Actress Sobola urges politicians to make use of social media for development

Celebrated Nollywood actress, Tayo Sobola, has urged Nigerian politicians to make positive use of the social media for the purposes of making their programmes known to the people and getting feedback from the masses.

Sobola, who spoke in an interview, said that Nigerian politicians should move with time and embrace the use of technology to get across to the people on their plans and programmes, adding that this would lead to more development in the country.

The actress, who has featured in some movies, explained that one of the ways of achieving this is for the politicians to employ aides that know more about the use of the social media including Facebook, Instagram, Whats App, Twitter (now called, X), telegram and other media to reach out to the people on behalf of their bosses.

“I strongly believe that politicians should employ people that understand the social media and can relate the happenings in the country directly to their bosses.

“People now feel more comfortable to relate their pains and feelings to their representatives and this is usually done through the social media,” she said.

The actress, who told her fans to look forward to something new from her soon, stated that there should be a chain and direct link with the people by someone that understands the media well enough to work alongside reputable politicians.

Read also: How social media changed the face of politics in Nigeria

She said that the person should not be selfish, but that he or she should be someone that loves the people, saying that Nigeria should not be left behind in the scheme of things.

According to her, the world has gone totally digital and we now live in a global village, and time has come for Nigerians to update themselves and follow trends.

Sobola said that she observed with dismay how things go wrong in many parts of the country as some public office holders fail to follow the trend and know what the people feel through the social media.

Read also: Nigerian politicians struggle to tame social media generation

She stressed that many things are being passed through the social media on a regular basis and that some people spread fake news through these means, adding that this could only be nipped in the bud if the Nigerian politicians follow trends.

“We come across so many fake news on the social media these days and many politicians get to hear about them late because they are not always online. The only way they could curb this is to employ aides that would constantly be on the social media.

“Once this is done, it would be easy for the politicians to come up with their own side of the story and prevent rumours from being celebrated like real news.

“This is the best way to go if we desire the country of our dream as nobody thrives in the midst of confusion and fake news. Most developed countries today make use of this opportunity and that is why they are making progress everyday,” she said.

She added that the nation should not spare any opportunity that could lead to development, while promising to contribute her quota to the progress of the nation through her artistic talent and entrepreneurship skills.