KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY PROF. YEMI OSIBANJO AT #TNCG2024
Technology: The present and future of political action.
I think the organizers of the Technology, New Media, Citizens, and Governance Conference 2024, deserve our commendation for providing the platform for this important discussion on technology, and the present and the future of political action. And I am deeply honored by your kind invitation to make these keynote remarks to open the conversation. The topic is Technology: The Present and Future of Political Action.
Technology: The Present and Future of Political Action.
The first point to make is that we must unpack the meaning and purpose of political action itself and to do so I ask a few rhetorical questions. What is the point of political action? What is the role of the elite in political action? Who is the elite? Why is the elite particularly important in political action, especially in developing countries? Why does technology, which otherwise should be a mere tool, be important in our discussions on political action? I will answer that immediately – it is because technology is both a tool, and a radical expression of a crucial right the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Who is the elite? The elite is usually a small fraction of society but who wields enormous social, political and economic power. They are those who have the benefit of education, economic power, or social influence. The elite include, politicians, religious leaders, business and professional persons, and civil society activists of various hues.
Through their access to media, academic platforms, or civil society organizations, the elite can effectively advocate for reforms, mobilize public opinion, and push for accountability in governance. They dominate thought leadership as educators, writers, and influencers. They hold a disproportionate capacity to shape the political landscape. The context of our discussion is of course African countries. The common denominator of countries in the continent is that they are developing economies with disproportionately large numbers of poor and vulnerable citizens. Most struggle with many of the same problems, economic deprivation, poor governance, weak institutions and corruption. The purpose of political action therefore must be to draw attention to these issues and seek to change them. Political action therefore refers to “those activities directed at influencing decisions, policies or governance within a political system. These activities will include advocacy and activism, protests and demonstrations, policy development and community organization. But as I have suggested later in this presentation, Political action must go beyond influencing outcomes, it must include participation in politics and driving policies. But let us consider how technology has been leveraged in political action in Africa. Perhaps the most dramatic of course is the use of social media for protest mobilization, platforms like X, and Instagram were used in organizing the Endsars protests in Nigeria, activists co-ordinated rallies, raised funds, and presented evidence of law enforcement violations, and also raised international awareness using the Hashtag # endsars. Much the same approach was taken in the End bad governance protests. More recently, the so called Gen-Z uprising in Kenya, protesting the Finance Bill 2024, saw the use of TikTok and X to spread awareness, plan demonstrations and share information, to avoid the police the protesters used the Zello App which functions as a walkie talkie. The app enabled them to share live updates on police movements and to plan accordingly.
To educate the public about the Finance Bill they developed an AI-powered Chatbot to answer questions about the Bill and its implications. Technology has also become crucial in advocacy and petitioning. Years ago, Amnesty International petitioned governments by getting volunteers from all over the world to write petitions to governments over one issue of violation of rights or the other, these letters were only seen, if ever, by government officials. Today, the use of online platforms to write letters and petitions puts more pressure on public officials as the entire world is made aware of the cases in question. Amnesty International’s Write for Rights online campaign in 2016 was used to pressure the Ethiopian government to release persons taken into custody during periods of political unrest. In 2020, Zambia’s youth movement using mainly WhatsApp groups and Facebook organized campaigns opposing Constitutional Amendment No 10 commonly known as Bill 10 on the grounds that it threatened democratic principles. On June 22nd 2020, young Zambian celebrities and activists conducted what was christened the Bush Protest, a protest in an undisclosed rural location but which was broadcast live on several social media platforms highlighting issues of corruption and lack of accountability. In Zambia in 2018, the ZimRights Election Monitoring App was used to enable voters report election malpractices and other updates in real-time. In Uganda in 2021 during the general election, we saw an example of digital resistance to the government shutdown of the internet, when activists bypassed restrictions using VPNs to disseminate information about voting irregularities and to share opposition messages.
