Minister of Communication Technology Omobola Johnson may start a blog to communicate with citizens.
The idea came at the Citizens, Government and Technology panel, the first event to launch SMW Lagos 2015.
Young, eager attendees came early and waited for the first session of the conference to begin. Panelists also included Yemi Keri, a state government official, and Comrade Ayodele Ayowale a former local government official.
“I wanted to have representatives from all levels of government.” Yemi Adamolekun said, Executive Director of the coalition Enough is Enough Nigeria and moderator of the panel.
The concept of hosting a blog came about after Minister Johnson said that she gets a lot of tweets from concerned citizens. She can’t always answer in 140-characters.
An audience member suggested that maybe she can start a blog. “I think that’s a great idea,” Johnson said.
Adamolekun, of Enough is Enough, wants citizens to know they can engage with the government. She said the government is willing to engage with citizens. This is the third year of Social Media Week Lagos and the Minister Johnson has attended every year. Adamolekun added that citizens should look for information as well with the open data available on sites.
Other events for the first day of the conference included Where are the Ethics on Social Media? and A Connected Africa: The Need for Radical Innovation in Education. The day garnered a lot of interest, especially since elections have been postponed until March.
Ayo Alli moderates the Where ate Ethics on Social Media? panel
“I’ll take her word for it,” said Adamolekun on the Minister Johnson considering starting a blog.