SOCIO-POLITICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING SOCIAL MEDIA GAGGING IN NIGERIA. A CASE STUDY OF THE TWITTER BAN IN AWKA URBAN

Abstract

This study was on Socio-political factors influencing social media gagging in Nigeria. A case study of the twitter Ban in Awka Urban. Three objectives were raised which included: To find out the influence of political opposition on twitter ban in Awka Urban, to ascertain the effect of twitter ban on unemployment in Awka urban and to ascertain the effect of twitter ban on corruption in Awka Urban. The total population for the study is 75 residents of Awka Urban in Anambra state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies

 

 Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

The press as watchdog and government as custodian of the society are supposed to enjoy a mutual and symbiotic engagement but the media has always been seen at horn in the flesh of government sin most societies. In Nigeria, even before the nation got her name and eventually independence; the media has always been seen by government as the enemy. From the colonial authority’s enactment of 1891 Official Secret Ordinance; the Newspaper Ordinance of 1903; the 1909 Seditious Offenses Ordinance; to the 1917 Abortive Censorship Law the government have unremittingly attempted to gag the media (Daramola, 1999).

The military junta which brought Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as head of state in 1983, through a coup d’état brought with it a new high in press censorship. Buhari enacted his infamous Decree 4 of 1984, which made it punishable by imprisonment, a fine or both for any media house that publishes or broadcast anything, even if true, to embarrass and possibly bring government officials or government itself to ridicule or disrepute (Daramola, 1999:34). General Ibrahim Babangida who toppled Buhari in another coup d’état of 1985, and in order to endear himself to the press and the people, quickly repealed Buhari’s Decree No. 4. He (Babangida) would later, replace Decree 4 with his own version, Decree 2 of 1990. Several media houses and journalists were trampled under military Jack boots and jailed on account of both draconian enactments. Basically, press freedom denotes the right of every person to own a printing press, to publish whatever information or ideas that pleases him, to decide the editorial policy of a publication and to enforce it upon his staff and to distribute freely without having to be self regulated (Okorie, 2010). Moreover, international human rights laws, the Nigerian constitution and as set out in the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa (adopted in 2002 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights), guaranteed the right to free expression and access to information, while making provision that any restriction to this right must be justifiable in a democratic society (UNESCO, 2018).

The problem now lies with the very leaders who are supposed to abide by the tenets of these promulgation but turning around to stand them on their heads. This is the adversarial relationship the media shared with successive governments in Nigeria, even up to the advent of what citizens still refer to as ‘nascent democracy.’ To underscore the unhealthy environment, the media has operated in under authorities who declined to imbibe democratic ideals and principles in 2021, Nigeria was ranked 120th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index. In that infamous club with Nigeria are countries pundits describes as failing or failed nations, such as; Afghanistan, Jordan, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Qatar and South Sudan. The RSF analysis said the index data reflected a “dramatic deterioration in people’s access to information and an increase in obstacles to news coverage” and that Nigeria falls under the countries classified as having “very bad”, “bad” or “problematic” environments for press freedom” (Mbamalu, 2021). Notwithstanding the advent of the Internet, the press and people’s access to information have continued to suffer invariably. The New media have revolutionized the way information is generated, gathered, processed and distributed. The Internet has grown so pervasive that it now permeates people’s everyday life and to a certain extent, shapes their views on issues (Ekwueme, 2008, p. 25). Furthermore, with the Internet came the big tech companies who made available life changing social media platforms. As of today, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, who also own the messaging App, Whatsapp and picture sharing App, Instagram; Jack Dorsey’sTwitter; Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google Duo, Facetime, Telegram and sundry other social media platforms have continued to dominate the cyberspace, breaking new grounds and creating multifaceted innovations.

So far, social media remains a medium for millions of Nigerians, especially young people, who rely on it to connect with others, galvanize for public action, make contacts, do business and access information. Twitter, was instrumental in this regard especially during the tense occasion of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests against police brutality and other campaigns calling for government accountability. As with its jackboot tradition with the traditional media, the authority proposed certain legislation criminalizing criticism of the government on these networking platforms. Social media clamp down by the Buhari government has swirled around for a while. In this direction, there have been standing social media regulation bills before the Nigerian National Assembly. A version tagged “Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill 2015”, was introduced in 2016 during the 8th National Assembly but was shut down on account of the heated protests it generated from concerned Nigerians. Again, there are two other bills before the Nigerian Senate concerning this subject matter; the first one is the reintroduced Hate Speech Bill, and the second is the Social Media Bill. Before the chambers of both national assemblies are two versions of the Hate Speech Bill: one before the Senate and the other before the House of Representatives this bill is tagged: “Hate Speech Prohibition Bill 2019.” In equal manner, another Hate Speech Bill, otherwise called the National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches (Est. etc.) Bill 2019, was sponsored by Senate deputy chief whip, who argued for the establishment of commission to regulate his subject matter. According to Emmanuel (2019), anyone found guilty of hate speech is liable to life imprisonment and if it leads to the death of another, the guilty party should be sentenced to death by hanging. The backlash from the Hate Speech Bill has seen its sponsor remove the attached death penalty and the senate distancing itself from the charade (Umoru, 2019). On the opposite side and in order to give citizens access to information about government policies and decisions; the Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act (FOI) was passed into law in May of 2011. Its passage was to enable the public have access to certain government information, so as to hold government accountable and ensure transparency (Coker, 2011). Conversely, in 2019, Nigeria President, General Muhammadu Buhari Rtd, declined to sign the Digital Rights Bill. The bill was supposed to protect the fundamental rights of Nigerians on the Internet and ensured that their safety and well-being are guaranteed. But President Buhari hinged his assent decline on the grounds that the bill covered too many ‘technical subjects’ and fails to address any of them extensively (Emmanuel, 2019).

