The Nairaland Forum: Introducing Nigeria's Largest Online Community

Nairaland has been Nigeria's largest online community since it opened in 2005. The forum was created by a Nigerian, Opeyemi Awoyinka, to provide Nigerians with the opportunity to discuss their country without fear of government censorship or reprisal. More than 1 million people visit Nairaland each month and many more use the site as their first portal into Nigeria's vibrant culture.

 

Section 1: What is Nairaland?

Nairaland is Nigeria's largest online community with over one million active users from all walks of life – and throughout the diaspora. Its purpose is to offer a forum for Nigerians to engage in healthy discussion on politics, religion, entertainment, sports, and pop culture, without fear of retribution.

 

Nairaland is run by the Opeyemi Awoyinka Foundation, a registered non-profit organisation. It is governed by a board of directors comprising prominent Nigerians. The foundation has been praised for its transparency and adherence to ethical practices and corporate governance.

 

Nairaland has a strict code of conduct, which all users are expected to follow.

 

Why was the forum created?

I wanted to create a safe place for Nigerians to discuss Nigeria.

 

The main idea was to provide a venue for Nigerians to be in a free discussion forum about their country. I chose to create a community where Nigerians could gather to interact freely and exchange ideas, beliefs and thoughts without being intimidated.

 

We cannot have a true freedom of expression without a platform like this and so Nairaland has grown into a positive space in Nigeria for people to discuss everything and anything.

 

How has Nairaland contributed to the political and cultural landscape of Nigeria?

 

Nairaland has given Nigerians the opportunity to organise and create initiatives to fight the things they hate and hold dear.

 

How do I register on Nairaland?

Log on to www.airaland.com then click the blue signup button.

 

- You will see the registration page.

 

- Enter your name and email address.

 

- Confirm your email address.

 

- Click on the confirm button.

 

- Then click the blue join button.

 

- You will see the confirmation page.

 

- After the registration, you will be redirected to the Nairaland login page, where you can sign in.

 

- You will also be prompted to enter the Password

 

- After entering the Password, click on the login button.

 

- You will be redirected to the Nairaland login page.

 

- Enter your name and password.

 

- You will be redirected to the Nairaland login page.

 

- Enter your email address.

 

- Confirm your email address.

 

- You will be redirected to the Nairaland login page.

 

- Enter the Password.

 

Why are there many questions about Nairaland's legitimacy?

Nairaland's validity was affirmed by Google Nigeria, one of the two or three Google affiliates in Nigeria, during a visit to the company's Nigerian office.

 

Google Nigeria is the entity that approves sites that are submitted to Google for inclusion on Google's search engine results pages. According to Google Nigeria, Google does not verify the ownership or authenticity of sites that are submitted to its office, but it does use a number of site-specific factors to ascertain the authenticity of sites it decides to allow to appear on the country's main search engines.

 

Among those criteria are (a) whether the site's owners/operators have a clear, well-established presence and (b) whether the site's content is of public interest.

 

What are some of your favourite things about Nairaland?

I am most excited about the cool little things about Nairaland, like the weekly Nairaland awards for the funniest, craziest and most absurd topics that people have posted. There are also threads where people post photos of their families and pets and everyone comments on it with Naira signs (see below).

 

What is the most amazing post you've ever read on Nairaland?

 

A woman got engaged in front of thousands of Nairaland members and she posted pictures of the proposal. That was incredible to see and so touching! Also, at a point the moderators had to give so many warnings for members to change their passwords because so many of them were posting their bank account details. That was embarrassing, but it just goes to show the power of the Nigerian people on Nairaland.

 

Why do you use Nairaland over other platforms to discuss Nigeria?

Nairaland is the best place to discuss Nigeria's affairs with like-minded people.

 

Who uses Nairaland?

 

Nairaland is open to everyone who enjoys discussing Nigeria and Nigerians. However, we have noticed that our visitors' demographics (age, gender, race, income and education levels) largely mirror the demographic distribution in Nigeria.

 

Nairaland users' profile and user profile.

 

Tell us about the people who frequent your forum. How do you think we can get Nigerians to join Nairaland and use it for the greater good?

 

Nairaland users are well-educated, middle-class Nigerians who generally hold liberal views and who value their freedom to discuss social, political, cultural and religious issues without the government's interference.

 

Conclusion

When it comes to topical discussions, Nairaland is arguably one of the best communities online for Nigerians to discuss Nigerian and African issues. Whether it's political or a culture clash, there is always someone ready to offer helpful suggestions and leave their constructive feedback.

 

You can read the reviews here.