Are we breeding certified but ignorant people in the Nigerian social media space? 

BY BABA GRUMPY

I am glad to have attended University. I believe I gained an education. I can proudly refer to myself as literate. I can read and write, I can count and of greater importance, I can think for myself. 

My ability for independent thinking (in my opinion) was probably imbibed in me as a kid. I was allowed to question things. I was also helped by my parents’ religion. You are encouraged to make sure (‘think well’) of all things before accepting the religion as you own.

In the past, I relied on the website of media organizations for my news. Ever so often, I will read/look at the BBC website, then Guardian Nigeria and Thisday Nigeria. I had subscription to The Economist, watched American News channels etc.

Today, rather than open multiple websites, I follow all these organizations on Twitter and then pick and choose what I want to read. Unfortunately, on Twitter, you sometimes follow individuals too. Maybe you are impressed by something particularly astounding they have said at that time or maybe you have been guilt tripped into following back.

When you follow these individuals, you are subjected to some of their uplifting comments and sometimes their absolute garbage. You are also captive to stuff they retweet from people like Piers Morgan.

The quality of the discussion I observe on Twitter especially on the subjects that interest me is sometimes vomit-inducing.  Everything is black and white. Not a single shade of grey. It is all about the immediacy of the posting, the immediacy of the opinion. Taking sides, no questioning. The man with the largest follower count is always right. The man who stands against authority is always correct. The opinionated guy surely knows what he is talking about even if I don’t understand what he is on about.

I try to be careful not to get too involved especially in the last 3 months. There is a need to ‘unlook’ sometimes, there is a need to value your time such that you don’t engage in needless conversations with either an ignorant person or someone who has the illusion of knowledge.

Focusing specifically on Nigeria. I observed someone who appears knowledgeable recently claim that democracy was a failure in Nigeria. Less than 10 minutes later, they had conceded that maybe their stance was wrong after two others responded with what you can reasonably classify as mundane/available everywhere facts. Everybody is entitled to their opinion but I will suggest that someone who many look up to should be responsible and offer balanced, possibly nuanced opinions.

Today, I have seen tweets about 2 missing young ladies. But it appears 3 hours after the missing ladies’ friend or relative posted the tweet that her friends had gone missing,  she had not contacted the police nor the shop the missing ladies had planned to visit. And she wasn’t aware if any family or friend had done so. Yet we wonder about people who record videos of fatal accidents.

There are also many on social media who have no sense of history. Any recent event is analyzed and commented upon in isolation. Yes we are all allowed opinions but we all should be circumspect about the opinions we express. Does it reflect well on our person? As an individual am I commenting from the emotional or logical angle?  Do I understand my motive for commenting? Do I understand the issues? Do I want to understand?

Be observant, the overlord you are supporting, do you know what his or her motive is? Is the person an undercover ethnic warlord? A disguised religious bigot or a submarine for hire? And there you are helping them fulfill their objectives for the benefits of a few ‘Likes’ or ‘Retweets’.

Do you hold that overlord to higher standards? Are you okay with the occasional lies laced with some truth? Do you do your own research? Do you read beyond the headlines? Yes data is very expensive but can you put a price on knowledge? Is the deceit from that overlord really worth the N100 you will save by not reading the whole story?

I think social commentators with a louder voice might need to join in this debate. As we definitely need to improve the level of discourse on Nigeria Social Media.

Baba Grumpy works in Financial Services in the United Kingdom. He blogs mostly about football at http://babagrumpy.blogspot.co.uk. His Twitter handle is @BabaGrumpy