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Paper short abstract:

The paper investigates the use of video as a source of contemporary African history with a focus on the 2020 End-SARS movement in Nigeria. The strength of video as a source lies in the fact that it allows individuals the freedom to tell their stories and for historians to study people from below.

Paper long abstract:

Historical documentation and archiving have remained critical issues in the study of postcolonial history of many African societies. Apart from surviving records in colonial archives, which have been largely damaged due to poor handling, it has been difficult to keep proper record of everyday life of common people who are historically important but often neglected in historical studies. The challenges associated with the known but limited sources (newspapers and televisions) of everyday history have opened new doors to new historical sources such as video. The use of video has been gaining popularity in the study of contemporary African history. Video-based historical research has been facilitated by the use of social media where individuals share daily life experiences such as suicide, marriage, crimes, and achievements, using technologically enabled tools such as TikTok, Facebook and YouTube. Video data analysis as a method of historical research enables historians to see events as they are and from the perspective of the ordinary person. The End-SARS as a social movement in Nigeria in 2020 was widely covered by the media and cannot be studied by historians without full exploration of video recordings of the event. The advantage of video over other known contemporary sources is that it is largely produced by individuals or unofficial groups, and the content is hardly subjected to state censorship. This paper interrogates the organization and execution of the 2020 End-Sars Protest Movement using video recordings.