₦airaland Forum

Since the end of the Big Brother Naija Lockdown season, fans of Erica, dubbed Elites, have always found one reason or another to trend their queen on Twitter every other day. It took no time for some social media users to throw jabs at her fashion style, as they described the outfit as tacky.

A particular tweet, making fun of the outfit created so much buzz that it even got the attention of Cardi B herself.

See post and reaction here: https://ynaija.com/elites-jubilate-as-cardi-b-comes-to-ericas-rescue-on-twitter/

A viral video that made rounds on Twitter, Thursday, 12 November 2020, showed the altercation between a civilian and another man in military cameo, believed to be an Army officer. In the video, the man in army uniform was seen assaulting the civilian who dared questioned him for stopping his vehicle that contained other passengers.

We could go on to narrate how the ‘poor man’ was beaten by the unidentified ‘military personnel’ but watch the video here:

https://ynaija.com/ill-kill-you-and-nothing-will-happen-a-phrase-many-nigerians-are-familiar-with/

When COVID-19 spiked globally and the world virtually came to a halt, people prayed for one thing – a vaccine that can curtail the virus and restore the world back to normal

We have seen a number of ‘breakthrough’ in the development of a solution for the global pandemic. From engineered drugs to regular home remedies, to herbs and a number of concoctions with hopes of killing the virus. However, the coronavirus appeared stronger.

As cases are surging in some parts of the world, there appear a relief in sight with the announcement of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on Monday, 9 November 2020. Pfizer and its partner, German company, BioNTech, announced preliminary results that hinted their vaccine is very effective – and of course it has created curiosity globally.

It was in July when Pfizer and BioNTech initiated a late-stage clinical trial on a coronavirus vaccine and so far, the analysis from the trial has positioned the vaccine as 90% effective.

Go deeper here: https://ynaija.com/pfizers-covid-19-vaccine-and-what-it-means-for-nigerians/

‘Na breakup dey reign!’

On Nigeria Twitter, young people are sharing tales of their heartbreak. We have seen both funny, mind-boggling, and thought-provoking stories but we selected fifteen of these that are just extraordinary!

PS: if you see Adele, Sam Smith, Westlife, and maybe Sia, on your trends bar today, it’s all because of this heartbreak season and definitely not for a collabo.

Here are the top fifteen cringing heartbreak stories we saw today: https://ynaija.com/heartbreak-season-these-15-heartbreak-stories-will-make-you-cringe/

Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC), Chairman, Akinfolarin Mayowa, is planning to enforce the 1992 Act of FRSC that allowed the corps to carry guns. According to a report by Daily Times, FRSC operatives will begin to bear firearms in measures to curtail the excesses of road users in Nigeria.

This development was said to have happened at the corps’ 2020 budget performance and 2021 budget defence with The House of Representatives Committee on FRSC, Thursday, 5 November in Abuja. However, this is not the first we will hear of it.

Go Deeper Here: https://ynaija.com/frsc-planning-to-arm-operatives-but-there-are-other-pressing-issues/

Following the #EndSARS Protest that rocked Nigeria for weeks, the government have claimed that they will consciously begin working towards a change. And while some judicial panels have been set up to investigate police brutality, corruption and the extra-judicial killings by the police, the government’s actions outside of that seems to be opposing democracy and the rights of many Nigerians.

Just a few days after the protest, debates around freedom of speech and expression have been all over the media. Also, there have been several attempts in regulating social media with several politicians subtly and actively pushing for the social media bill. And now, there are reports of targeted restriction of movement and freezing of bank accounts of those who gave distinct support to the #EndSARS Protest.

Read the full story here: https://ynaija.com/why-we-should-be-concerned-that-fg-is-targeting-sponsors-of-the-endsars-protest/

If there’s one thing that came with the #EndSARS protest, it is the steep realisation of the power that young people possess but have let remain inert for a very long time. As the protest progressed to point out a number of things that have long been endured by the youths in Nigeria, politicians positioned themselves as supporters of their cause but time, and of course, social media, have shown that politicians ‘don’t really rate the young people.’

Over the past years, we’ve heard outrageous and condescending statements from Nigerian politicians and put themselves first. With the EndSARS protests, Nigerian youths have said enough is enough. This has caused politicians to utter more outrageous and condescending statements.

