Stan Culture & Influence: How a new Nigerian generation is changing the country with a very unusual weapon!
We’ve been called lazy, unpatriotic, unserious, politically apathetic, party freaks and “phone pressers”. The government and the older generation have always been especially critical of us; they couldn’t and still can’t seem to wrap their heads around how a generation can be so invested in their gadgets that they seem not to care about anything else around them.
Little do they know that the gadgets (phones, tablets, consoles, etc.) they hate to see us dive into is probably our biggest asset and weapon.
Nigerian youths (17-35, millennials and Gen Z) have not been perceived as the generation that can act decisively and influence policies in their homeland. Oh, how wrong they are; they are dead wrong. Nigerian youths are in fact the exact opposite of that, as we’ve shown the world for the better part of this year. The resilient ones who laugh in the face of a pandemic, the ones that dared the forces.
For over a week now, the Nigerian youths have not only been on their phones tweeting and calling the older generation out for their incompetencies under the #EndSars movement – a fight against police brutality in Nigeria. We’ve been out on the streets protesting against these inhumane activities by those meant to protect us.
We’ve not only been able to get the attention of the older generation and the government but the International community has also noticed and are keenly watching and lending their voices to this cause. Suddenly the ‘phone-pressing’ generation is making a significant impact that they never thought we had in us.
What they have failed to realise however is that the ‘phone-pressing’ generation have the numbers in our favour (60% of the population actually) and what you are currently witnessing is the might of that number.
Suppose you critically analyse what is currently going on with the protest. In that case, you will see the relationship between the protest and something the older generation love to hate, but the youths thoroughly enjoy – the popular reality TV show, Big Brother Naija.
The BBNaija Influence
The reality tv show phenomenon, for the benefit of those not intimated with how it works, brings young Nigerians from different ethnicities, cultures, religion etc. under one roof for 12 weeks. These young ones they cohabit, solve problems and try to earn the love and votes of the watching Nigerian populace.
Earning the love and votes of the populace is perhaps the most important aspect of that show for the participants, I mean that’s what wins you the grand prize; what could be more critical.
And of course, the older generation has come out to condemn the show for several reasons. To them, it adds no value to the lives of the youths, and it is just a distraction from reality. But how can a show that rewards the winner with a grand prize of 85 million Naira not add value? That grand prize gives the winner different options in life, opens them up to a host of opportunities and a much better shot at life and you say no value?
If you ask me, it’s not easy encouraging Nigerians to vote for you in a political election, you have to sell your vision for either the country or the state you are seeking to be elected to, you have to incentivise others to vote for you.
The difference with BBN, however, is that you have to earn the people’s love which is not the easiest. However, when they begin to “stan” you, (to borrow from a new youth lingo which literally means ‘fan’ or ‘adore’) they will go to the moon and back for you. A quiz about Mercy and Ike (2019 BBN housemates) on Netng’s Twitter garnered over 7,000 engagements within a few hours; two video stories about the most shocking BBNaija reunion moments had over 50,000 views each in less than 20 days. That is the influence of fandom!
Take, for instance, the last season of BBN which ended a few weeks ago. The eventual winner; Lekan Agbeleshe, popularly known as” Laycon”, quickly warmed his way into the hearts of the majority of Nigerians, and he went on to win the grand prize breaking records upon records in the process. It was not only Laycon who earned the love of Nigerians, nearly every housemate amassed a following. Erica, Dorathy, Nengi, Vee, Kiddwaya, Prince and so on.
Week in, week out, Nigerians voted to keep their favourite housemates in the house and fans solicited votes through different means. Airtime giveaways and data giveaways were some of the ways Nigerians incentivised voting.
Fans were so passionate that the older generation, now dubbed the “off-the-mic” generation, charged us to keep the same energy when the time for the country’s general elections came around. Those comments caused an uproar on social media with many believing that the political pathy of Nigerian youths was caused by how dirty they felt the terrain was. But, perhaps the reason we care so much about voting during BBN is that we know that it is one of the few times our votes count which is more than we can say for the Nigerian elections. The BBN votes, apart from being convenient, are audited by a top trusted firm.
It’s this trust that resulted in the over 900 million votes recorded in the course of the 10 weeks the last season of the show ran for. That is a crazy number that speaks volumes, and it shows that once Nigerian youths trust you, they will go the extra mile.
During the closing week of BBNaija Season 5, videos emerged of people being offered the popular Nigerian delicacy; Amala and Goat meat to vote for Laycon! You could argue that it’s vote-buying, but I choose to see it differently. It’s the ‘stan culture’ we have now embraced as a generation that will make us do anything as long as it is in the interest of our faves. People will do the same or even more for Wizkid. It’s the same way some Nigerians will do anything for Beyonce. Stan culture has become part of our daily lives.
How the BBNaija Energy Shifted to EndSARS
A few weeks after BBN ended, we realised how tired and frustrated we are. we couldn’t take it anymore. we had to do something, and armed with the hated gadgets that connect us to the rest of the world, we took to the streets to protest the injustice that is police brutality.
Yes, as a nation we have fought police brutality for a while. Still, I think it is no coincidence that a week after BBNaija ended, another case of police brutality sparked a new outrage out of us, one like nothing anyone has ever seen. We decided to use those same phones to fight against police brutality, bad governance and ask for reforms! We decided to stan ourselves and our lives!
From Runtown who publicised the first protest backed by Falz to Rinu Oduola, Feyikemi Abudu, backed by a framework built by the now renowned Feminist Coalition, who have been pulling out all the stops and providing all that is required for a peaceful protest; to Mr Macaroni who has been relentless; We are standing up and showing the older folks what a “phone-pressing generation” can do. It’s Mo Odele and Adetola who have been freeing arrested protesters from police custody. It’s Davido, Wizkid, Psquare brothers, Laycon, Small Doctor, Naira Marley, Aproko Doctor who are on the frontlines and using their platforms to amplify the message.
It’s the Agege boys, the online protesters who resume daily to ensure the conversation doesn’t die down. It’s the Nigerians in diaspora pressing their phones and going to protest at the Nigerian embassies.
It’s the protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate who were shot at and some killed; it’s DJ Switch going live on Instagram to ask for help and bringing the world’s attention to the #LekkiMassacre. It’s the resilient protesters in Alausa, Surulere, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin, Umuahia and other major cities in Nigeria. It’s the physically challenged that come out to protest despite their condition. It’s the environmentally conscious protesters. It’s every Nigerian youth pressing their phones, it’s Paystack securing a $200 million exit after just 5 years – a further proof that pressing phones, and carrying laptops actually pays, big time! It’s everyone protesting against the rot in the Nigerian system. It’s you and I fighting for a better society!
