Making a Case for Democracy

In a world where there is a rapid decline in globalization, (thanks to COVID), – correlated with a decline in democracy – we were plunged into a frenzy; Infamously identified to have begun in Wuhan, China before the hypocritical public backlash that rendered its point of origin less relevant hence COVID-19 and unintended repercussions for democracy. If we’re hardly unable to pinpoint the origin of the virus, then we’ve failed woefully as a species because it shows great irresponsibility as we’ve set the bar so low to not safeguard against such a future due to potential short term economic backlash. This virus might have as well accelerated our extinction. 

For whatever the case may be, millions of lives have been lost undeservedly. Of all the tragedies of the 21st century, this is certainly one of the more avoidable ones. Just checkout coronabro.com to see the stats and remember those souls for their lives will always matter.

Inflection point

We’re living in one of the greatest moments in human history and it’s all thanks to our ability to cooperate on levels that other species cannot begin to fathom. As the custodians of this planet, we yield infinite potential. However, we’re seldom blinded by this hence our indifference! 

Nigeria Online Case Study

The founding of Nigeria Online took place towards the onset of the COVID 19 dilemma. We founded Nigeria Online as an input and output for Nigerians hence our new domain name – nigerias.io. You may still use NigeriaOnline.org but it certainly redirects to https://nigerias.io. 

The case study below was originally published on WPWakanda

Backstory:

Nigeria in this day and age is regarded as the giant of Africa for reasons such as its economic prowess, population density, and significant cultural diversity coupled with an extensive landmass. At the core of Nigeria’s governing body is a democratically instituted model of government wherein political representatives are elected into office by the people to accomplish the goal of unifying the country and her people.

We’ve created “Nigeria Online” as an initiative to ensure that this system of governance doesn’t falter and is held to the highest standard of the democratic model as enshrined in the constitution of the country.

Feature Highlights

Groups and forums:

Nigeria Online features designated groups for all states in Nigeria which house corresponding forums that cater to the local governments of each of the 36 states. This essentially enables us to implement the generic features of gamification across the board without much hassle. 

Gamification:

Gamification is the intentional application of video game design elements and principles in non-traditional contexts. In the case of Nigeria Online, gamification will enable us to optimize the site for a game-centric application to bolster engagement and user experience towards our intrinsic goal of encouraging political engagement.  

Gamification will give us the ability to create activities and processes of varying degrees to solve problems and minimize friction while using the platform by heavily borrowing and applying well-known characteristics of game elements with a psychological approach and political undertone.

Marketplace:

As an additional value to the “Nigeria Online” platform, we thought it best to include an eCommerce marketplace to encourage engagement across the board and this platform will be tailored to the diverse states and their local governments. The marketplace will function such that both individuals and businesses will be able to coordinate trade to the effect of contributing to the overall “Nigeria Online” community and growing its user base.

Voting:

Nigeria Online will be instituting a voting platform to work on legislation and encourage participation across the board. This is, in effect, supposed to educate Nigerians on their political landscape together with incentives that will see to the maximization of this platform.

Overall:

The primary goal of Nigeria Online will remain politically-centric and we will continually add features and functionalities that support the goal of strengthening Nigeria’s political institutions.

Nigeria Online Proposal v 1.0 (as of 23:51, 03/17/2022)

In recognition of our long term goal, Nigeria Online is heralding a new identity and culture in our democratic processes. We’ve endeavored over the years in our strive for better governance in our political landscape. This has in turn shaped our perspective on the nature of the democratic model across the globe so we may use that knowledge to better orient our focus on the promises we intend to keep in our proposal as detailed below.

Original document is available at: bit.ly/NigeriaOnlineProposal … the version below is merely a copy at the time this article was written.

Nigeria Online is for Nigeria’s Input and Output;

General Objective:

“Nigeria Online” is an initiative that aims to tackle the deficiencies of Nigeria’s democratic process by advocating for aspiring politicians that show the capacity and will to effectively represent the values of their respective constituency. 

This initiative was born out of our desire to influence the social, political, and economic situation of Nigeria for the better and make the voices of her people heard from their respective local governments up to the pinnacle of the presidency.

## The entirety of this proposition will be written with the Nigerian constitution in mind.

Execution:

Pioneering such an effort requires a vision and strategic planning both of which we’ve put into account from the very start. 

We have an unwavering enthusiasm to accomplish the tasks ahead and are willing to push our endurance to the limit. 

Perhaps the most important question you have is on the feasibility of the initiative? Quite understandably, it’s a concept with a huge feat but also one with unmistaken potential. 

