One World, One Network: Examining socio-political contestations in Nigeria

Social media platforms continue to flourish as practices encompassing them become deeply embedded in many cultures. As more people embrace these platforms, their affordances and opportunities are leading to improved communication, and helping hold authorities accountable. To further scrutinise the importance of these platforms, this study interrogates the extent media platforms influenced the organisation and coordination of the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria and the association between media used for the protests and leadership type adopted by protesters during the protests. Using survey data collected in 2020 during the protests in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria (N=391), data show that demonstrators who were 30 years and older, used WhatsApp, and Facebook for news and coordination are more likely to report participating on the first day of the protests. Multiple regression analyses uncover that that who used social media platforms frequently and as reliable source of information about the protests are inclined to accept Techno-Enthusiasts and celebrities as leaders of the protests than those who reportedly used mainstream media as reliable source of information about the protests. Finally, the study illustrates that digital enthusiasm facilitated by hedonic-experiential and epicurean communication eventuated a process of emotional contagion through connective repertoires that created propitious emotional conditions for mass collective protest actions.