Read full story here: https://ynaija.com/sorosokegeneration-youths-move-to-recall-lagos-house-of-reps-members/

It’s been two weeks since the Lekki shootings and the events of that day, Tuesday, 20 October 2020 is still fresh in the minds of many Nigerians. The incident which many Nigerians reported to have claimed the lives of protesters garnered a fervent negative reaction from Nigerians in diaspora and the international community.

However, the events following the tragic incident have also left many in a state of confusion over the differing accounts from politicians and the Nigerian Army. First, the state government claimed that no lives were lost. Then the Nigerian Army went ahead to brand media reports of the incident as ‘fake news’ and the president in a speech, acted oblivious to the incident. But Nigerians have never failed to keep asking about that day and demanding answers.

In a recent update by The Cable, Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), has stated that it is likely that the protesters were actually shot at by hoodlums in military uniforms. Another installation to the many contradictory claims that have ensued from the Lekki incident.

Read full story here: https://ynaija.com/lekkishootings-malami-claims-hoodlums-may-be-responsible/

Every day on the Nigerian Internet, there are people who keep our eyes glued to our phone screens as we read their rants, opinions, perspectives on political and social issues, etc. Sometimes, they are just downright ridiculous.

Here’s a roundup of the best we saw: https://ynaija.com/tiwa-savages-photos-eating-amala-how-to-get-rich-funny-tweets-we-saw-from-nigerians-today/

Social Media is considered a seamless but faulty source to pass and get information. In recent times, Nigerians have found different uses for the platform – politicians, for elections and Nigerians, for calling out bad governance. The reality of it is that while it is difficult to verify the authenticity of any information on social media, measures have been set in place to reduce fake news – users who are found wanting usually have their contents pulled down or their accounts entirely removed from the respective social media platform.

In Nigeria, regulating social media has become a recurring debate and on both ends, it is the people vs the politicians. Where Nigerians see all the good that social media have enabled them to achieve in recent times, politicians, on the other hand, believe that ‘in five years, if social media is not regulated, Nigeria will be no more.’

Read More Here: https://ynaija.com/specific-attack-on-social-media-is-an-attack-to-free-speech-killsocialmediabill/

To say that the demands from the #EndSARS protest hold no atom of truth is to say that Nigerians who have shared personal experiences before the protest and during the protest are all suffering from mass hysteria. While the protest started in two major cities in Nigeria and progressed to various parts of the country, a huge amount of traction for the protest started from social media.

Ultimately, social media became the one place to stay updated on happenings as it concerns the protest. Social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook were hotspots in the amplification of the many voices that spoke in support of the protest. And as activism content flowed and overflowed, some political actors were aggravated, not just at Nigerians, but also at social media in general.

For most political actors, social media made it so seamless to be disrespectful to elders, propagate fake news, and ultimately, be discourteous to constituted authorities.

During the course of the protest, former presidential candidate, Adamu Garba filed a case against Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey; accusing him of endorsing and supporting the rights of Nigerians to protest peacefully. Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, stated that social media will be the death of Nigeria. To him, Nigerians do not read the news nor listen to the radio anymore. He faulted social media as a tool to propagate fake news, citing ‘cases’ that ensued from the #EndSARS protest. Nigerian actor-cum politician, Desmond Elliot, also joined the train to fault social media in a recent sitting at the Lagos State House of Representative. For him, with the way Nigerians use social media, there will be no Nigeria in the next five years.

Read full post here: https://ynaija.com/why-is-social-media-only-toxic-to-desmond-elliot-after-elections/

The #EndSARS protest featured key personalities that made themselves available to be used as vessels in propagating the demands of Nigerians- heroes like DJ Switch, Rinu Oduala, Majekodunmi Temitope, Aisha Yesufu, Folarin Falana, and a host of others. While the protest didn’t come with any celebrated leader or patron of the movement, the demands from protesters from the #EndSARS movement was unanimous.

In meeting these demands of which includes investigation in cases of alleged brutality by the police, Lagos state, like other states have established a judicial panel after directives from Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. The judicial panel is set to have representatives from the civil society, a security agent (police), the government, the protesters and the human rights commission.

