Should The Nigerian Government Regulate The Social Media Space?

The conversation about regulating social media in Nigeria has refused to go away for some years now. It has been raised again by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and has been supported by other public figures.

What makes the idea of social media regulation very intriguing is that it is being raised by politicians. It makes the issue very questionable and highly insidious because Nigerian politicians have sworn never to act in the public interest.

This is as alarming as an armed robber complaining about the security architecture in Nigeria. I will be analyzing the issue in sub-sections to make the piece an easy read.

The transition of the Nigerian social media space;

I have watched the transition of the Nigerian social media space as an active participant over the years. It used to be like dating networks. The real essence never made sense to a host of Nigerians. Later it became an avenue to connect with old friends who were scattered across the world. Some people would later turn it into a comparative tool for classism i.e. 'I better pass you'. Others used it to monitor the progress of people, especially the ones abroad. Businesses and music artistes soon started taking advantage of the increasing population of netizens.

The politicians also came in for 'political business' in the process. Social media soon became a battleground among opposing political groups for who are the saints, sinners, and saviours of the hapless masses. It became a viable field for image-laundering for public figures and the profiles of politicians running for offices were highly exaggerated.

Sponsored lies and gross misinformation were also orchestrated by political opponents against themselves. This was how the defilement of social media gradually started. Incrementally, these political rivalries on social media raised the political consciousness of Nigerians. They developed an interest in politics, started following political developments, and jumped on trends.

How the problem started;

Today, the Nigerian social media space remains more polarised than ever. If you ever want to experience the heterogeneous structure of Nigeria, wait until the election period and you will be shocked about how people are divided across political, religious, tribal, geographical, economic, and even educational lines.

After that, do a comparative study between the electioneering campaign period and the mood during the recently concluded AFCON 2024 where Nigeria united and stood behind the Super Eagles.

As political actors plot their campaign strategies, they factor in the control of mostly Twitter in their political plots. Almost all mainstream politicians have social media influencers/operators under their payroll. These individuals are tasked with spreading desirable narratives including falsehoods. In my view, the downside of social media is a monster created by the same people calling for the regulation of the system.

Enters the legendary Lai Mohammed

The Nigerian social media space was significantly polluted in the heat of the 2015 general elections by the then National Publicity Secretary of the ruling APC - Lai Mohammed. He hounded his party's political antagonists with humongous lies that left the devil shell-shocked. His winning strategy of disinformation was the needed catalyst for other questionable individuals in Nigeria highly skilled in spreading lies.

The nodus of fake news went out of hand that the pioneer, Lai Mohammed became baffled at some point. He later advocated for the regulation of social media using his capacity as the Minister of Information.

It is not advisable to trust the intentions of Nigerian politicians. Their original plan is to muzzle the social media space. They are fully aware of the dire economic situation of Nigerians. Their concern is that they wish Nigerians could suffer in silence and allow them to plunder public resources in peace. They don't want to be accountable for their actions.

Politicians by nature have no definite stand in life on any public discourse. Today, they are the defenders and tomorrow they play the aggressors. They keep swinging both ways like bis3xuals!

Social media is already self-regulatory

Do we have issues with social media in Nigeria? Yes! Do we need regulation? No! The social media space is already self-regulatory. The best way to fact-check any news report is to check the comment section of the news article. If you have a critical and discerning mind, you will see that comment that will either enlighten you or increase your doubts about its validity and reliability.

In case the report matters to you, go further by searching for it on other mainstream media platforms. Social media platforms also flag fake content, reduce their visibility, block certain keywords, and sanction fake news peddlers. Furthermore, the laws of libel and slander in Nigeria already cover social media activities. Now and then, lawsuits are seen flying around against people accused of defamation. The Nigerian police also have a structure to combat fake news.

The Nigerian politicians don't have genuine intentions as I have overemphasized. Fake news to them is that scathing news report that doesn't favour them. Social media regulation is the resemblance of a legal way of suppressing dissenting voices. It is the Chinese and Malaysian blueprint of social media censorship. You can't solve a problem that you are a party to.

Osahon George Osayimwen writes from England.