Of Nigeria and social media

IN a world that shrinks at every moment, social media has come to play a big role. It is a means of communication that allows users to communicate or publish their ideas independently to their audience (specific or general). Social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube have played both positive and negative roles in Nigeria, subject to the environment. The 21st century saw massive engagement of social media in Nigeria as people like to air their opinions, beliefs, feelings, and emotions. Nigerians conceive of it as means of sharing news, both fake and real. A 2023 ranking by the World of Statistics rated Nigeria as the number one country which spent more time on social media, with an average of 04:20 daily. The consequences of social media do not lie only in its obstruction of human consciousness, it is responsible for the many atrocious experiences that Nigeria has witnessed and may continue to witness, if the bud of social media’s negativities is not nipped. Its effects have reverberated in the political, socio-religious, and economic lives of the citizens.

Since the 21st century, Nigeria’s electioneering has been marked with turbulence and violence. This is owing largely to social media. Although propaganda, arrests, attacks, and assassinations permeate Nigeria’s electioneering in the post-colonial period, the 21st century transition into democracy and the assuming engagement of social media have birthed a Nigeria which witnesses physical and internet assaults during and after elections. On social media, political parties and elites are downgraded and libeled; leaders are painted in an outrageous image that does not only portray the inefficacy of an administration but also denigrates Nigeria’s reputation to the outside world. This is not in contrast with freedom of speech, but the Nigeria’s case is alarming. Again, social media has been utilised as a way of keeping record of events which would later serve political objectives. In essence, people use social media to keep records of people’s sayings or deeds in order to use it against them in the future. This act was replicated during the ministerial screening conducted to usher in the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu in 2023. One of the nominees who is now the current Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, Dr Olabosun Tijani, was accused of having degraded and slammed the House of Assembly in a Twitter tweet posted years ago. He was made to apologize to the leaders before he could take a bow. This was social media complementing the Yoruba mantra, “Iyan ogún odún a ma a Jo ni lówó felifeli” (the fingers can still feel the heat of a 20-year-old pounded yam) which connotes that whatever goes around comes around.

Furthermore, social media has aided misinformation, which may be (often) intentional or not. Rumours and fake news are spread all over the media for political motifs. This has led to misconception of some innocuous policies of the government by the citizens. During the 2023 naira redesign, there was a lot of misinformation as people took to the media to say what they liked. There were rumours of the government allowing the old notes when the government had not approved it. Opponents and critics seize the media for propaganda, which further weakens the Nigerian government. For instance, there was rumors in the first four years of President Buhari about his death. Some even believed he had ear problem. He was symbolised in several derogatory images, like his predecessors. All of these are aided by social media. There is no gainsaying that socialedia largely inflamed the 2020 End SARS Protest and has been serving as means to protesting government policies and actions—both good and bad.

Although the economic impacts of ocial media may be  commendable, many fraudulent transactions are, however, performed on it. Cases of fake jobs that resulted into kidnapping and rituals are not limited. Many fraudulent transactions are conducted on social media, which leads many into the jinx of poverty, so much so that, people commit suicide. The issue of Yahoo-Yahoo fraud that has now domiciled the nation is another aspect to deal with. Yahoo fraudsters meet their “clients” via social media: First as friends, but later transmogrified into exploiting (gbajue) the client (maga or mugu). They go to people’s social media pages and handles to get information about the person and the deal kicks off from there. Although, fraud and trickery are as old as humanity, it has had a new dimension since the advent of social media which now enabled many people to carry out the obnoxious act easily. They do not need to know or meet their clients physically; they can carry out their scam on via their mobiles while at their comfort zones.

Another impact of social media on Nigerian societies is its spread of bad cultures and moral decadence. In African societies where values used to take a big place in a human’s life, western cultures have predominated (through the social media) and abused the original cultures: it has led to diminishing of values.  Immoral dressings and slang are easily spread via social media. Some media influencers incite other users. They are liked and loved for their strange dress styles, hairstyles, haircuts and vulgar speeches. Nigerians go extra mile to create contents that would earn them more subscribers and followers. They are sure, of course, that the bulk of the unemployed Nigerians would waste their time viewing and liking the “funny” contents while they await the government to serve them their daily breads.

