Chief Willie Obiano: Anambra’s First Social Media Governor

Obiano is the first governor in Anambra State who has had to learn to survive in a social media-driven society.

With Governor Willie Obiano being the first social media governor of Anambra State, the Obiano administration has used digital and social media in many ways to promote some of the governor's policies.

The upside to using social and digital media is that Obiano is able to promote his policies without first having to go through the filter of the mainstream media and able to target a niche audience while receiving feedback almost immediately. 

But there are also downsides to the strategy — because it means primarily speaking to his own supporters, which can further alienate those who don't support Obiano, creating more political polarization. And also, it exposes him to reckless and most times thoughtless attacks from unguarded individuals who leverage the “costless” nature of the social media platforms.

Some critics have said that reducing policy ideas to a hashtag or mere Facebook posts could also cheapen the power of the office, but others say that it's an example of what governors have always tried to do — find a way to connect with Ndi Anambra. 

According to Nate Persil "Leaders have always wanted to talk to all their citizens at once, have them pay attention, and have them believe what they are saying".

With the new platforms, not only does Governor Obiano speak directly to 'the people,' but he also targets particular messages to audiences that ordinarily would not be paying attention. 

In accepting the reality of digital and social media age.  Governor Obiano’s administration  has become a de facto social media leader— uploading more than 40 YouTube videos and almost 75 infographics on dedicated blogs/websites and other social media platforms. 

Using digital and social media platforms has made it easier to engage in "micro-targeting," which allows the administration to direct its message to a specific group of people, and it was key to Obiano's success as a candidate as well.

It doesn't hurt that Team Obiano has close relationships with several of those in new-media businesses or that many of them support Obiano politically. It’s a testimony of the governor’s goodwill and his unprecedented giant strides in just about a year in office.

Today, Chief Willie Obiano, aside being the first Social Media Governor of Anambra State, is trending and hitting cyberspace records with over 400,000 Google Contents, thousands of Twitter followers and over 300 daily blog publications.

As Governor Willie Obiano marks his 60th year on earth, the encomiums pouring in from social media platforms attest to his cyberspace compliance. Happy Birthday to a silent and kindhearted achiever.