The outcry that greeted the birth of a baby
boy at the Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile Ife, Osun State, was unexpected. The
news that a 22-year-old undergraduate of
the institution, Miss Oyinlola Rotimi, gave
birth on campus, was ignited by the use of
social media.
The news about the circumstances surrounding
the unusual birth went viral on social media
within minutes of its occurrence.
On July 19, the social networks were flooded
with
stories that Oyinlola, who was delivered of her
baby in one of the toilets of the university's
hostel, wanted to flush the baby down the toilet
and kill him.
The story spread fast on Facebook and Twitter,
with many blogs also feeding on it. Students of
the institution who were sitting for their first
semester examination were not left out in
spreading the false story.
For instance, on Twitter, some students
employed the use of the hashtag #MoremiBaby
and without clarifying the circumstances that
led
to the delivery, they spread the information on
the social media. Bloggers who make avid use
of
the social media soon caught up with the story
and the Nigerian blogosphere was flooded with
the unclarified story.
The young lady's name, department and level
and the room she stayed that day in the hall of
residence circulated widely on the social
networks
such that the shortened form of the university,
'oau' broke into trending topics.
However, one would have expected the
Obafemi
Awolowo University management to engage
members and non-members of the university
community on its social media platforms, with
a
view to setting the records straight.
This turn of events has, yet again, highlighted
the
need for educational institutions, especially
higher
institutions of learning, to embrace the new
media.
Using the same social media platforms that
promoted the incident's circulation on
cybersphere could have gone a long way to
alter
the speed and the nature of the negative
mentions the incident had on the social media,
as
well as the backlash it brought on the name of
the
university.
A search on popular social networks such as
Facebook and Twitter revealed that the OAU
management has no prominent presence on
the
platforms. Confirming this, the spokesperson
for
the university, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, told
our
correspondent on the telephone on
Wednesday,
that the institution made it as a policy not to run
the affairs of the university on social networks.
"We won't want to run the affairs of the
university on social media,'' he said.
Further enquiries as to why the university made
the decision could not be ascertained, as he said
he was not authorised to speak further on the
issue.
However, a senior official of the institution, who
spoke on condition of anonymity because he
was
not authorised to speak to the press, said the
decision not to have official social media
accounts
for the university was taken in 2011 by the
management.
He said, "The University has a fully functional
website and there was a time the management
was trying to integrate social media to its online
presence. But after much debate by the
management, the idea was jettisoned because
there were fears that the seeming advantages
could be outweighed by the frivolities being
perpetuated on the social networks, which
could
be harmful. ''
However, one wonders why OAU has decided
to
stay aloof while other institutions in its class
have
since embraced the opportunities inherent in the
use of the social media.
For instance, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,
Enugu State has official Facebook and Twitter
accounts with which the institution
communicates with thousands of its students
who spend quality hours daily on the Internet
on
their smart devices.
Also, the University of Ibadan tweets via @
UniIbadan, while its Facebook page which has a
decent following of 24,395 fans are being
utilised
by the ivory tower in conjunction with its
official
website as their digital communication
channels.
A university's social media presence is an
extension of the school's brand and universities
that are fortunate to have well versed and active
student population who use the social media
should embrace the use of social media as an
inexpensive and on-the-go platforms for quick
information dissemination.
Higher institutions of learning may need to put
guidelines in place to ensure appropriateness of
their official social media activity. Such social
media strategy and guideline should reflect core
principles driving the university's vision and
mission, such that it spells out authenticity and
transparency.
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