Olusola Aladejebi

In 2015, two of my friends were discussing a thread (topic post) put on nairaland and one told the other that he would quit the site for some time. He said there are spirits who are registered on the site! Although I had been hearing of nairaland before that time, it was that discussion that stirred my interest to register. Since then it has been a wonderful experience. Of course there are no spirits on nairaland. Lol! It is just that, on it, one finds the angelic, the wonderful and the utterly bizzare.

A quick introduction. Nairaland (nairaland.com) is a big, broad discussion forum for Nigerians (although persons from any nationality can join). It covers politics, business, health, religion, entertainment, science and technology—all areas of human society. The site can be viewed without registration, however in order to post topics or contribute to discussions registration is required. As at June 2019, nairaland has about 2.3million registered members. This makes it one of the most visited sites in Nigeria. Founded in 2005 by Seun Osewa, the site has navigated the vagaries of business life including a vicious hack into its database in 2014.

The members of nairaland operate anonymously through usernames. No one knows anyone and any person can contribute to discussions and express their opinions without fear. This however does not imply that total anarchy rules on the forum. There are moderators who try to keep some modicum of sanity. How successful the moderators are in their task is another matter.

Nairaland actually binds Nigerians together. Nairaland is a one stop place for news and trends, especially for diaspora Nigerians. Even the name elicits some kind of espirit de corps. Naira. Land. It communicates a common Nigerian feeling that is oblivious to outsiders. Anyone who has lived in Nigeria who sees the name immediately identifies with it in some way.

Even though the forum operates on the basis of anonymity, there are occasions people become quite close. Recently the demise of one of the members was announced on a post. I was surprised at seeing comments that showed a real feeling of loss of the member although scarcely any of these people had actually met the deceased member. They knew him through his posts. Also,some people in need of desperate help have gotten assistance on the forum. Some receive financial assistance. Some suicidal members receive support and hope for living. Also spouses are gotten. And then jobs!

It is not surprising that the most active in nairaland is the politics section. Nigeria right now is desperately in need of transforming itself into a more viable state. (Has there ever been a time when this country never was?). Harold Lasswell succinctly defined politics as who get what, when and how. Going by this definition, people are letting their voices be heard on issues that concern them—how they are led; how elections are held; the credibility of electoral umpires; the competence or otherwise of the president and governors; how Nigeria should exist and even if she should exist any longer. Remember, views come through usernames so it is no holds barred.

While it is great that people can express themselves freely, there are many users of the forum that really abuse the opportunity. Immature behaviour sometimes makes the forum unattractive to those who are more sensible. Sometimes a good topic is made a rubbish through the back and forth insulting comments of these people. Another thing very obvious on nairaland is animosity among ethnic groups in Nigeria. This is not the forum’s fault. The discussions on nairaland only reflect how we really see other ethnic groups. Narratives are told with the intent to denigrate other groups. The bigotry sometimes churns the stomach. Agreed. it is pure nonsense to pretend that injustices have not been meted to some groups by the Nigerian state under the supervision of some ethnic groups. We cannot continue to chorus the make-believe story that we have all been our brothers’ keepers. But even then truth can be told in civility, free from insults and derogatory stereotypes.

While trying to find out a little more about nairaland I came across some interesting data. Nairaland is ranked 9th in sites that are most visited in Nigeria. It is 5th among the indigenous sites. As one would expect, google.com is the most visited site in Nigeria. In fact Google is the most visited site in almost every country except China and Russia. Even for Russia, YouTube which is the highest visited site is owned by Google. This next fact amazes me greatly: the most visited indigenous site in Nigeria is Bet9ja. So Nigerians bet this much!? I don’t bet. Serious entrepreneurs also don’t bet except maybe for fun. They understand the workings. A betting company is set up to make profit after paying their staff. So surely more money comes in than would ever go out! The gambler lives on hope of the big pay out—which almost never comes! Building anything—a life, an economy, a family—cannot be based on luck. If too many Nigerians hope in luck, that mindset may be one of the reasons our economy is not growing as it should.

Nairaland, keep the naija flag flying!

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/nairaland-naijas-melting-pot/