THE CANARY PROVES THAT POWERFUL/TARGETTED MESSAGING ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INFLUENCE POLITICAL ACTION- THE AHIDJO A KAWU CASE STUDY

KAYODE OGUNDAMISI aka THE CANARY

A little over a week ago, I engaged Kayode Ogundamisi, the avid blogger who goes by the handle Canary in a “TweetGist” session. starting off on a terse note, our conversation however lightened up as we progressed and we sort of reached a compromise as to the various ways we think things could be done RIGHT.
Suffice it to say, one of my areas of difference with Kayode on that day, was his reluctance at being tagged a Change Agent. Granted, he does rub me the wrong way with his sometimes garrulous take on GEJ issues that I like to term “playa hating”, though I must confess his love for Nigeria in my opinion is not in doubt; I reminded him of when he first came under my radar a couple of years ago when his ‘VOICE’ sounded loud and clear in the Social Media Campaign in support of a young lady who was brutalised by the Convoy of a Senior serving Military officer. Fortunately for the Lady, the assault was caught on camera and thence begun the viral spread of the video that resulted in the world calling for justice which ultimately was served in the victim’s favour.And behold, today Kayode Ogundamisi must eat humble pie to his chagrin and to my pleasure; actually I have a smirk on my face. Na him find trouble though, because try as he likes, I have come to recognise that his facade of Aluta Continua belies a heart that is attuned to righting injustice in the most tactical of ways by employing Social Media to its greatest advantage.
Barely 26 hours ago, he published a Facebook post titled “Corruption and the pain of being a Nigerian physician”; Written by Ahidjo Abdulkadiri Kawu, a US trained Spine doctor currently employed by the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada Abuja as a consultant. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150681487560279&set=t.729880635&type=3&theater the post implicated a Customs Officer Mr Wakama GAP in a despicable act of corruption involving a demand for “settlement” on donated equipment worth N50M from Samantha Torres of DePuy Spine Inc US for assisting indigent Spinal injury patients in Nigeria. To say I was shocked at the revelations, will be an understatement. Yes, I understood corruption was one of our major challenges, but nonetheless I didn’t think any sane Nigerian would be so ‘self serving’ as to seek personal gain (enrichment through bribes) at the cost of opportunities in a sector that would ultimately benefit many Nigerians.
In a move that can only be termed KAYODERESQUE, I received a notification of a tag from Kayode about 30 minutes ago and alas! It was an update on the matter from the Doctor in the middle of the controversy and it read thus; (REPRODUCED VERBATIM) “ UPDATE ON SEIZED MEDICAL EQUIPMENT BY NIGERIAN CUSTOMS RE: Corruption and the pain of being a Nigerian physician. Written by Ahidjo Abdulkadiri Kawu To all my colleagues, thanks a million. There is a new twist to this saga. 1. The National Assembly has asked that I should come wit the document related to this case on Monday. 2. The ICPC has contacted me that the case would be solved soon. 3. The office of the Comptroller General Custom(CGC) has called me to say that the goods has been released with immediate effect and the officer has been ordered to report to Abuja and would be punish because they have read the message on the internet and are scared the dimension it has taken. 4. The warehouse said the demurrage is about 3million already 5. When we go to the NA, the Custom would claim that they have released the goods what do I want? 1. That all doctors who have had similar experiences with the custom officials should come out to report their cases. 2. Letter of Apology from the CGC. 3. The goods should be brought to Abuja and delivered at my office. 4. Letter to the donor company clearing my name that I have not diverted the goods for private use. 5. Public apology to Nigerians for their insensitivity and directly responsible for the death of Nigerians. I pledge to work for the plights of Nigerian with spine related problems and this I would do with all of my strength. Thanks once again. Ahidjo Abdulkadiri Kawu”
Poetry to my EYES...is all I can say for want of a better phrase to use.

Kayode Ogundamisi, keep up the good work.I doff my hat to you O Game Changer of our time. You have proved that powerful words/message targetting the right audience is a winning combination.
Like I always say, We may not be able to change the Nation overnight, but we can start one little step at a time albeit one Act of Change at a time.
Stay Rooted
OTBN
OSA