Digital Pan-Africanism and the Crisis of the Postcolonial State: Social Media, memory, and Mobilization in Nigeria and Congo

In the wake of widespread disillusionment with postcolonial governance across Africa, the resurgence of Pan-Africanism has found powerful new expression through digital platforms. This article explored how social media has reshaped Pan-African mobilization by analyzing two emblematic movements #EndSARS in Nigeria and #CongoIsBleeding in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Far from being spontaneous outbursts, these digital campaigns reflect historically rooted struggles for justice, sovereignty, and dignity. Drawing on interdisciplinary sources, the paper situated these movements within the longue durée of Pan-African thought, tracing how activists mobilize collective memory, historical grievances, and transnational solidarity in the digital sphere. Social media platforms not only facilitate the rapid dissemination of images, slogans, and testimonies but also serve as spaces where suppressed histories and silenced voices are rearticulated and amplified. The article interrogated how digital Pan-Africanism blured boundaries between the local and the global, the historical and the contemporary, forging new solidarities among African and diasporic communities. At the same time, it highlighted the structural limitations of digital activism, including state surveillance, online repression, algorithmic censorship, and the ephemeral nature of virtual engagements. By foregrounding the connection of memory, resistance, and digital technology, the article argued that these movements represent more than political protests; they embody a reinvigorated vision of African agency and self-determination in the twenty-first century. In doing so, it contributed to a growing body of scholarship on digital cultures, social movements, and the evolving contours of Pan-Africanism in the age of globalization.