. Therefore, these move-
ments advocate for social change within government and citizens through
their online and offline activities, which has resulted in the criminalization
30 U. AKPOJIVI

of the movements by the state. Despite this criminalization, the move-

ments have been able to call for the consciousness of Nigerians to be good
citizens by not selling their votes and demand for good governance and
accountability instead of being dependent on God for their basic services.
Chapter 3 examines the #FeesMustFall movement that originated at
the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa in 2015, and later swept
across all the universities in the country. The chapter argues that the failure
of the post-1994 leaders to address the legacies of apartheid and the
inequalities within society resulted in the formation of a movement that
seeks to decolonize the university and stop the commodification of educa-
tion. The universities were seen by the student activists to be continuing
with the oppressive, marginalized systems of apartheid that failed to rec-
ognize the African experiences and culture despite 26 years of indepen-
dence (see Radebe, 2020).
The embrace of Biko’s and Fanon’s ideologies of black consciousness
and true decolonization resulted in the contestation of ideas between the
movement, university management and the state over what constitutes
free education and decolonized curricula, consequently leading to the
criminalization of the movement via the militarization of campuses. The
chapter posits that despite the criminalization, the movement has been
able to bring about some levels of social change within the South African
higher education sector, as universities, especially the University of
Witwatersrand, have embarked on extensive curriculum reforms and open-
ing of the university. Thus, the assertion that what the movement achieved
in 10 days was what vice-chancellors have been struggling to achieve in
10 years (Habib, 2016).
In Chap. 4, the #OccupyGhana movement was examined. The chapter
traces the historical development of the movement, the actors involved
and their ideologies. The chapter argues that the consistently high level
and normalization of corruption gave birth to the movement. The move-
ment, which is mainly made up of the middle class and elites (lawyers,
doctors, miners, and journalists), utilizes their resources, e.g., lawyers in
confronting the state on good governance and accountability via the rule
of law. Consequently, making the movement a household name in address-
ing injustices and bringing about social change. For instance, the move-
ment was able to force the state and Attorney General to exercise his/her
persecutory powers within the constitution for the first time in the history
of the country to disallow some of these corrupt financial transactions and
charge offenders of corruption. Due to the potential of the movement, the
 1 INTRODUCTION 31

movement has been capitalised upon by some members who used the
movement and their activities to get into elective power. Additionally, the
classism structure of the movement has resulted in questions of whose
interests the movement represents within the Ghanaian state.
Chapter 5 looks at the politics of performance as a key strategic tool
embraced by the different movements in their drive to bring about social
change. The chapter argues that performance is invaluable in the commu-
nication of counterideology by the movements, and the performance in
speech action is not a new kind of politics as performance has always been
used by social movements and protest groups. However, the usage of new
media technologies has enabled social movements and activists to amplify
these performances in different and new ways. Additionally, the chapter
argues that these movements embraced the politics of spectacle by using
rhetorics to push their ideologies and call for social change. It is this rheto-
ric and spectacle that is embraced by the public in the struggle for the
human mind to be conscious of their society and demand sociopolitical,
economic and cultural developments of their societies.
The conclusion chapter (Chap. 6) uses comparative analysis to examine
whether there are common patterns within the different movements across
the respective countries of Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The chapter
argues that there are some common patterns among the movements, i.e.,
personalization of movements, social structures of the respective coun-
tries’, and these have greatly impacted the movements and their goals. The
chapter concludes that in reading social movements in Africa, there is the
need to recognize the unique context of each movement, their actors and
ideologies, as these factors will, to a large extent, determine and influence
the success of the movements. The study critiques the notion of a one size
fits all approach that tends to characterize social movements in Africa and
that promotes the technological deterministic view of social movements.
The study acknowledges that while digital, social media technologies were
widely used by the different movements, they were largely dependent on
the context and agency of the movements.

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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nightmare on
the nose
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
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you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Nightmare on the nose

Author: Evelyn E. Smith

Release date: December 23, 2023 [eBook #72489]

Language: English

Original publication: New York, NY: King-Size Publications, Inc, 1953

Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIGHTMARE

ON THE NOSE ***
nightmare on the nose

By Evelyn E. Smith

Incubus won every race but one. Yet though

in this respect she matched Man o' War's
record she wasn't actually a horse at all.