Read story here and see reactions: https://ynaija.com/rinu-and-majekodunmi-in-judicial-panel-is-progress-but-it-should-be-monitored/

A week ago, Nigerians witnessed protesters getting shot by some security operatives at the Lekki tollgate. The incident, the tragic peak of the #EndSARS protest, rocked the nation for days. Video footage and photos showed how the operatives appearing in army uniforms opened fire at protesters who faulted the curfew imposed by the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

However, one of the most surprising thing from the aftermath of the Lekki shooting is the recurring denial by political actors and the Nigerian army. Sanwo-Olu, following the incident, reported that no lives were lost. The army branded media reports as fake news and the president, in his speech, totally ignored the incident and focused his attention on other incidents from the protest.

Where these politicians and the military have constantly denied the incident and tried to gaslight Nigerians, Nigerians have always had one question for them – Who ordered the shooting?

Read full story here: https://ynaija.com/one-week-after-lekki-shootings-we-are-still-asking-who-ordered-the-shooting-lekkishooting/

If we were to describe the relationship between the military and civilians in Nigeria, we might reach a dead-end from the start. The average Nigerian lives in fear of military men, and the average military personnel is ready to use his power and authority to embarrass, humiliate and even inflict harm on civilians. We have seen certain instances where Nigerians take to social media to recant gory experiences at the hands of military men. Stories like these always bring up the age-long conversation of how army personnel often abuse their powers at the expense of harmless civilians and get away with it.

In a social media thread, a Twitter user, Ada-Oma, has shared her experience with a military officer, and her story has created a large outcry with people seeking justice for her. In her story, Ada recounted how a simple question resulted in her being physically abused by the officer who was identified as Omoh F.

Read full story here and see how Nigerians reacted: https://ynaija.com/the-thread-omoh-f-is-another-reason-why-changes-needs-to-be-made-in-the-nigerian-army/

Our leaders don’t rate us’ This statement has become a resounding chant amongst the Nigerian populace, whenever our politicians try to pull a fast one. Truly, it seems they think we are not intelligent enough to decipher when they are selling us a fabricated story. Not too long ago, a Nigerian sales clerk had confidently told auditors that a snake had eaten 36m naira. In the same vein, Nigerian senator, Abdullahi Adamu, denied an allegation that he mismanaged funds belonging to the Northern Senators’ Forum; alleging that monkeys had swallowed the money at the senator’s farm.

See full story here: https://ynaija.com/will-faholas-discovery-prove-that-nobody-died-in-lekki-tollgate-shootings/

Now 18 days, Nigerians have taken to various parts of the country to protest against police brutality, extortion, extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the now-defunct police unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), social injustices, corruption, and bad leadership.

See the 23 things here: https://ynaija.com/23-notable-things-we-must-not-forget-from-the-endsars-protest/

Nigerian students, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government have always had a discontented marriage. While the three are connected in more ways than one, they regularly disagree. Now, the #EndSARS protest has brought the three together again.

See full article here with reactions from Nigerians: https://ynaija.com/endsars-ASUU-finally-speaks-on-lekkimassacre-but-nigerians-smell-foul-play/

Every day on the Nigerian Internet, there are people who keep our eyes glued to our phone screens as we read their rants, opinions, perspectives on political and social issues, etc. Sometimes, they are just downright ridiculous.

Here’s a roundup of the best we saw: https://ynaija.com/what-happened-to-the-obas-staff-the-real-plan-b-nigerian-food-puns-funny-tweets-we-saw-from-nigerians-today/

The year 2020 has come layered with traumatic blows to our mental health and our economic system. From the coronavirus pandemic to the recent horrifying Lekki Massacre, Nigerians have had to go through a lot. Many are still tossing in their sleep, with vivid images of peaceful protesters screaming for their lives haunting their dreams.

Read full story here and see how Nigerians reacted: https://ynaija.com/lekkishootings-omotola-jalade-ekehinde-fails-empathy-tests-over-comments-on-twitter/

I want things to be better... peacefully though.

thebosstrevor1:
You want more protest

It's quite disturbing that it's all over...

thebosstrevor1:
After the protest is over.

Nigerians on Tuesday, 20 October 2020 were left in a state of confusion following the incidents that shocked not only Nigerians but the international community. Thousands watched armed men in military uniforms fire live ammunition at peaceful protesters via a live broadcast on social media from Nigerian DJ Switch...

Read the full story here: https://ynaija.com/i-am-not-afraid-to-die-falz-encourages-nigerian-youth-to-stay-on-track-ynaijaendsarsupdate/