To emphasize on the general objective, our primary aim – at the time this proposal was written – is to work towards the next electoral cycle in a bid to establish ourselves as an alternative platform where Nigerians can voice their opinion undeterred and unafraid towards positive outcomes (as opposed to venting their frustrations on social media with little to no result). 

There’s a huge displeasure amongst Nigerians on the current situation of things in our political landscape. However, uprisings are usually quelled promptly and political dissenters are often treated with disregard particularly because the Nigerian situation has been wholly accepted by her people as one doomed to indefinite failure with little to no hope for change. 

It is our aim to change that narrative by establishing our presence as a strong advocate for better democratic governance and aiding the election of at least one local representative in the next electoral cycle and every other cycle after that. Your donations will ensure that this vision is brought to fruition.

Implementation: 

? The platform [NigeriaOnline.org] will work to the effect of a social network with a focus on scheduled online debates that may be live streamed or carried out in real-time on a designated forum or livechat. These will be scheduled for set periods of time [using an events calendar accessible to all members] and we may have them rebroadcasted on radio in varying languages [with a priority on pidgin].

## look into social media personnels.

We understand that in order to foster the kind of community we envision, we must overemphasize the importance of togetherness and participation which will further bolster our reputation and aid the propagation of our initiative. [read about our incentive model].  

The platform will be meticulously crafted to accommodate all the functions we’re proposing and seamlessly integrate the components together for an optimal experience . [To be continued … ]. 

Fundraising:

We recognize that the ability to influence the Nigerian political landscape for the better is just as important as our ability to raise the funds required. It is for this reason that we decided to make our effort a crowdsourced one – with rewards attached – by asking the Indiegogo community and beyond to help us revolutionize Nigeria for the better. 

Your contributions together with our expenditure will be made public and theoretically immortalized on a public ledger that will be updated regularly on our website [NigeriaOnline.org] UNLESS you explicitly request your donations to remain anonymous. 

We’ve taken this approach of transparency in an effort to combat corruption in our government as well as encourage the spirit of transparency wherein the Nigerian public will be able to observe the spending of their government in a timely fashion. 

This would enable Nigerians to make better-informed decisions on what incumbents are re-elected into office as well as deterring new electives from participating in unscrupulous acts that work to the detriment of the Nigerian populace [learn about our proposed reforms]. 

            This ideology is somewhat akin to [USAspending.gov] and we hope to innovate on both concepts for an overall rock-solid ledgering system.

             For starters, however, we’ll be using Google Sheets to keep track of all our spending. The associated documents will be linked to our site together with this value proposition that has been publicly developed from the start. 

              That way, you’re able to observe changes made in real-time or as they become available. Anyone can request [limited] editorial access to view version history and follow up on the changes accordingly. 

Considering many Nigerian politicians get into politics with the sole purpose of enriching themselves [as there’s practically no term limits for officials in parliament], this would discourage the idea of career politics while further reducing the chances of an unregulated squander of taxpayer’s money. 

This is especially important because the Nigerian political elites have been able to continually evade our anti-corruption enforcement agencies by finding and exploiting loopholes in the system while embezzling public funds with little to no repercussions.  

With a public ledger [based on the Blockchain’s decentralized ledger system] – that’s annually audited by multiple independent parties [consider one based on the open-source strategy] – in place, we can drastically reduce the chances of political officials getting away with money laundering and unwarranted expenditure that do not add value to the lives of their constituents. 

Moving forward, the funds we raise and thereafter will be directed squarely at the growth of our project [elaborate more on the concept with respect to political sponsorship] as determined by our financial management and approved by our committee [Learn more about our committee].

Secondary Revenue Disclosure: 

We are effectively a non-profit organization but we do intend to employ the services of Google Adsense in our database and YouTube channel* – as well as potential third party affiliations – to earn an income that will serve as a stipend for our committee members and respective associates that assist with the management of our platform [NigeriaOnline.org]. We will also consider merchandise sales at a later time.

* – we may not move forward with the idea of running a YouTube channel

We won’t make a public ledger available for our ad-earnings as the associated database DOES NOT pertain to the primary goal of our organization but it certainly will help keep the lights on while we continue to work tirelessly on our vision. 

Adding to that, we have decided to keep ad visibility to a bare minimum so we do not negatively impact the user experience. 

Furthermore, there will be ZERO ads on pages that are directly associated with participating in our democratic processes. We have made this a permanent decision in an effort to emphasize our noble cause.

