With technology political revolution is just a click away

The foundations of the world‘s social, political and economic landscape were laid and are continuously shaped by visionaries and revolutionaries. These great change agents do not just arise from the political scene but do germinate from every important sphere of human existence – religious, environmental, scientific, cultural, ethical, among others.

Revolutions are a function of revolutionary ideas encapsulated in words and transmitted into ‘revolution-ready’ minds. The common denominator of all discontinuous change, either in major or minor scale, is invariably information successfully passed from one mind to another.

The world’s most important revolutionaries such as Malcolm X, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and Che Guevara caused irreversible change in their societies. Their influence continues to be felt many years after they died.

Information flow, the dissemination of breakthrough ideas, was a great challenge faced by each of these pioneer revolutionaries.

During the time of Jesus Christ, for example, the printing press had not been invented and there was immense reliance on the spoken word. Hence, it took several centuries before His message of salvation reached the East African shores.

Karl Marx was a prolific writer but his revolutionary ideas were sowed mainly in Europe and parts of Asia. His ideas reached Africa only during the liberation struggle against colonialism.

Developing countries are ready for another revolution, a wind of change that will sweep away retrogressive leadership. Most African countries have suffered untold haemorrhage of public resources due to general incompetence of those in leadership.

Arab Spring

The biggest casualties of this situation are the youth who form a significant segment of the population. Luckily the youth are the tech-savvy and can tap the social platforms to effect change.

In the Arab Spring of 2010, popular rebellion was accelerated by modern information technology channels.

The technological platforms provide a voice for the youth, and the potential to harness the unity of the masses and generate a common theme that will become a rallying call against poor leadership.

Technology is also helping to expand the boundaries of human thinking. This expansion in our collective horizons is definitely going to inspire a desire for positive socio-economic and political change.

Our political class should tremble at the power that the masses wield in the form of twitter, facebook, instagram and other digital platforms. Its explosive power transcends the 1945 bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan that brought an end the second world war.

It is through this power that we shall witness a divinely inspired movement that will end corruption and economic sabotage.

Dr. Mosso is Risk Management and Blockchain specialist.