We’ve also seen the use of Mobile Apps for civic education and education of voters about their rights, such as Mvuli in Tanzania and Voices of Youth in South Africa a platform that encourages political participation and policy discussions and advocacy among young people. In Sierra Leone in 2018, to ensure transparency and reduce electoral fraud, Blockchain technology was tested for the verification of election results. So technology is vital in moulding opinions, and for education and organization. Social media, blogs, mobile phones, and other digital means of access to information have broken the monopoly of media organisations in the dissemination of ideas and information, they have democratized participation, giving previously voiceless populations a platform to express dissent, mobilize protests, and demand accountability. This phenomenon is crucial in the unfolding development of mass participation in political change. Memes, skits and podcasts and other online content are powerful tools for mass communication, political commentary, and social mobilization in the digital age. Today several individuals have social media platforms followed by millions of people, the combined sale of print newspapers in Nigeria is not even near 1 million copies. These are tools that demonstrate how technology can galvanize grassroots movements to challenge entrenched power structures. But Social media platforms can also be a threat to democracy, social cohesion, and individual and collective security. Most platforms have developed algorithms that often create “echo chambers” or “filter bubbles,” where users are primarily exposed to information that reflects their existing beliefs and opinions. This invariably reinforces their views and prejudices making them less open to opposing perspectives and increasing divisiveness. The Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2016 revealed amongst other shocks how by using these algorithms, religious and ethnic divides were manipulated to inflame religious emotions and further divide people in Nigeria. The massacre of close to a million people in Rwanda was instigated… by radio broadcasts, audio alone. Imagine what social media can do, with graphic videos and audio reaching exponentially increased numbers on numerous platforms. During the Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, fake videos of violence and destruction of property elsewhere were passed off as videos of South Africans burning properties and businesses of Nigerians, this resulted in spontaneous destruction of South African-owned businesses in Nigeria. In the past two years we have seen some of the more dramatic iterations of technology especially AI driven. It is now possible to generate deep fakes, photos or videos showing individuals making statements that they never made, or doing acts they did not do.
In March 2022, a deepfake video surfaced showing Ukrainian President Zelensky allegedly instructing Ukrainian soldiers to surrender to Russian forces. The video was quickly debunked, but it raised concerns about the use of deepfakes in disinformation campaigns during conflicts. Everyone pays a price for weaponization of technology. Truth can be rubbished, while falsehoods and hate can be elevated. Almost everything can be put in doubt. So it might be important that responsible users attempt to design ways of preventing the weaponization of social media especially since government control would almost invariably defeat the new gains of free speech. Social media enables free speech writ large. The anonymity of identity and the nuance of location that social media handles create is empowering for all and it is non-discriminatory. The weak, the strong, the treacherous or the mischievous have cover to speak their minds, speak truth to power, or misinform or insult.
Permit me to make two other general observations about political action in Africa. In developing countries with fragile economies and widespread poverty, we do not have the luxury of political action for its own sake, there is a sense of power and excitement around protest, that good feeling one gets when it seems you are doing good and helping your society,….but political action must go beyond protest and the euphoria it brings. It must lead to some measurable or tangible result otherwise it may become counterproductive. In poor societies every day of protest is valuable because it means that the millions of informal workers and traders make a huge sacrifice, they earn on a daily basis, so it is important that there is good reason for the sacrifices made. So political action must lead somewhere, it must move a step closer to resolving the issues that cripple our societies. The role of the elite in political action is crucial. Usually, it is the elite that have the facilities to craft the objectives of political action or to clearly articulate the grievance and what would amount to success of political action. They have the networks and resources to build coalitions for political change, often leading to structural reforms. While a major advantage of technology and in particular social media in mobilizing protesters is that coordination of action can take place without any apparent leadership, this might by itself be a weakness. Our experience is that where there is no clarity of leadership and objectives, political action no matter how dramatic and far reaching, will be futile and may lead in the future to protest fatigue. Let me also make a related point.
In a democratic society where the objective of political action is to make substantive or structural change, this may only be possible within the context of partisan politics. Yes we can be effective pressure groups, and some level of change is possible by our advocacy and action, but the truth is that for the depth and scale of change that is often required in developing countries, political power is required. The purist stand of the elite, which of course includes many in civil society, that we should not get our hands dirty will not achieve change at scale in any of the important areas of concern. We must participate even if it means taking a partisan stand. We complain about political parties lacking ideology and political campaigns lacking policy substance. Who will change these dynamics? Surely it will be men and women like you and I, not spirits. For many years I believed that it was possible to transform our Ministry of Justice to be more Citizen rights oriented, and also to reform our administration of justice system, I worked in several civil society organizations committed to these causes, we drew up various policies and blueprints. We made some progress but it was not until the AD won elections in Lagos State in 1999 and I got a chance to be AG of the State that working in partnership with the bar, the bench and civil society, we were able to carry out some of the most far reaching reforms of both the Ministry of Justice and the administration of justice system. My experience in civil society was useful. I and my organization, Integrity, had been Ford and MacArthur Foundation Grantees for many years.