The gifting of animals with

human speech is scarcely an
unique idea—see Dal Stivens'
THE UNDOING OF CARNEY
JIMMY in this issue should you
have doubts—the idea of a
talking horse goes back at least
to the siege of Troy, for
certainly there must have been
some dialogue amongst the
Greek warriors enclosed in the
wooden horse's belly. But we
think you'll agree that Miss
Smith's filly has something
special.
 [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Fantastic Universe October-November 1953.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Every time he lost money at the track Phil Watson had a nightmare.
They grew increasingly frequent as his bankroll dwindled and his
hopes of getting rich dwindled accordingly.
The night after he had dropped two hundred dollars at Jamaica, the
nightmare grew particularly oppressive. In the darkness he could see
her red eyes glowing at him as she sat on his chest.
"Would you mind not turning over so much?" she asked, seeing that
he was awake. "It makes me uncomfortable."
"It makes you uncomfortable!" he moaned. "How would you like to
have a couple of tons of horse sitting on you?"
"I do not weigh a couple of tons!" she snapped. "And furthermore I
assure you I'm sitting on your chest out of duty, certainly not out of
pleasure. If you don't think I have lots better things to do with my
nights than go around sitting on people...." Her large white teeth
gleamed in a significant leer.
He sighed and squirmed again. A sharp hoof kicked him in the side.
"That'll learn you not to wiggle, Watson. Since you're not sleeping,"
she added, "how about a couple of games of Canasta?"
"I've been losing enough on the races—I'm not going to start
gambling with a supernatural card shark."
"Listen here." The nightmare bristled. "I can beat you at any game
without the use of supernatural powers. You're known as the
number-one sucker at all the tracks."
"That's right. That's right. Kick a man when he's down."
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to be unsporting. But you
get me so mad!"
"Unsporting ..." he mused—then sat up as a terrific idea hit him.
"Watch your step, Watson," the nightmare warned when the sudden
movement nearly threw her off the bed. "I've been standing for a lot
from you but—"
"Listen, can you run?"
"Run? Whaddya mean run?"
"How fast can you go?"
"Well, I'll be honest with you. Down—where I come from I'm known
as 'Old Slow Poke.' I can't move much faster than speed of sound
while all the other girls have the velocity of light. But that's the way it
is—some are born with brains and some with speed."
"The velocity of sound is good enough," Watson decided. "Look
here, Nightmare, how'd you like to run in a race?"
"A race?" Then the nightmare chuckled evilly to herself. "Oho, I see
what you mean! But that wouldn't be cricket, would it?"
"Cricket and horse-racing are two distinct sports!" Watson stated.
Then, alluringly, "How'd you like to run down the track five lengths
ahead of all the other horses, with the band playing and the crowd
cheering? You'd be led into the winner's circle and they'd drape
flowers all over you. People would yell 'Nightmare, Nightmare!' You'd
be a popular figure, a celebrity. This way nobody knows you. You
work at night, alone—unappreciated and unsung...."
"That's so true," the nightmare murmured. "I really haven't received
the adulation I deserve. Here I've done my job faithfully for years,
scared thousands of people into fits—and what thanks do I get?
None!" She sobbed. "Other people get all the credit and glory. I just
work, work, work like a horse."
"If you work for me," Watson said, "you'll only run a mile or so two or
three times a week, get the finest of care and"—he pointed out
significantly—"your nights will be your own."
"Watson," the nightmare assured him, "I'm sold. When do we start?"
"It isn't as easy as all that." Watson rose and paced up and down the
room. "First of all you're not in the stud book. We'll have to forge
some papers and pass you off as an Argentinian horse."
"Si, si, señor," said the nightmare, wriggling with pleasure. "Hablo
muy bien el español. El estrivo de mi padre es en el establo de mi
madre. Yo soy del Rancho Grande. Olé!"
"It isn't necessary for you to speak Spanish. As a matter of fact you
won't get to do any talking at all. Horses don't talk."
"But I do," she said, wounded. "Where I come from I am known as a
witty and distinguished raconteur. You know the one about the two
geldings?"
"Never you mind," he told her. "From now on you don't talk—except
to me. Get it?"
"Yeah," the nightmare agreed. "All right, Watson, I'll give it a whirl.
I've always wanted to be in the public eye."
For the sake of expediency Watson decided to give the nightmare,
now officially registered as Incubus, her preliminary workouts himself
—although he was no trainer. But then Incubus really needed no
workouts. It merely looked well to take her around the track a few
times.
"Remember, Inky," he whispered, "not too fast. We want to give 'em
a big surprise at the meet."
"I dig you," she whispered back.
Reuben Godlove, the well-known trainer, sauntered past and looked
at Incubus. "My God," he told Watson, "what kind of a monster are
you running! She's got a face like a gargoyle and a rear like a
hippopotamus."
"You want I should clout him in the crupper?" Incubus whispered.
"No, no!" he whispered back. "I'm glad he doesn't take to you,
because if he thought you were any good he might claim you."
"Claim me? Whaddya mean?"
"Well, you see," he explained, "since you're unknown and have no
record I've had to enter you in a claiming race. That means anybody
who's running another horse in the same race can put in a claim for
you before the race, for the price I set on you, and become your
owner."
"What's the price you set on me?"
Watson hemmed and hawed. "Three thousand dollars," he admitted.
Incubus cocked an eye at him. "You selling me down the river for a
mess of pottage, Watson?"
"No, no," he assured her, "I can't help it—this is some goddam silly
racing rule. You have no reputation so I've got to enter you in a
maiden claimer."
Incubus raised an eyebrow. "A maiden claimer?"
"A maiden horse," he explained austerely, "is one which has never
won a race."
"Oh-h-h-h," she said. "Sorry."
"Now, if the worst comes to the worst and you do get claimed we can
figure out ways and means of getting you back. Can't we, Inky?"
Incubus laughed richly. "Clout him in the crupper!" she chortled. "Oh,
man!"