A particular Nigerian “pastor” would consistently post contents filled with vulgar talks. Yet, he is the same pastor who enlightens a number of Nigerians on the words of God; leads prayer services and also serve as role model to church members. Nigerians do not deem it immoral chanting some of his curses and immoral languages on streets and at homes. It’s all about the trending. However, Traditional Nigerian societies do not take a speech for granted: it was considered as a raw egg which shatters when dropped on the floor. It appears that social media harbingers are there for recognition. Hence, they want to do anything that would “market” them to the world, whether good or bad.

Social media is largely responsible for the psychological challenges that many Nigerians are confronting today. Oppression and depression are some of the critical consequences of social media in Nigeria. The advent “of social media life” has caused a lot of catastrophes to the Nigerian population and economy. People consistently post their achievements on social media, not for their alleged purpose to motivate, but to oppress fellow Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike. Hence, an average Nigerian who could not feed themselves except having to run after buses and lorries during traffic jams would begin to realize the kind of world that they have found themselves: how they are nothing before their younger ones who would always assume one role or the other, buy cars from time to time, post their houses and more especially their gorgeous outfits. We wonder not, therefore, why Nigerians go extra mile borrowing—or even loaning—materials like jewelries, cars, cloths, bags and shoes. They have to retaliate by showing the world that they, too, are not lagging behind. Consequently, those who do not have the means of acquiring these precious materials resort to stealing, arm robbery, or worse still, killing themselves in order for them to breathe. This attitude has demonstrated to us that we have two lives as Nigerians: the life on social media and the life in the real sense of things.

Again, social media has inarguably aided the spread of terrorism in Nigeria. several ideological groups now dominate the internet today; they have platforms across media to spread their ideologies and initiate people into their organizations. Here, think of the Islamic States of West Africa Province, ISWAP, Al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram. Likewise, kidnappers and arm robbers use the social media in tracking their victims.

More also, a vivid examination of the rapid ill-literacy level in Nigeria reflects the immodest use of social media as people learn wrong spellings and grammatical errors through it. Everybody is teacher and mentor. Wrong abbreviations by many youths today are consequential of social media trends. These abbreviations—”ain’t” instead of “aren’t”, “d” in place of “the”, “bcos or cos” representing the English word “because”, “Nvm” depicting “never mind”, among others–do not only sound irritating; students have become addicted to it, such that they reflect in exam essays. By implication, such an essay is deprived of full grade.

In the marital realm, the overuse of social media has resulted in divorces. As a result of immodest use of social media, couples lose trusts in one another, which, often times, culminates into breakups. Moreover, some couples spend their time on social media while leaving their responsibilities undone. This is why even where any bond exists, couples cheat on, and do not love one another as they ought to. This has sometimes led to murder. Cases of murder by couples for reasons concerning dishonesty or adultery is not uncommon in Nigeria.

These notwithstanding, however, social media has contributed immensely to job opportunity through networking, thus helping to mitigate the unemployment rate in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, Nigerians are best content creators. Social media helps business entrepreneurs to reach a wider audience within a short range of time, thereby contributing to the economy. It has also served as a source of revenue for the government. The National Bureau of Statistics reveals that the federal government within a period of fifteen month had received a total of 1.98tn between January 2022 and March 2023, from taxing foreign digital firms, of which social media takes a bulk. It is also noteworthy to state social media’s significance in the educational environment. Social media has enabled easy learning process. Conferences, webinars and classes are conducted online; on WhatsApp, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. Quite noteworthy is the fact that social media assumed the role of a savior during the Covid-19 pandemic. It became the means through which classes, conferences, and programs were held.

As has been demonstrated, the cons of social media in Nigeria tended to outnumber its benefits. Regrettably, globalization is indomitable, and it will only be utopian to stop people from using social media. Suffice to encourage Nigerians on a moderate use of the social media. The conventional media (national dailies) should continue to mitigate social media rumors by demystifying information and national issues on their media platforms. But it is a matter of prominence that the government regulates the use of social media, like other global power states, while not infringing on citizens’ right to freedom of expression. More importantly, Nigerians must change their mindset towards misuse of rights and opportunities. Hence, no positive development would serve its intended purpose in Nigeria.

• Muhammed is of the Department of History and International Studies at the Lagos State University.