Statement of the problem

Twitter, a global micro-blogging platform, upset the powers-that-be when it (Twitter) took down a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari, which the presidency considered offensive. Government’s irritation was on account that Twitter failed to release same hammer on tweets posted by the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is now facing a seven-count terrorism charges. The IPOB leader who had sought shelter in Britain, was rallying followers in order to seek a referendum to decide the fate of the Nigerian nation before he was allegedly picked up in Kenya with the help of INTERPOL. Government argued that Kanu was inciting violence with his posts on Twitter and while the platform turned a blind eye; it nonetheless wielded its hammer on the president’s post. Aljazeera (2021) reported that Nigeria’s Information minister, Lai Mohammed, later countered the claim that the presidency was upset with Twitter on account that the President’s tweet was removed saying the suspension had nothing to do with Buhari’s tweet being deleted, but rather with “separatists inciting violence” online.  From all indications, the Twitter ban portrays a larger political game plan yet unfolding as the nation move toward the 2023 general elections. Can the drama, whose script writers have elected to invigorate by muddling the waters of press freedom embellish the nation’s democratic credentials among the committee of nations? Can Nigeria, in the age globalization enabled by technological advancement, survive the hurricane about to be unbound by supposed political leaders?

Objective of the study

The objective of the study is to investigate Socio-political factors influencing social media gagging in Nigeria. A case study of the twitter Ban in Awka Urban. Specifically, the following objectives will be determined;

1. To find out the influence of political opposition on twitter ban in Awka Urban
2. To ascertain the effect of twitter ban on unemployment in Awka urban
3. To ascertain the effect of twitter ban on corruption in Awka Urban

Research question

The following research question was formulated;

1. What is the influence of political opposition on twitter ban in Awka Urban?
2. Is there any effect of twitter ban on unemployment in Awka urban?
3. Is there any effect of twitter ban on corruption in Awka Urban?

Research hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated;

H₀: there is no influence of political opposition on twitter ban in Awka Urban.

H₁: there is influence of political opposition on twitter ban in Awka Urban.

H₀²: there is no effect of twitter ban on unemployment in Awka urban

H₂: there is effect of twitter ban on unemployment in Awka urban

 H₀³: there is no effect of twitter ban on corruption in Awka Urban

H₃: there is effect of twitter ban on corruption in Awka Urban

Significance of the study

The findings from this study will be relevant to all the arms of the government and to the citizens of Nigeria especially Awka Urban. Theoretically and empirically, the study will enlighten the arms of the government, especially the judiciary, on the need to re-assess the current restriction/ban on the Twitter platform, having in mind that internet freedom is important. As a result, all restrictions must be based on clear, specific, and easily accessible statute law. Those regulatory authorities applying the laws restricting freedom of expression on social media must be entirely independent, accountable and with adequate safeguards in place to avoid arbitrariness. Furthermore, the study will contribute to the body of knowledge, serve as a reference material, and be extremely beneficial to students and researchers who may be interested in gathering or conducting studies related to the topic under study

Scope and limitation of the study

The scope of the study covers Socio-political factors influencing social media gagging in Nigeria. A case study of the twitter Ban in Awka Urban. Study will be limited to residents in Awka Urban

The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

However in the midst above mentioned limitation the researcher devotedly ensured that the purpose of the study was actualized.

Definition of the terms

Socio-political factor: The definition of sociopolitical is something that involves both social and political factors. An example of something that is sociopolitical is the issue of environmental conservation, which is influenced by both social attitudes towards “going green” and by political policies.

Social media : Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. The Office of Communications and Marketing manages the main Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts

Twitter: Twitter is an American micro-blogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”. Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.

Twitter Ban: this is the authoritative pause in the operation of twitter as mandated by the Federal government of Nigeria on June 5th 2021 until the owners of the social network meet the newly established requirement given to them by the government of Nigeria.

Network restriction: A restricted network is where NAP sends a computer that needs remediation services or to block access to the private network until remediation can take place.

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