The day dawned when Incubus was to make her debut at Belmont.
The odds on her were a hundred to one. Laughing softly to himself,
Watson put five hundred dollars on her nose.
"You crazy, fella?" the seller said to him. "The horse to bet on is
Godlove's Pamplemousse. He's a natural to win."
"Incubus is my own horse," Watson explained patiently.
"Oh, I guess it's like my kid. He plays the pianner and stinks but I
gotta clap for him all the same."
"Why didn't you give her some hip reducing exercises," Godlove
sneered as the jockey led Incubus out into the paddock. "She'll never
get through the starting gate with that spread."
"Take it easy," Watson told her, as she reared. "Now, listen," he said
to the jockey, a sullen young apprentice—all he could get—"she
responds to direction very well. Talk to her. She practically
understands."
"Oh, sure," the jockey jeered. "Is snookums gonna win the race for
daddykins?"
"Ess," replied Incubus.
The jockey stared at her and at Watson. Watson laughed, a trifle too
hard. "I'm a great ventriloquist," he explained. "Can't break myself of
the habit."
"Well, you better begin now," the jockey said, "because I'm
temperamental and when I'm emotionally disturbed the horse senses
it."
"The horses," the announcer declaimed through the loudspeaker,
"are at the post.... They're off!... All of them, that is, except Incubus.
She can't get through the starting gate. She's stuck."
"Yah, wear a girdle!" the crowd called derisively.
With a wrench of sheer rage Incubus pulled herself through the gate
and dashed after the other horses. "In the backstretch it's
Pamplemousse in the lead with Disestablishmentarianism and
Epigram running half a length behind and.... But who's this coming
up from the rear? It's Incubus! She's ahead by a length.... By two
lengths.... By three lengths! What a horse! What a jockey! He's
giving her the whip!... Oh, oh, something's wrong. Incubus has lost
her rider! Too bad, Incubus."
The horses raced up the stretch, with Incubus keeping five lengths
ahead of Pamplemousse as per direction. She was much annoyed to
discover that he had won the race.
"But I won it!" she kept whispering to Watson as he led her off. "I was
first. This is a frame-up. I'm going right to the judges and raise an
objection."
"It doesn't count if you don't have the jockey on you," he told her.
"That's the rule."
"Flap the rules!" she said. "You mean without that pee-wee it doesn't
count? A fine thing! I hate the rules, I hate the rules, I hate the rules!"
She stamped her foot. "He hit me with a whip, the little bastard, so I
gave him the old heave-ho."
"Aw, come on now, Incubus, we'll get another jockey who won't whip
you. You see how easy you can win a race?"
She tossed her head. "I'm not so sure I want to run again."
"You know you want to run, Incubus. You've made a big impression, I
could see that."
"Who cares what people think?"
"I saw Pamplemousse giving you the eye," Watson murmured.
"Good-looking horse, isn't he? Any filly'd be glad to have him
interested in her."
"Oh, I dunno," Incubus said. "He's all right, I guess, if you like them
tall and dark. But, okay, I'll try it again for you, Watson."
Godlove accosted them again as Watson led Incubus into her stall. "I
take back what I said about your horse, Watson," he apologized.
"She looks like a fiend, but she runs like one too. With the proper
handling, she might be a stake horse." He looked speculatively at
Incubus. "Give you five thousand for her, big rump and all."
"Not on your life."
Godlove shrugged. "Suit yourself. But she'll have to run in another
claimer, you know." He left, laughing softly.
After two weeks of steady diet and vigorous massage, during which
her hip measurements were considerably reduced, Incubus was
entered in a four-thousand-dollar claimer. Even though she was still
a maiden she was favored next to Pamplemousse by the players, for
her unusual first start had not passed unnoticed. Watson bet another
five hundred, to obtain which he had mortgaged the old homestead.
But this time he could get only even money.
"Remember, Incubus," he instructed her as he buckled her saddle, "if
Godlove claims you you know what to do."
"Sure do. Shall I let him live afterward?"
"Yeah, let him live. Just make it uncomfortable for him.... Now look
here, sonny." This to the new jockey. "She doesn't like the whip. You
saw what she did to her last boy?"
The jockey nodded and gulped.
"All you have to do is sit on her and let her go where she wants.
Then you'll be all right."
"I wooden even get near her," the boy said, "if I didn't have an aged
mother to support."

