(CNN) -- At over 246,000 and counting, he has more Facebook fans than the combined tally of British Prime Minister David Cameron, German chancellor Angela Merkel, and South African head of state Jacob Zuma.
Since Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president, created his profile in June of this year, rarely a day goes by without a fresh update -- which appear to be written by Jonathan himself -- concerning recent news events, government policy and, of course, the coming elections.
He also seized public momentum and stole a march on his rivals by choosing the hugely popular social networking site to announce his standing for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2011.
"I Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by the grace of God hereby offer myself and my services to the Nigerian people as a candidate for the office of President" read his Facebook status on September 15, ending a long period of speculation about the likelihood of his candidacy.
"This is the first time in our country that Facebook has ever made the headlines of a national newspaper," Chude Jideonwo, founding member of influential Nigerian activist site Enough is Enough, told CNN.
CNN
