This era is indeed a very special one. And this is because the world is more connected now than at any time in the past courtesy of social media. It is uniting people across several continents; ideas are shared at the click of a button.
More importantly, Nigeria is a great beneficiary of this magnificent change agent as it was the powerful tool which Nigerians used during the 2015 general election to deepen their democracy. With it, the dogged citizens removed an incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan, for the first time in the nation’s history, and replaced him with Muhammadu Buhari through the ballot.
But events of the past days suggest that Nigerian Senators who were largely beneficiaries of social media during the elections have concluded plans to suddenly withdraw power from the electorates whose votes gave them authority in the first place.
Yes, if we hadn’t voted, none of them would be in the Senate. We sent them to the Red Chambers to represent us. It’s a fact. We— I mean the people, the ordinary Nigerians— own our democracy.
The power lies with us. For any doubting Thomas, section 14(2a) of the 1999 constitution has this to say “Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority.”
On Wednesday, December 2, a bill that is designed to gag the social media in Nigeria passed a second reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate, exactly a week it received first reading.
The urgency with which the bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected therewith” (sponsored by one Senator Bala N’Allah representing Kebbi South) was passed clearly suggests the intent of its proponents and fellow collaborators.
With apologies to Prof Wole Soyinka, our senators are fast taking Nigeria one step forward and two steps backward. Like I mentioned in one of my recent articles, the 8th National Assembly is more or less the clog in Nigeria’s wheel of progress.
While the nation is facing serious economic crises, infrastructural decay, corruption, and grievous security threats from insurgents, our senators, whom many preferably call jokers, are busy chasing harmless social media users.
Gagging the social media will do more harm than good. At best, it will help polarize an already fragile nation the more. One wonders if the supporters of the bill even think about the consequences of their action. I even doubt if they take into consideration the fact that the more you push people to the wall, the more aggressive they become.
Nigeria is a nation in which millions of youths wake up every morning with a bleak future; no satisfying job, no access to reliable and affordable internet facilities, electricity is not stable, and yet those who have been elected to make laws that will make their lives better appear to be doing exactly the opposite. Isn’t that akin to sitting on an explosive device?
The proponents of this draconian bill claim that it is meant to protect persons or institutions of government from false and abusive statements through the social media. They also proposed two years imprisonment and/or a fine of #2 million for those who are found guilty.
But we need to remind them that there are already established penalties for libel, defamation and similar offences under the Law of Tort. So they don’t need to hide under the disguise of bringing ‘sanity’ into the country’s opinion pool.
If I may ask, who decides what information is “false” or not? What if the social media accounts of patriotic Nigerians, especially the critics of government, are hacked by criminals to post “false statements”? Who goes to prison or who pays the #2 million fines? Maybe Senators Bukola Saraki or Dino Melaye or Biodun Olujimi or Ali Ndume should provide some clues.
Although I do not support the posting of false information or the assassination of characters through any means, including the social media, but censoring the primary means of communication in a country whose journey to democracy has just begun is a misplaced priority.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s an attempted ‘murder’ on the rights of Nigerians who use the social media. It doesn’t matter what excuse the proponents put forward, it’s a wrong step in the wrong direction happening at the wrong time.
Our senators should know that no matter how much they try, Nigerians will not allow their scheme see the light of the day. Nigerians have come to be well known for flushing out impunity and any act that threatens the growth of democracy in the country.
So opposition to the retrogressive Social Media Bill will not be an exception. I strongly believe.
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Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
Kofoworola Ayodeji is a Nigerian writer and transformational speaker who is passionately involved in nation-building. Follow him on twitter @Generalkopho and facebook: www.facebook.com/Kofoworolaak
