The proliferation of social media platforms in recent decades has offered Nigerian citizens possibilities to engage, participate, and contribute to national development, irrespective of location. For two decades Farooq Kperogi, a prolific Nigerian writer and scholar living in the diaspora, has unapologetically used social media to expose the diverse sociopolitical challenges facing his country and explore what can be done about them. Over 12 chapters Falola follows Kperogias he examines the “strategies for building and maintaining an online audience” (p. 27), media theory, various facets of Black culture, the decline and decay of Nigerian secondary and tertiary education, media as a policy tool for democracy, cultural diffusion and English-language variations, Nigerian decadence, American racism, and the dangers of moving religion “from the divine to the political” (p. 273). In these endeavors, Falola stresses Kperogi’s role “as the conscience and watchman of society,” holding governments, institutions, systems, and individuals accountable for failing to fulfill the minimum demands and promises of politicians (p. 295). Yet, whether social media activism in terms of “conversation, sensitization, and mobilization” can be transformed into development projects and possibilities remains to be seen (p. 304). Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.
— Choice Reviews
This is truly a book social media enthusiasts, social commentators and critics can relate to. It talks about the ingredients for building an online audience and also exposes discussions of the socio-cultural and political situations of the country from a digital vantage point. Deeply enchanting and irresistibly compelling, this book is an extraordinary story that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page because it is educative and informative.
— Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, Journalist, Political and Security Affairs analyst, Lagos, Nigeria
Language is at the heart of some of the most contentious realities of our time from information technology to restrictions on speech, from disinformation on social media to opinions as facts and deepening polarization. Falola’s Citizenship and the Diaspora in the Digital Age could not have been better timed to help us interrogate how and what we engage on in social media and everyday speech as we struggle for new ways of being and governing in Nigeria. A potent reminder that language is not static and of Ngugi wa Thiongo’s advise that we “Use English instead of English using us."
— Ayisha Osori, author of Love Does Not Win Elections and Director, EVPO, Open Society Foundation
This is a book of context and culture, considering Nigerian citizens and the diaspora holistically in the digital age. With the much engagement on blog sites by individuals and socio-political commentators, cultural explanations drawn from interactions with hybrid cultures makes room for critical and comparative analysis across Nigeria’s academic, political and social landscapes. Farooq Kperogi’s socio-political critiques and comments are engaged here to explore how virtual interactions between Nigeria and Diaspora have evolved in the recent past. How feasible is virtual nation-building? Can state-sponsored and state-supported virtual communities breed a more cohesive Nigeria? Here is a must read!
— Sharon Omotoso, University of Ibadan