Twitter as command centre: Infrastructure for decentralised operational control

What the paper says

This teaching case investigates how social media platforms – particularly Twitter – functioned as socio-technical infrastructures for decentralised operational control during the 2020 EndSARS protests in Nigeria. It explores how digital visibility became a coordination resource that substituted for formal institutions. It focuses on how digital platforms, particularly Twitter, functioned as live information systems for facilitating volunteer-led supply chain operations, donor transparency, and crowd-sourced accountability in the absence of formal leadership or infrastructure. The case analyses how Twitter became a form of operational power, with every update functioning as both coordination mechanism and public proof. It also explores the risks of misinformation, information overload, and coordination breakdowns in high-velocity, emotionally charged environments. Students will critically evaluate how digital tools shape coordination in informal crisis response settings, assess the operational trade-offs between speed and accuracy, and apply systems thinking to examine feedback loops, agile decision-making, and communication overload. The case encourages reflection on how information systems perform in contexts of uncertainty, trust-based collaboration, and public scrutiny. The central problem addressed is how real-time, trust-based coordination can occur in open digital environments where accuracy, overload, and credibility continuously compete.