Stories of #EndSARS: Applying Social Network Analysis through a Postcolonial Framework

Abstract

Social media has become central to contemporary activism, transforming how movements worldwide mobilise and organise around shared goals. The #EndSARS movement in Nigeria started in 2017 as a citizen-led effort that confronted police brutality, especially from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police. Facilitated primarily by social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, data shows that more than 8 million unique authors participated in creating content that commented on or provided support to the offline protests (NENDO 2020). Much like other contemporary social media activism efforts, #EndSARS lacked established and movement-recognised spokespersons; instead, networked microcelebrities and influential voices emerged intermittently, each with varied social capital, reflecting the movement's decentralised nature. This paper presents research into the lived experiences of #EndSARS activists on Instagram, utilising a modified social network analysis to identify these individuals without relying on popularity metrics alone. Adopting a postcolonial lens, this research centred on inclusive representation to disrupt traditional hierarchies where dominant voices speak over, or on behalf of, marginalised communities. This approach was implemented through Richardson's (2000) crystallisation and by operationalising Tufekci's (2013) concept of the "networked microcelebrity". Standard social network analysis metrics were adapted to recognise diverse voices and multifaceted connections among activists. The resulting visualisation platform highlights interactions among 117 information-rich participants, offering multidirectional perspectives on the movement's narrative. This approach enhanced the visibility of less-prominent activists and provided a nuanced, visually engaging map of the networked narratives driving #EndSARS. In a broader context, this approach initiates the conversation on decolonising social network analysis to incorporate more diverse and representative voices.