Expenditure:

The majority of our financial expenses will be directed towards sponsoring and advocating for political candidates we consider eligible based on our grassroots strategy and a predefined set of criteria – subject to change. [read about our grassroots strategy here]. 

Secondarily, we will direct some resources (no more than 2 percent of our funds at any given quarter) towards the maintenance and upkeep of our site which will also be publicly available information.

Critical decisions on how we spend our funds will be privately debated amongst committee members which will have some positions that aren’t permanent.  

However, all committee members will retain the same power with a supervisor* that has the ability to make small-scale changes. 

## We’ll prioritize representation from different states in our Committee selection process in an effort to be as inclusive as possible

These changes can effectively be vetoed if more than half of the committee members deem it incompatible with the ultimate goal of restructuring our democratic institutions [read our ethos].

* – There won’t be a supervisor per-se for the first few years but a managerial role handled by Jesse. 

As part of our transparency tactic, no form of corruption will be tolerated at any given time and each committee member has every other member to hold accountable to these standards.

If for any reason there’s suspicion of corruption, it’ll be thoroughly investigated internally – with the participation of every committee member – of which findings will be publicly disclosed and no one, at any given time, will be exempt from scrutiny. 

This is so that we can hold each other to high standards and reflect those values accordingly in our daily interactions with other users of the platform in the hopes that they will propagate across our political spectrum: germinating new seeds of transparency in our government.

?  We are hoping this initiative will eventually help us – collectively as a nation – to slowly claw at the clusterfuck of corruption that continues to hinder our progress, contributing to our brain drain while protecting elected officials that are out to illegally enrich themselves with public tax funds.  

We understand this will be a painstaking process which will require as many hands on deck as possible but persistence is the mother of success so we’re here to stay and hopefully, together with your help, reinvigorate the spirit of true democracy in our political institutions [read about our grassroots efforts]. 

Proposed Reforms: 

As a means to guide political hopefuls, we will be posting suggestive reformist models that will be unbiased in our presentation and recommended executable paths. 

This reformist agenda will take a populist route where users will be able to validate their deductions with the provision of a voting accessory that will work in tandem with the entirety of the sub-platform.

In order to further bolster participation, we’ll enable certain user groups that have earned special privileges to also post their proposals so aspirants will have an endless source of material when it comes to cherry-picking ideas for their validatory process for campaign sponsorship consideration. 

We certainly expect potential candidates to improve on these ideas and not rest on their laurels. We will also encourage aspirants to write extensively researched reform paths in order to increase their chances in the validatory process. These will be heavily scrutinized and we’ll prioritize elements such as: consistency, language structure, provision of peer-reviewed resources, and lastly, relevance to our overall objective. Ability to conduct relevant studies locally will be an added bonus.

## we may provide resources to assist in conducting these studies depending on the scale  

These are the criteria necessary to continually engage the Nigerian public in a way that informs their understanding of the Nigerian political process for an overall rock-solid and politically-oriented global worldview.

Outreach Efforts:

Harnessing the power of the internet and social media will be paramount to the practical aspect of encouraging participation from Nigerians all over the world. 

Given that more Nigerians are coming online every day and two of the social mediums popular amongst Nigerians are Instagram and Facebook, our primary focus would be Nigerian celebrities who command a huge social following on these platforms as well as collaborating with comedians who have amassed a respectable following to help create skits that pass our message across. 

Added to that, we’ll be creating deepfakes as a form of satire to further encourage the participation of key Nigerian celebrities, political figures, [unbiasedly] and other public figures. We’ve come to realize that this will be a particularly effective model in inspiring the participation we seek for scalable growth.

We are also going to make our platform multilingual; representing the three major ethnicities of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba in a bid of inclusivity.

[include chart of ethnic and language distribution in Nigeria]

## Other languages will continue to remain optional. i.e, we may or may not add them depending on what resources are available.

Incentive Model:

We understand how the situation of things for the average Nigerian living in Nigeria can be particularly critical considering the unmistakably-enforced social norm of complicity to the corruption that’s plagued our democracy for decades.

This effectively inhibits their desire for change thereby plunging their hope of good governance and economic prosperity into nothingness but false hopes. 

This is further magnified by the abhorrent practice of religious fanaticism exacerbated by the rapid decline of Nigeria’s middle class.

This realization is what prompted us to create a reward-based model to primarily encourage the participation of the average Nigerian in Nigeria.

