Opinion
By Dan Aniesi
A day before yesterday, the Igbo nation was betrayed, Southern Nigeria was betrayed, and indeed all Nigerians who really want to increase electoral integrity were mindlessly betrayed by senators from Igboland, and others from the South, and some also from the North. I do not consider the Northerners betrayers as such, because I understand that they wanted to retain presidency in 2023 and maybe in perpetuity (perhaps in their minds), or at the very least; they want to decide who to gift it to exchange for doing their bidding.
For me as a person, observing how almost impossible it is to fix Nigeria as a united whole; I have been more interested in the Igbo nation in Nigeria because I believe we can fix the whole of Nigeria in its parts. Speaking of the Igbo nation, I believe that a primary cause of the decadence within the Igbo nation, and the consequent agitations within the Igbo nation, is the leadership famine within the Igbo nation, I believe that for us to solve our problems outside, we have to start from solving the problems within, usually; what causes rots in the beans is usually within the beans. The electoral and political system of Nigeria, has enabled the rise of people of questionable characters, and even people of known zero character into political prominence in the Igbo nation. So; while the North is focused on their no-secret plan of controlling Nigeria, we in the Igbo nation were hoping that with the electronic transfer of results, we can have more arsenals, to combat the disease of leadership famine and the negative effects of huge money in politics. But of course, some Igbo senators stayed away from that important session, because they want to perpetuate election by thugs, ballot snatching, electoral officials’ coercion, mob action all enabled by the money the stole from us. Money meant for the development of the Igbo nation, which have found their ways into private pockets. What happens to the larger Nigeria is important, what happens to the Igbo nation affects me more directly.
So yesterday, I simply voiced my disappointment, at the inexcusable betrayal of my Senator, who stayed away from such important session. Soon as I dropped comments on my simple displeasure, a brother of mine, I suppose he is either a social media aide, or one of the beneficiaries of political philanthropy; pounced on me, attacking my psyche with incoherent and uninformed tantrums. I had to disengage for sake of my sanity, cleared my desk and ran under the duvet, it was some kind of self-defensive reflex action, perhaps I felt I needed to be shielded from more things than the cold of yesternight. I was later woken up by a not so good dream, and I got up to both pray and think, and that was when I realized a problem, the advent of social media aides, and the rise of keyboard warriors. My focus is more on the menace of social media aides.
Before now, the society was used to media aides, just media aides. Usually, they are people who are tactful on the art of public speaking, they have current affairs in their fingertips, if you enter their offices, you can see almost all the dailies, and they have a group of assistances who are tuned to various stations. They were usually skilled in information management, and as such are able to issue press statement on the behalf of their principals, and are able to defend their principal intelligently against media attacks. That was where we came from, to where we are now. Where are we?
I think we dived into this sordid depth of social media aides’ craziness in Nigeria, when the then opposition party, who are now the ruling party; hired the service of very bitter, hateful, dangerously bigoted, and some other self-hating provocateurs, as social media aides and contractors. They came, flaming like the biblical burning hell, generously reeling out satan-scale lies, non-restrained ethnic bigotry, stoking hatred, and distributing bitterness, they called it campaigns. The ruling party won, as it were; the election, and retained some of them. Now, the culture is widely spread, everyone now has social media aides, and it appears they carefully sort them out, looking out for lack of capacity for civil engagement, as a major criterion on which to hire them. It does appear the qualification for this social media aide, is that someone must just be absent minded, and that gifted with enough data; they can absent-mindedly throw their absent mindedness on the public, even when someone so much as asks, for a modicum of sense, to explain why a serving senator, sent to represent a people, stayed away from the floor, on a very important day. I did not ask for financial accountability of the constituency funds, that one may warrant either physically assaulting me or even the worst case.
We have a menace, it is not social media, it is largely the advent of social media aides, and of course the general one of children, both young and very old children, who do not have the simplest idea of how the world works, but can secure an android phone, download apps and come into the internet to make the world more difficult for reasonable human beings.
I want to appeal to public office holders, especially the political ones; please do the world a favour, rein in on these social media aides of a thing. Social media is a medium, like print, TV and radio. Hire good hands, so that we do not suffer the abuse of bad governance, and also suffer the psychological torture of having to be mistreated by your social media aides as well. A little sympathy for the public please, is it also too difficult to do?
Now to zero my focus on the Igbo nation, public and political office holders in Anambra, especially; are hereby put on notice, that populating the social media space with strange characters, will not stop responsible citizens from demanding performance, in the contrary, if you throw up dirty talks to the public via your social media aides, don’t complain when the public will sweep them up, park them together and drop them hard on directly in both your bedroom and your living room. Hint: The society does not survive on your political philanthropy.
Friends have advised me to be careful of the things I say, I totally agreed with them. It is important a man chooses his words carefully, it is a wise thing to do, but it is even more important that if a man is not dead, he must ensure to live freely, and say his mind on issues when necessary. So, until I die by any of the now numerous sources of death in Nigeria, I have decided to choose my words carefully, and also very freely speak up on issues, if not; what is the life for? #Ejinduemegini
– July 17, 2021 @ 13:28 GMT /
Tags: The Menace of social media aides
