When Nigerian politicians talk about regulating social media, the first reason they adduce is the need to curb hate speech, fake news and misinformation.
They wax lyrical about the speed at which false information can spread with the aid of social media, promoting strife.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed even went as far as warning that the next war would be fought on social media, without a single bullet being fired.
One of the leading voices for social media regulation, he explained that the #EndSARS protests was an example of a war fought on social media.
Famous actor-cum-Lagos lawmaker, Desmond Elliot also warned about the danger inherent in not regulating social media, saying, “In the next five years, Nigeria is gone if we don’t start now.”
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But why are politicians so scared of the social media?
By its very nature, social media offers users “a potential voice, a platform, and access to the means of production”.(apologies to Jenny Kidd).
Simply put, social media democratises flow of information.
An eyewitness to police brutality in Delta can record the incident on their phone or digital camera and share through their social media platforms and in minutes millions in Kano, Lagos and Abia would know about it.
While the now regrettably commonplace scenario above may not even find its way into the traditional media platforms, especially if media owners or their friends do not want it to, social media has changed the narrative.
In fact, some Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel were disciplined days ago after videos of them flogging curfew violators circulated on social media.
Politicians do not want this. They are annoyed that social media aids the youths in beaming the searchlight on matters they would rather have hidden. They feel threatened. Who wouldn’t if their job was to pull the wool over the populace’s eyes?
They are unhappy that this social media generation will not allow them oversee the execution of substandard projects while pocketing the rest of the funds meant to deliver a standard one.
Well, the more of these matters that come to the fore the angrier the youths get about how far they have been taken for a ride by the political elite. And angry people sometimes overdo things.
Perhaps this explained why Mojisola Alli-Macaulay, a Lagos lawmaker representing Amuwo-Odofin Constituency 1, described young netizens on social media as drug addicts.
In reaction, the “drug addicts” quickly dug up how the 43-year-old, who is better known as Mama Amuwo, allegedly recently shared COVID-19 palliatives as birthday souvenirs.
They even shared photos to back up their claims.
See some of the photos:
Still unconvinced? Do well to check the image at the beginning of this story. That is the kind of project Alli-Macaulay and her ilk want to continue executing.
However, the young Nigerians on social media would have none of it.