We have taken an unconditional stance in this regard as we intend to critically research on the best models [with respect to appropriate incentives] – together with potential partnerships with telecoms] that will increase participation for varying demographics as well as possible partnerships with local communities to further emphasize on our outreach model. This is in an effort to span our outreach capabilities and not be exclusive to the internet. 

## primary demographic will continue to remain the youths

## look into partnerships with telecoms for cell subsidization

We anticipate unwavering support from Nigerians in diaspora as they wield more influence and are of a relatively better economic situation than the average Nigerian living in Nigeria. 

## look into partnership with the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization

In regards to the incentives, each participant would need to have gained a predetermined amount of “points” based on the contributions they make in specific survey-styled listings [award-based] that include instructions on what they need to do after they have created an account. 

Moreover, this will work to the effect of them prioritizing their contributions to the democratic process as originally intended [refer to our ethos]. 

Naturally, this would create a balance in their contributions to the democratic processes – without excessively boring them with political jargon – while still giving them the opportunity to earn extra points [automated] for referrals and by contributing to our database [of which participation will be limited to a few hours, three times a month for certain user-levels so as to prevent abuse]. 

The database contributions can ONLY be done after fulfilling the initial requirement of participation in our democratic process on NigeriaOnline.org. 

Incentive A: Points can be redeemed for our cryptocurrency, Nairakobo.org™ [read more about Nairakobo.org™].

## This is in an effort to harness the power of association which can be particularly advantageous in encouraging participation 

Incentive B: Points can be redeemed for a raffle in a cash-based draw that will run weekly with the potential of 15 winners monthly [this isn’t defined and changes may be made without notice and at the discretion of our committee].

Incentive C: Points can also be redeemed for special privileges that will give users an elevated status on our site [NigeriaOnline.org] which may include recognition badges such as: “TOP CONTRIBUTOR”, “TOP CRITIC” … (you name it) up to a “SPECIAL INVITATION” to join our committee. This will be based on a variety of predetermined factors that are equally subject to change. 

We’ve decided not to release guidelines on how to gain a seat on our committee and leave the chances to your ingenuity. 

Keep in mind that we reserve the right to deny points, rewards, or any attempt to redeem your points.

Our incentive model will be backed by the funds we raise but no more than 10 percent in any given quarter.

Political Partnerships: 

As a non-profit, we welcome donations (preferably) with no strings attached. Obviously, we will not always have a way of determining that but if you explicitly ask for political favors, we will unequivocally deny your sponsorship.

Also, you may not request for favors – political or otherwise – that are not in line with our usage policy [read our policies].

Additionally, violating any of these policies may lead to your suspension and repeat violators may be banned after several warnings.

To reemphasize our purpose; this platform is established by the people for the people. We are effectively an unofficial representation of the Nigerian government and are asking Nigerians – home and abroad – to reclaim and exercise their constitutionally-protected and endowed rights by participating in Nigeria’s established democratic process using our platform. 

On the subject of potential partnerships, We’ve come to understand that affiliating with respectable political underdogs [in the form of parties that aren’t, in any way, associated with the dominating systems of the APC and PDP] and respectable individuals that have garnered momentum in the past, will yield an outreach/outcome that’ll further bolster our reputation and increase engagement on our platform [NigeriaOnline.org] while serving the overall objective of revitalizing our democratic system.

-terms of partnership:

On religion:

             We believe and respect religious freedoms as it pertains to our constitution and NOT fanaticism. We recognize how intricately tied our religious institutions are to the core of the Nigerian society, however, religious affiliation will never be a criterion to be met or considered at any point in our review process. 

              We want to make it absolutely clear; we WILL NOT associate ourselves with any party or individual that promotes the rhetoric of religious significance in our government [refer to the Nigerian constitution]. 

               WE WILL swiftly end any partnership without prior notice if the partnering entity were to be suspected (with overwhelming evidence to boot) of using their platform to promote a religious narrative that’s not in line with the Nigerian constitution and our end goal.

                Religion has done more harm than good to Nigerian society and WE WILL not tolerate any religious-agenda as they DO NOT and WILL NOT (as far as the Nigerian constitution is concerned)  be directly related to our primary objective. 

               On background checks:

We believe in fairness and the rule of law and will emphasize this in our requirement for a thorough background check (that will be conducted by independent bodies) irrespective of the potential entity in question. We may request complete disclosure of your past life, education, travels, and anything we consider palatable within the jurisdiction of the office a candidate may be vying for. 

