The Impacts of Social Media on Nigerian Youth #EndSARS# Protests

Since the emergence of ICT or digitalization in our contemporary world, especially in Africa, the use of Social Media as channels of communication has found expressions in political, economic, social, and business aspects of human dealings and engagements. This development calls for rigorous academic debate regarding the effectiveness of social media platforms as tools that citizens can use to influence government policies and decision making. With reference to the Nigerian youth #EndSARs# peaceful protests, this paper examines the possible outcomes of maximizing social media platforms to influence government policy and agitate for good governance in a democratic society. Drawing critical insights from the efforts of Nigerian youth on the strategic use of social media, this study engages secondary sources to understand and explain strategies and mechanisms to influence government policies and decision making via practical usage of ICT and social media in the age of digitalization. The paper concludes that the style of the #EndSars protest may inspire other youth-led social media protests in other parts of Africa and beyond to pressurize governments for good governance.