The starter waved the yellow flag and the horses were off. Incubus
raced neck and neck with Pamplemousse until they were a furlong
from the finish line. Then she surged ahead to win by five lengths.
When she rode into the winner's circle the crowd booed, as is their
pleasant custom with winning horses and jockeys.
"A popular figure, eh?" Incubus sneered. "Tcha!"
"Y'know, Mr. Watson," the jockey said as he was assisted from the
horse with a dazed but beatific smile on his face, "I'm so steamed up
over this win I even thought Incubus was talking to me."
The men standing around laughed. "You've let excitement go to your
head," Godlove remarked. "Personally I would never hire a jockey
who has no emotional equilibrium."
The jockey reached a tentative finger toward Incubus' nose. "Good
horse," he said. "Good Incubus."
"I think you're pretty nice yourself," Incubus murmured out of the side
of her mouth. There was a stricken silence.
Reuben Godlove's eyes narrowed. "That jockey who rode her the
other day told me about your ventriloquism," he informed Watson.
"Seems like a pretty cheap trick if you ask me." The others
murmured agreement, color flowing back into their faces.
"Anyhow, now that she's my horse," Godlove went on, taking
possession of Incubus' bridle. "She's going to be trained serious."
"Now?" Incubus asked Watson.
"Later," he whispered back.
"That ain't funny, Watson," Godlove assured him. As he led Incubus
off she looked back over her shoulder and winked.
"Mr. Watson," the jockey said, following him off the field, "you're not
really a ventriloquist, are you? That horse talks, doesn't she?"
Watson nodded.
"You gonna let Godlove get away with her?" The boy's voice rose to
a shrill squeak.
"I'll claim her back in the next race."
"Yeah, but you can't claim her back less'n you've entered another
horse in the same race and you don't have another horse, do you,
Mr. Watson?"
Watson's jaw dropped. "I never thought of that! What'll I do?"
"You've got to get another horse, Mr. Watson. Do you have enough
money?"
"Well, the purse from this race is almost two thousand, and I made
another thousand betting on Incubus. And, of course, Godlove gave
me four thousand for her. But that won't be enough to buy a decent
horse and maintain him—expenses are terrific."
The jockey chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "I know what you can
do," he said at length, "you can buy Prunella. She's set at a price of
five thousand dollars but her owner's pretty disgusted with her—she
has good lines but she finished last in twenty-seven starts—and I
think you could have her for four thousand in cash."
Prunella, a meek-looking chestnut filly with big brown eyes and a
vicious temper, was enthusiastically disposed of for four thousand
and installed in Incubus' vacant stall. Watson shed a silent tear to
see Incubus' second-best saddle hanging there on the wall.
In the dead of night he slipped into Godlove's stable. Incubus was
awake, reading the Morning Telegraph. "Look at the picture they
have of me," she snapped. "Obviously taken by an enemy. Next time
Watson, remember—my right profile is the best."
"I'll remember," he promised and told her what had happened.
"You're sure this Prunella isn't taking my place in your affections?"
she demanded severely. "That all this isn't a subterfuge?"
"My God, no! She quits before she starts."
"All right," Incubus said. "Now, I am reliably informed by the stable
grapevine that Godlove's entering me in a six-thousand-dollar
claimer. You spent almost all your money on Prunella—how're you
going to claim me?"
There was dead silence in the stable.
"These men," she sighed. "Without us females to think for them
they'd be lost. The answer is simple. Prunella's got to win that race.
Then you'll have the purse, plus whatever you can bet on her, and
you'll get good odds."
"Prunella win the race! She couldn't beat a speedy snail."
"She'll win the race." Incubus grinned happily.

