I believe about 80% of Nigeria’s activists let egotism and hidden ambitions diminish their impact. This is based on my personal observations, and subtle testing, of many I’ve related with over the past decade. Screaming, tearing your hair out, or beating your head against the wall won’t change my view. And if youre objective, you’ll likely see that I’m right 
Nigerian activists are mostly well schooled members of the elite.
Surprisingly, unlike what happens in other climes, they struggle to achieve critical mass needed to influence significant, lasting change regarding their causes.
As a result, crooked, and poorly schooled individuals in government continue their mis-rule with impunity.
I share some of my views about WHY activism in Nigeria seems so ineffective, and suggest a possible way forward.
Over the past decade, I’ve made many efforts to team up, partner or collaborate with different individuals and/or groups supposedly engaged in activism for various causes.
Very rarely did I record any useful results. Most times I walked away disappointed by the shallowness of the exchanges that took place, and the tendency to “use” followers by “leaders”.
The best and most memorable experience I ever had in my attempts to team up with others to fight for a cause was the anti-fuel subsidy protests held at Gani Fawehimni’s park in Ojota.
For once I saw Nigerians engage in activism in great unison. It was exciting. But it could have ended better. At the tail end, there was a splitting of the ranks that led to decisions about suspending the protest being taken without ALL the activist groups being carried along.
Nigerians love to copy what happens in other countries, especially developed countries.
We copy more or less anything. Including bad fashion styles that make us assault one another’s sensibilities by dressing indecently!
What I however find strange is that we rarely, if at all ever, copy activism done in those same places we copy other things from.
One example…
Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makeba, Archbishop Desmond Tutu are examples of great black South Africans who practised activism, as a means to FREE their people from Apartheid.
In fighting their cause, they all at various times repeatedly exposed themselves to dangers of all sorts. The protest letters and messages and songs they wrote to the apartheid government, and foreign leaders made them targets of the oppressive regime in power at that time in their country.
As a result they put themselves in harm’s way. Makeba was forced into exile. Mandela found himself in prison etc.
Another example…
In Nigeria, we’ve had real activists like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Gani Fawehinmi, and Beko Ransome Kuti among others. These people spent extended periods getting negative, often punitive, attention from those they challenged.
They also wrote letters, and messages and songs, which addressed the causes they fought for. They had fans and admirers, but that did not insulate them from efforts launched by those they criticised to hit back at them.
As a result, they often became guests of security agencies in jails across the country. But it did not deter them. And they did not "water down" their messages.
Pastor Tunde Bakare is, for me, one of those still with us, who fits into the ranks of the above mentioned.
There are others of course.
For instance, Wole Soyinka is a seasoned activist still with us, who has intimidating activism credentials. He has proven his mettle at the battle front. Today, he still writes letters and messages and boldly stands up for the causes he supports – by collaborating widely, and selflessly lending his celebrity status to those he teams up with.
But Many Activists Today in Nigeria, Often Let the People Down!
Let whoever the cap fits wear it. I offer no names…but I have identified some guilty of this.
Feel free to accuse me of judging others, or trying to remove a speck from their eyes when I have a log in mine. That would cause me no discomfort whatsoever.
The truth however is that I am sick and tired of seeing the same phoney activists doing their phoney activism both online and off the web – especially ON THE WEB: Facebook in particular!
They make a mockery of what true Nigerian activists have done, and continue to do. And they provide the loop holes, through which the bad guys we are after, can escape.
They give them an opportunity to break our ranks, because those bad guys know they’ll cave in under pressure, that they cannot stand strong in the face of threats or aggression.
That they will compromise for the right price.
That their egotism will make them ALWAYS put "self" above the rest.
These are the reasons why they are unable to UNITE to beat inertia, and build momentum to achieve the critical mass they need to make lasting impact in pursuit of their cause(s)!
That’s why most campaigns they launch often lack meaningful impact, and often fizzle out in no time.
It’s also why they embark on placard carrying protests, which make a mockery of the word itself!
I see many using platforms like Facebook, to propagate their messages to followers who fall over themselves to comment on every post.
To the untrained eye of the uninitiated, rarely will anything seem amiss.
Yet, I see a lot that’s not right in their daily egotistic tendencies exhibited via their Facebook posts/comments, as well as their actions/inactions.
1. They prefer “fans” who agree with views they express, and who rarely tell them where they’re wrong.
2. They keep a distance from other activists they do not know in person, but who have built equally good reputations in fight for the same cause they support.
Each person expects the other to come and introduce him/herself, and propose working together. Neither wants to lose face by taking the first step.
S/he does not want to be seen as “smaller” than him/her. In the process, the causes they support suffer, because the JOINING of forces does not happen, or does so late!
From watching them, it seems each person fears the other person could steal his/her “thunder” or “prestige” by outshining him/her if given too much visibility or recognition in his/her social space.
The above bad habits are all about silly egotism!
And this keeps them from leveraging the power of the social media platforms they use, and even the offline networking that’s open to them.
Once again, the cause(s) they claim to support ultimately suffer(s) LESS momentum as a result.
The Way Forward: Noise Making & Self-Glorification Achieve Too Little!
FACT: Selflessness, spirit of service, integrity, as well as HONOUR are more important requirements for successful activism.
And we have many examples in recent history we can learn from, if we really want our activism to succeed. Otherwise, those we “fight” will never take us seriously!
Mandela and His Fellow Freedom Fighters acted as ONE well oiled team!
No opponent can withstand an assault from that kind of team!
Watching the movie about Mandela’s time in jail, the many efforts made by the apartheid government to split their ranks were dramatized.
False information would be fed to Mandela on the inside that his people on the outside had give in, or given up. Then they would tell him he was alone, and ask him to give up the fight.
But Mandela stayed strong. And so did his colleagues on the outside. Sometimes they managed to slip information to him warning that what he was being told about them was untrue.
They did this even though they knew they could be in danger. This UNITY in spirit, kept them strong, and made it impossible for the adversary to wear them down.
Everyone was willing to serve. No one felt s/he had to be “Oga or big boy/big girl” or “most popular”.
Even over the course of 27 long years that Mandela was in jail, they stayed true to one another.
No one felt s/he was more important than the others.
They covered one another’s backs.
They gladly helped publicize issues relevant to each member, without feeling diminished by doing so.
Today, people from all over the world enjoy visiting and relating with the NEW South Africa, because of the sacrifices made by these true activists!
That was also the kind of team work African Americans used to end black segregation in America.
No one felt s/he was more important than the others. Everyone was willing to put in the needed work, side by side with the next person.
And they readily formed strong alliances with like minded others that the opposition could not break.
Their concerted efforts over time led to the end of segregation, and brought freedom to blacks!
Nigerian Activists MUST stop working in ISOLATED pockets of Egotism & Selfish Ambition!
That is, IF they want useful long term progress in pursuit of the causes they claim to support.
They need to start teaming up selflessly, to form a truly UNITED front that no opposition will be able to crack, regardless of who leads or who follows.
And they will have to maintain that front, even in their online interactions.
Especially on Facebook!
That means they will do what Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Jai White and others with “fans” do on Facebook…
What’s that you ask?
Well, on each of the above person’s facebook page, you get to read his/her own thoughts, ideas and opinions, as well as view photos and videos of himself, or something he likes.
But every once in a while, his fans will also encounter him/her posting of interesting/useful content about one or more of others…some of who could even be described as his rivals.
Nigerian activists must learn to actively collaborate in promoting one another’s causes, and acknowledging each other in the same way.
That is, if they really want to build the MASS and MOMENTUM to succeed with their campaigns!