               Dedication: 

Dedication is of utmost importance if we’re looking to realize the goals we have set ahead of ourselves. We WILL NOT tolerate slackers at any time. This is important because if our vision is to be realized, we must show unwavering dedication to our cause and Nigeria’s future.

               Publicity:

An absolutely important part of our strategy is publicity effort. We expect entities we partner with to make genuine effort in spreading the word. This is, after all, a team effort and it’s imperative that we collectively work towards realizing the set goals ahead together.

             Passion:

We demand utmost passion for the change we’re fighting for in Nigeria. We WILL NOT support entities with ulterior motives. We WILL NOT aid an agenda outside our overall objective: That is, practically anything that doesn’t resonate with the end goal of strengthening our democratic process for the overall prosperity of Nigeria. 

Punctuality: 

Considering most of our activities are directly online, there’ll be a huge emphasis on timeliness in regards to scheduled debates, events, and other group-related subjects.

Education:

As a general requirement, we request all political potentials to be well-versed with the Nigerian constitution and history. These political hopefuls will also be required to take designated exams especially designed to determine their constitutional prowess. We also request that they meet the specific criteria for office as documented in the Nigerian constitution.

            Communication:

This is perhaps the most important aspect in regards to potential partnerships. We encourage you to openly communicate your needs and do so while fulfilling the above requirements.

Understanding Nigeria’s Political Structure:

[ … ]

## make reference to great Nigerian leaders of the past

Grassroots Strategy:

           One thing we continually worked tirelessly on is optimizing our strategy and roadmap in preparation for every electoral cycle that’s to come while documenting our successes and emphasizing the practicality of our grassroots strategy.

We’ve emphasized a strategic stance from the get-go to build an effective political movement against the Nigerian business oligarchs and political elites in FCT Abuja. We’ve also taken the time to examine the overall practicality and are constantly improving the document [Anyone can request access to view version history]. 

  In regards to our long term goal, we hope to help create a trickle up economy that will tackle some of the fundamental economic, social and political issues Nigeria has today from the grassroots. 

This effectively means nurturing talents from the early on to aid their understanding of the dynamics of Nigeria’s socio-economic and political structure. This will in turn aid their garnering of the required experience [or add to it] they need to help strengthen our democratic institutions in the long run. Additionally, any candidate/party we decide to partner with, will be bound by a contract that emphasizes everything in our value proposition and service to the Nigerian public.

Some of the key situations we hope to address with our political partnerships [besides strengthening our democracy] is helping these political potentials craft policies especially tailored to the needs of their constituents. 

We’ll also encourage measures that uphold the strength of the middle class’ spending power [that essentially holds our capitalist society together] together with fostering innovative and entrepreneurial efforts from a grassroots level. 

## this will be better visualized when we go live

[ … ]

After careful analysis of the Nigerian situation together with how much power is concentrated amongst the elitists in our democratic process (of whose influence can be used to sway public opinion), we thought it best to focus our energy on grassroots efforts. 

Using a populist-inspired strategy (at a grassroots level), will enable us to set our priorities straight and direct our energy towards garnering political influence together with our partners for the possible long term goal of forming a coalition and ousting undeserving incumbents appropriately. 

It is our hope that strategically-carving such a pathway will ultimately help us contest higher governmental positions in both the senate and house of representatives. 

            We have taken this approach in an effort to properly vet potential political partners over an extended period while in partnership. We will also mandate a proper understanding of Nigeria’s political culture for both our committee members and partners with an extensive emphasis on documentation.  This is important in determining the best way to navigate our way through the establishment while making our contributions along the way as intended.

This effectively means that we SHALL NOT advocate for incumbents or political aspirants vying for positions higher up the political spectrum (only in dire situations may we consider accommodation) as they are/will become characterized by the corrupt political establishments of the APC and PDP both of whom unmistakably share control of the varying branches of our government. 

On the contrary, We will look into affiliation with less popular political parties whose goals are closely aligned with ours [read our ethos] for a long term partnership in crafting a path for young and brilliant minds that will effectively represent the majority demographic in public office. 

Adding to that, we won’t provide any form of exclusive partnerships that may be politically-motivated (for those partners that may have such requests). We will continue to remain independent of any political influence, however motivated they may be. 

              This is important in realizing our goals because we do need to take advantage of the familiarity factor that these established parties may already have across Nigeria which will effectively enable us to better publicize our initiative across Nigeria without spending exorbitantly on advertisement. This will also work to the effect of encouraging inter-party relations for possible future objectives [Coalitions et al] together.