The weather was clear and the track fast. Incubus was running at
three to five—Prunella ninety-eight to one. Reuben Godlove
appeared with his arm in a sling and a bandage on his forehead and
glowered at Watson. "A fine trainer you are," he snarled.
"Let's see how well you've done with her," Watson suggested,
smiling amiably.
The starting gate opened and all the horses dashed out—all except
Prunella, who sauntered forth and stood admiring the view. Incubus
turned, ran back and nipped Prunella viciously in the forequarters.
With a whinny of rage Prunella proceeded to chase Incubus, who
was showing a fleet pair of heels along the track. But there were six
horses between Prunella and her attacker.
With a thrust of her powerful shoulders, Incubus sent Dernier Cri
staggering into the geraniums that bordered the field. She thrust a
hoof into the path of Kropotkin and sent him and his rider sprawling
on the track. She murmured something into Epigram's ear and that
black colt turned light grey and refused to budge another step.
There were now three horses between Incubus and Prunella.
Polyhymnia suddenly started to run backward. Sir Bleoberis buried
his head in the sand and pretended he didn't notice the race was still
going on. Cachucha—who had hitherto not been known as a jumper
—hurdled the rail and dashed into the crowd of astonished players.
Still Incubus ran lightly before Prunella, half a length ahead, kicking
dust in her face and making irritating remarks, while the enraged filly
laid her ears back and bared white teeth to snap at her rival. One
length before the finish line Incubus suddenly stopped short, leaving
momentum to carry Prunella over the line to victory!
Prunella had won the race. Incubus was second but was disqualified
for conduct unbecoming a horse and a lady. It was never determined
who had run third.
"Together again at last, Watson," Incubus said during the joyful
reunion in the paddock. "Ah, but it's been a long, long time...."
"Two weeks," commented the jockey, who had ridden Prunella.
"Listen, pipsqueak," Incubus told him irately. "I've spent the whole
two weeks cooking up this speech and I don't want a half-pint like
you spoiling it. It's been a long, long time, Watson...."
Prunella nickered.
"None of your lip, either," Incubus said. "Where would you have been
if I hadn't won your race for you? Oh, you can run if you want to, can
you? Ha! Ha! Plater!"
Prunella neighed angrily.
"Okay, Watson'll enter you in a claimer without me and we'll see what
you can do." She turned toward her owner. "And now, Watson, I trust
you have a hot tub prepared. I'm so-o-o-o tired...."

