Loren Treisman writing in the Guardian:
More hereIn Nigeria, technologists working out of the tech innovation space Co-Creation Hub are developing applications that help to ensure citizens are better able to engage in democratic processes. An app that enables Nigerians to access their constitution via a mobile phone has been downloaded more than 870,000 times. Its developer, Zubair Abubakar, says the app was downloaded 40,000 times during the 2012 fuel subsidy protest, when it enabled citizens to exercise their rights against police forces.
Image courtesy of Ashesi University
This fuel crisis was exacerbated by misinformation . BudgIT, a creative startup, generated simple infographics that helped citizens to understand the new fuel subsidy payment and oil revenue share in Nigeria. The team has since produced a whole series of images that break down the country's budget by state and sector and utilise the power of social media to enable citizens to take part in more informed debates around public expenditure.
Another local group in Abuja, Follow the Money, ran a social media driven campaign which resulted in $5.3m of public money being released to the Bagega community, in Zamfara state. Hamzat Lawal explains: "In rural communities, most development projects worth millions of dollars are not executed. Local communities may not have the necessary incentives to express their feedback on government performance. We provide information on funds meant for projects in local communities, thus empowering citizens to hold their leaders accountable on government spending.
