Will the social media lenses be the framework for sustainable development in rural Nigeria?

Nigeria’s greatest obstacle in this twenty-first century is entrenched in the low level of sustainability in most areas of human endeavour, resulting in damaged economy and looming shallow development despite the nation’s vast and abundant resources, both human and natural. Nigeria has the enormous capability of moving from a developing country to a developed state; however, the lack of some basic elements together with the vices termed ‘Nigerian factors’ have eaten deep into the nation’s institutional fabrics and denied her the opportunity of transforming her dreams. As academia, development experts and policy-makers have continued to search for the right mix of technology, methodology, easy-to-use and understandable scientific elements and infrastructure that would suit the nation’s peculiar circumstances towards meeting her developmental needs. This situation, no doubt, calls for adaptation of social media’s unique opportunities and adjustment of its weaknesses to aptly blend with the forces of innovation and ability of cultural and behavioural changes. Concerted efforts are required of the Nigerian government and its agencies in awakening the consciousness of the citizenry to integrate social media culture into the mainstream of Nigerian culture so as to produce positive changes that are evidences of sustainability.