When I got into office they asked how they could help, and it was these two organizations that funded the early years of our reform efforts in Lagos State before budget funds kicked in. So we were able to introduce a new department to the traditional departments in the Ministry of Justice – The Citizens Rights Department. Under it were the Office of the Public Defender, government provided legal assistance to the poor in both civil and criminal cases, Citizens Mediation Centres, where citizens could have small claim disputes resolved free of charge and a Consumer Protection Unit. We were able to reform of our civil and criminal procedures, appointment, discipline and remuneration of judicial staff, 2/3 of judges we appointed were female. Also I always believed that the country could effectively provide a Social safety net for the poor and vulnerable, and the opportunity only came in 2015. Before the campaigns, when I had no idea I would be nominated as Vice Presidential candidate, Pat Utomi and I, and Wale Edun and later Tunde Irukera wrote the social investment policy into the APC manifesto. It included the Homegrown School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer program, the Government Enterprises and Empowerment Programme, and NPower. Because I got a chance to serve in government these programmes saw the light of day and I had the privilege of chairing its implementation between 2016 and 2019. As of 2019, we were feeding 9.6 million children daily, putting several farmers and cooks to work, we had hired 500,000 graduates and non-graduates in the NPower scheme and granted micro credit to 2.4 million informal traders. If I or Pat or Wale remained outside the partisan political space, those modest achievements would not even be made.
A second point I would like to make is that Political action today must go beyond protest, we must see activities that directly catalyze development as important features of political action. We can instigate official action by for example, intervening in important areas of human capital development such as education and healthcare.
So for example, we identify the problem of out-of-school children, and we recognize that brick-and-mortar cannot cope with the number of children that require basic education. The question is how can technology deliver cutting-edge affordable basic education. What is the role of AI in mass education? There are several private tech-enabled initiatives that have focused on these challenges, disrupting long-held beliefs on education and challenging public education authorities to adopt more dynamic, more relevant curricula. For example M-Shule in Kenya is an AI-powered mobile learning platform that delivers personalized education by SMS to primary school students in remote locations and underserved areas. AI-Driven STEM Tools such as AI-powered labs and simulations enable students experiment with relatively complex scientific concepts without expensive equipment. Basic education today must involve critical thinking and collaboration. One of the reasons why community action for development or even political expression is lacking is because of an educational curriculum that over-emphasizes individual excellence and competition over collaboration, and group or communal success. Political action is weakened when people see individual success as more important than community or group success. Collaboration as a key in tech-enabled basic education can be a game changer. We can produce young men and women who understand the power and exponential benefits of united action. Collaborative AI for Learning (CAIL) developed by the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program, integrates AI tools into classrooms to support collaborative group learning. “Students interact with AI-powered conversational agents during group work and discussions, enhancing their collaborative skills”.
Education of girls is considered a key objective of many of our educational policies, there are tools for speedily achieving great results, TeachFlow utilizes AI “to promote gender equality in education by developing programs that address the unique challenges faced by girls. Their AI-driven platforms offer personalized learning experiences and resources tailored to the needs of female students, helping to bridge the gender gap in education”. UNICEF has also developed digital platforms that leverage AI to advance girls’ education and gender equality. These initiatives focus on providing inclusive and transformative digital technology to enhance girls’ learning and skills development for work and life. By utilizing AI, makes education more accessible and engaging for girls in underserved regions.
Conclusion
Technology has revolutionized political action by amplifying voices, mobilizing movements, and fostering transparency. However, its potential risks, such as disinformation and divisiveness, must be addressed responsibly. Political action should go beyond protests to achieve measurable reforms, with the elite playing a crucial role in shaping and sustaining change. Additionally, leveraging technology for developmental solutions in education, healthcare, and governance can drive lasting progress. By using technology responsibly and innovatively, we can empower individuals, strengthen institutions, and transform political action into a force for sustainable development in Africa. I think that the conversations we begin today, are critical steps toward realizing that vision. I think that the conversations we begin today, are critical steps toward realizing that vision.
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Guardian, Timbuktu Africa Innovation Foundation Former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria