For the fourth week of the New Year, our Social Media review takes a new dimension with the coverage of technology related activities. A lot happened within the week and, as usual, we’ve got you covered. Do enjoy your reading.
1. Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan Swap Deal
Manchester United completed the signing of Alexis Sanchez in a swap deal with Arsenal that sees Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to the Emirates.
Sky news reports that Sanchez has signed a four-and-half-year deal with Jose Mourinho’s side, while Mkhitaryan has agreed to a three-and-a-half-year contract in North London.
Sanchez and Mkhitaryan finalised their respective work permits on Monday after previously completing medicals.
See reactions below:
How does it feel to call yourself a Manchester United player? Take it away, @Alexis_Sanchez!
Watch more from our first interview with #MUFC's new no.7: https://t.co/KgKz6QLlGt pic.twitter.com/4GWjxB5gVT
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 22, 2018
"We lost a great player. But when a team doesn't know what's going on there is less clarity and less focus on what's important – the performance."
Arsene Wenger admits a little bit of relief after Alexis Sanchez's departure https://t.co/A6KNlhY7RF pic.twitter.com/7ZlEQC8nOX
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/mikesanz19/status/955833283744542720
Highest Paid Players in The PL
1. Alexis Sanchez: £500,000
2. Paul Pogba: £290,000
3. Romelu Lukaku: £250,000
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic: £220,000United fans ALWAYS talking about City buying success 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/WLM6wl8qhE
— David Brightwell (@brighty1971) January 23, 2018
2. Obasanjo’s letter to President Buhari
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019 because he has failed Nigerians.
In a 13-page statement titled “The way out, a clarion call for coalition for Nigeria movement”, Obasanjo asked Buhari not to listen to the advisers urging him to seek re-election. He also blamed the incumbent for his handling of the herdsmen crises in the north of Nigeria. In addition to calling out the presidency, Obasanjo also took his old political party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the cleaners.
Nigerians took to social media to express their views. See their reactions below:
Obasanjo’s letter to Buhari just proves that if you clap for your husband when he is beating his first wife, you have automatically given him permission to beat you when your turn comes #RenosNuggets
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) January 25, 2018
How should President Muhammadu Buhari respond to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo's letter?
— The Guardian Nigeria (@GuardianNigeria) January 24, 2018
I will advise President Buhari's media team not to respond to Obasanjo's letter with insults, because its consequences may be dire.
— Babajide Otitoju (@BabajideOtitoju) January 23, 2018
After reading Obasanjo's letter to Buhari. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/pMCIo4fkbw
— Adetutu Balogun, MBA (@Tutsy22) January 23, 2018
Just finished reading Baba Obasanjo’s letter. The summary is simple:
Buhari has failed and should go and rest but PDP that is now controlled by Wike is not an option.
He says a 3rd option is the only way out and Nigerians must arise to take charge of the country.
— Comrade Deji Adeyanju (@adeyanjudeji) January 23, 2018
So in a few minutes Obasanjo's statement asking Buhari not to seek re-election will be trending.
Some of us saw this coming
Let's see how those who support Buhari, who praised him for the open letter to GEJ will react to this statement.
— Nicholas 'The Brave' Ibekwe (@nicholasibekwe) January 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/Onos147/status/956496140144431104
Let me react to Obasanjo's open letter to President Buhari:
First & foremost, until Obasanjo apologise to Nigerians for his contribution to the emergence of this unfortunate government he is not worthy to condemn Buhari, He has also lost Political respect, he should shut up!
— Olúyẹmí Fásípè, AICMC (@YemieFash) January 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/ELBINAWI/status/956590366928592896
Another take away from Obasanjo's Letter was that his recommendations on the way forward was vague and tallies with Aunty Oby's Redcard movement.
My own is Buhari & APC's fuck up no consign PDP at all. And almost every fuck up wey PDP get today can be traced to Obasanjo.
— Prof Stanley Nwabia (@MrStanleyNwabia) January 23, 2018
3. Instagram enables online status, Snapchat adds sharing outside
Popular social media app Instagram has now added online status in direct messages. This means that all your friends would know the last time you were active if you access the direct message area of the app.
According to Thenextweb, this feature was released as part of new updates for Android and iOS and it displays the user’s online status directly below the username. The app, however, included an option to opt out of displaying your online status. It can be turned off by toggling the ‘Show Activity Status’ option in the app’s settings. Turning off the feature means you won’t be able to see the online status of other users too.


In a related development, Snapchat has announced that it is launching a new feature on Tuesday. The app will allow its users to share their stories with friends and family outside of the app. Snap, its parent company, is hoping this new feature would help to grow its low user base.
Snapchat is bringing its hugely popular Stories feature to the PC. In a few weeks, the app will introduce a share option to its Stories tile in its Discover section. From here, users will be able to share public Stories onto platforms like Facebook, Twitter and email. This feature is already available to users in Australia and Canada.
It will, however, not be available to all varieties of public Stories. Stories eligible for sharing according to the company include Official Stories, Our Stories, and Search Stories. Unlike the app, Stories shared on the web would disappear after 30 days while Official Stories would disappear after 24 hours.


4. Keshi gets Google Doodle honour on his 56th posthumous birthday
Nigerian football icon Stephen “Big Boss” Keshi was honoured by Google on what would have been his 56th birthday. The search engine changed its logo in Nigeria on Tuesday to an illustration of the legendary sports star.
Keshi was one of only two men to win the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and coach, but the later part of his career was described as turbulent by some after he quit coaching duties over unpaid wages.
See comments and reactions:
Today we celebrate the life of Nigerian football icon Stephen Keshi. The beautiful game took Keshi all over the world, as a player and coach. Happy Birthday Big Boss. #StephenKeshi #GoogleDoodle pic.twitter.com/KIwPtDopCi
— Google in Africa (@googleafrica) January 23, 2018
In case you forgot, weren’t born or too young to remember Stephen Keshi at #AFCON 1992.
Defender Keshi scored late (‘89 min) to hand #Nigeria a 2-1 win over hosts #Senegal on the opening day. pic.twitter.com/MKndLmk8eX
— Oluwashina Okeleji (@oluwashina) January 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/GodspowerWorld/status/955895765188169729
Google remembers Stephen Keshi but we citizens don't 🤦🏽♂️
— Silm (@M_Silm) January 23, 2018
Gone, but not forgotten. Former Super Eagles player & coach Stephen Keshi would have been 56 today. Rest in peace 'Big Boss'. pic.twitter.com/yO7zePtKFK
— Busy Buddies 🇳🇬™ (@thebusybuddies) January 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/Ruud_bishop/status/955694391724781568
https://twitter.com/alpha_male/status/955721738217803776
5. EFCC VS ex-SGF Babachir Lawal
Following the open letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal was arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over fraud allegations relating to grass cutting contracts.
Mr. Lawal is detained in the Abuja headquarters of the EFCC where he will face investigators over his role in the controversial contracts.
Babachir was relieved of his duties by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017 following allegations that he diverted aid funds intended for the humanitarian crisis in the North-East.
Below are reactions and comments:
Apart from Kyari, AGF Malami should pls resign/sacked bcos of his role in Maina's recall. @bukolasaraki pls allow ur ad-hoc committee to proceed and exposed Malami just like u did for Babachir Lawal. Malami wll cause us to lose 2019 election @MBuhari we can not continue like this
— Woye (@woye1) January 25, 2018
So, finally the former SGF Babachir Lawal is in detention.
I hope you guys would give president Buhari some credit here
— Turakin Nupe (HUI) (@ComradeNas) January 25, 2018
Babachir Lawal has been arrested for the grass cutting fraud but who will they arrest for the dates Saudi Arabia sent IDP camps that was later sold? Or is that one not fraud too?
— Kolo Jesse (@KoloJesse) January 25, 2018
B/cos of Obasanjo’s letter, Babachir Lawal was suddenly arrested. Don’t be surprised if Aisha suddenly finds courage to publicly lambast Fulani herdsmen. Don’t be surprised if Buhari suddenly agrees to Igbo presidency, restructuring & Biafra’s referendum. https://t.co/VJTwc17neI pic.twitter.com/QqqS66K0bt
— ≋🔝≋ (@AgorasBlog) January 25, 2018
Nigerians are not moved by the news of EFCC detaining Babachir Lawal the Grasscutter.
We all know it's a trick to divert attention from OBJ's letter.
Of course, they must have spoken and begged Babachir to allow them use him for the drama. We know these things, how e dey work
— The Nigerian Wailers (@NGRWailers) January 24, 2018
EFCC arrests Babachir Lawal
If you like arrest Judas Iscariot, you can't fool us. Buhari you're going back to Daura pic.twitter.com/R6wo67VzhB
— Lérd Chigbo ā (@itschigbo) January 24, 2018
Obasanjo: *Open letter to Buhari*
Lai Mohammed: *Open letter to OBJ*
EFCC: *Open arrest to Babachir Lawal*
Me: *Red card to APC + Thunder fire all of you*
— Lérd Chigbo ā (@itschigbo) January 24, 2018