The racing secretary entered Incubus for an allowance with some

misgivings. "But if she behaves again this time the way she did last
she's out, Watson. Suspended—disqualified! Can't have that sort of
thing going on, you know."
"She's actually the most tractable of horses, sir," Watson assured
him. "It's merely that Mr. Godlove didn't know how to handle her."
"Oh—ah," the racing secretary said.
"And I'd like to enter Prunella in the five-thousand-dollar claimer."
The racing secretary smiled. "Well, Mr. Watson, you don't have to be
afraid that anybody'll claim her. Godlove has spread the word
around. Now everybody's afraid to claim a Watson horse."
Prunella won handily in her claimer and Incubus breezed to victory in
her allowance. "Bet on Watson horses," the word went round the
tracks. Incubus won a Class C, Class B and Class A handicap in
swift progression, Prunella came in first in two seven-thousand-dollar
claimers and second in a ten-thousand-dollar one.
And then Incubus came in last in a stake race at Aqueduct.
"What's the matter with you, Incubus?" Watson demanded. "You can
run ten times around the track before any of these nags could reach
the quarter-mile pole."
Incubus lay on her back in the hay and chewed reflectively on a
straw. "You know, Watson," she said, "there are finer things in life
than racing."
"What, for instance?"
She simpered. "I've been talking to Pamplemousse—you know,
Godlove's horse—and he says it isn't ethical what I'm doing, that I'm
competing with horses way below my class, that it isn't fair."
"But there aren't any horses in your class."
"I know," she sighed. "Sometimes superiority can have its
disadvantages. That's what Pamplemousse says—he says it isn't fair
for me to run at all. Says woman's place is in the home. Do you think
woman's place is in the home, Watson?"
Prunella neighed in the adjoining stall.
"That's a dirty lie!" Incubus shrieked, getting up. "I double dare you to
say it once more." Prunella kept silence.
"You're in love, Incubus?" Watson asked gently.
She bowed her head. "I didn't know I could be—I thought I was too
tough. But you're never too tough. Oh, I know I'm a stake horse and
he's still only a claimer but I love him just the same."
"Well, if that's the way you feel about it, Inky, I guess you have a right
to. Only"—he gulped—"I'd entered you in the Belmont Futurity and it
means ... so much to me."
Incubus wiped away a tear with a wisp of hay. "All right, Watson, I'll
win the Futurity for you. After all you have first claim on my loyalty.
Who brought me out of obscurity? You! Who recognized my
potentialities? You! Who made a horse out of me? You!"
Incubus won the Belmont Futurity and was carried off the track on
the shoulders of a cheering crowd. Retouched photographs of the
big black horse hit not only the sport pages but the front page of
every newspaper in the country.
But the question of her racing again was shelved for the nonce.
Shortly after the Futurity, Watson discovered that Incubus was
pregnant. "Pamplemousse?" he asked.
She nodded shyly.
"But how could you do it? You two were in separate stalls."
Incubus snickered. "I have my methods, Watson."
"He's a low cad," said Watson.
"I knew what I was doing. I went into it with my eyes open."
He wondered just how he was going to enter the foal in the stud
book. Although it would be of impeccable ancestry its escutcheon
would be marred by a bend sinister.
Some months later, Incubus called Watson to her stall.
"What is it, Inky?"
"I don't know how to tell you this, Watson. I've got to go back."
"Back! Back where, Inky girl?"
"Back where I came from. Oh, I might have known it was never to
be, that you can't wipe out the past. Still I'd hoped that somehow—
some way.... But the Big Bookie says no. I've got to go back where I
came from—I don't belong here. He says I was sent as a
punishment, not as a reward."
She extended a hoof toward Watson's hand. "I had my baby tonight,
Watson. Take good care of her—she's half equine, so she can stay
here—and she'll be the fastest thing on earth when she grows up.
Prunella'll help you raise her and support the family."
Watson wiped his streaming eyes. "I'll take care of your baby,
Incubus," he vowed. "I'll call her Incubus Two and I'll treat her as if
she were my own daughter."
"I knew I could count on you, Watson. Well—this is goodbye."
Incubus slowly vanished.
It was hard losing Incubus. He'd grown attached to her, looking on
her not only as a horse but a friend. Still, at least he had the colt. In
two years she would take up where her mother had left off and again
the Watson name would reverberate through the racetracks.
He went inside the stall, looked down at Incubus' daughter, who
reposed on the hay looking up at him with big blue eyes. He gasped.
He had forgotten. Incubus was not a real horse, she was merely a
demon in the shape of a horse.
Incubus Two was not in the shape of a horse.
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NIGHTMARE
ON THE NOSE ***

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