             As a matter of fact, we intend to keep our ad spending to a bare minimum of which expense will also be viewable on our public ledger.

Our hope is to advocate for young, intellectual, and vibrant Nigerians that can better tackle the decline of our democracy especially because we are a young nation in both age and overall population. 

This effort will be married with the sensitization of the youths on what they need to know about their democracy to better participate.

## We will have a Nigeria-specific encyclopedia with all the related political jargon in tow.

Additionally, we’ve come to understand that electing a new president – however patriotic they may be – will not stir up the kind of socio-economic changes that Nigeria desperately needs to propel itself forward. 

Contrary to popular belief, a new president WILL NOT single-handedly fix our problems especially if their cabinet, and other branches of government [Senate, House of Representatives and judiciary] – who are almost always corrupt – actively work against the reforms a new Head of State may propose.

 This is particularly evident in Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. 

As a man of integrity, he’s failed woefully in bringing about the changes he promised Nigerians and it’s not entirely his fault; he’s surrounded by the worst set of corrupt politicians who are present on every level of the Nigerian government. 

Essentially, the effects of well-intentioned economic policies that may be proposed by a new administration may, in fact, not trickle down to the average Nigerian due to the overwhelming presence of corrupt intermediaries. 

Therefore, building from the ground up with political partners that have no other incentive but the wellbeing of Nigeria’s working class and low-income population will usher in the much-needed change over time.

Lastly, we reserve the right to end political partnerships without prior notice but on legitimate grounds which will also be publicly disclosed. 

[insert chart indicating demographic change and the over-representation of youths who are the backbone of an economy but are unfortunately led by a cohort of old-career politicians that cannot relate to our problems]

Financial transparency: 

             We take financial transparency VERY SERIOUSLY especially because we have a government riddled with financial mismanagement. It is for this reason that we’ve decided to dedicate a subcommittee – within our committee – led by [TBD] to manage and track both donations and spending to the last cent or kobo if you may. 

            We want this to be a model for the Nigerian government to emulate in the hopes that it will drastically reduce the possibilities of corruption in our democratic institutions. 

Our Ethos:

            A team of passionate Nigerians set on a revolutionary quest to dismantle the woes of our failed democracy by effectively nipping the bud on the corrupt legacy of colonialism of which the APC-PDP instituted model of democracy is based on. 

           We understand playing this vital role comes with a fair degree of risk, but, of course, we are unfazed by these uncertainties and are instead motivated by a strong will for change.

We recognize this effort as a constitutional mandate to protect our democracy and secure the future of upcoming generations while emphasizing participation every single step of the way! 

We are, afterall, a diverse set of exemplary models with gifted minds and impossible love for Nigeria out with a charge of enormous proportions to reignite our beloved Federal Republic so her future may be bright, prosperous, and full of joy everlasting.

Legal:

We DO NOT claim to be a direct representation of the Nigerian government nor do we execute responsibilities on her behalf as it may pertain to running the country, distribution of resources, handouts, budget planning, and any traditional economic or military task exclusively reserved for the intervention of the Nigerian government. 

We are basically a group of young Nigerians exercising their constitutionally protected rights in an effort to redefine our democratic model for the overall prosperity of Nigeria, her people, and future. 

Charts To be inserted:

[Change in poverty rate in Nigeria – highlight how we are now the poverty capital of the world] 

[chart reflecting the concentration of wealth in Nigeria]

[Chart indicating the brain drain over decades highlighting how it’s worsened over time]

[demographic distribution and concentration relative to poverty in the major regions?]

[demographic change? check for possible consistency or similarities at different points in time]

## Reference peer-reviewed research in this proposal as much as possible.

Future possibilities:

Look into school outreach and established student bodies

Look into local TV ads 

Conduct small scale studies to determine what would work best for different regions and demographics in regards to flexibility and usage of our platform, responsiveness to our initiative [testing different ad forms], and points/concepts of influence.

On ad-sponsorship requests

Legend:

* – indicates missing contextual information

## – This double hashtag denotes comments. That is, the comments aren’t a permanent part of the document and may be deleted once it’s served its purpose.

? – indicates items/paragraphs under review

[ … ] – indicates additional item under development

 Conclusion

In a world where there’s an infinite tug of war between democracies and autocracies, there’s a need in terms of team players that don’t necessarily even the playing field but do the necessary fighting on the right side of history. In a call to strength, representation, and participation, Nigeria Online is ultimately taking the charge in curtailing the rise of authoritarianism while projecting a hope for the future of democracies.