Social media and English Language by Reuben Abati

Commentary@ITRealms:

I get confused these days reading many of the posts on social media, and text messages sent through cell phones, because of the kind of new English that young people now write. The English language is without doubt quite dynamic. In the last 200 years, it has lent itself to many innovations, as cultural, religious, and situational codes have transformed the language and extended the dictionary, with new words and idioms.

The kind of new English being written by twitter and what’s app users, particularly young people is however so frightening and lamentable, because it is beginning to creep into regular writing. Texting and tweeting is producing a generation of users of English, (it is worse that they are using English as a second language), who cannot write grammatically successful sentences. I was privileged to go through some applications that some young graduates submitted for job openings recently and I was scared.

This new group of English users does not know the difference between a comma and a colon. They have no regard for punctuation. They mix up pronouns, cannibalize verbs and adverbs, ignore punctuation; and violate all rules of lexis and syntax.  They seem to rely more on sound rather than formal meaning. My fear is that a generation being brought on twitter, Facebook, instagram and what’s app English is showing a lack of capacity to write meaningful prose, or communicate properly or even think correctly.

To an older generation who had to go through the rigour of being told to write proper English, and getting punished severely for speaking pidgin or vernacular or for making careless mistakes of grammar and punctuation, the kind of meta-English now being written by young people can be utterly confusing. The irony is that it makes sense to the young ones, and they can conduct long conversations in this strange version of the English language. I’d not be surprised if someday a novel gets written in this new English, which seems like a complete bastardization.

You may have come across the meta-English that I am trying to describe. It is English in sound, but in appearance it has been subjected to the punishment of excessive abbreviation, compression and modification. Hence, in place of the word “for”, you are likely to see “4”, and so the word “forget” becomes “4get”, or “4git”, “fortune” is written as “4tune”, “forever” as“4eva”. The word “see” has been pruned down to a single alphabet “C”, same with “you” now rendered as “u”. In effect, you are likely to read such strange things as  “cu” or “cya” meaning “see you.”

Some other words have suffered similar fate: “straight” is now written as “Str8”, “first” as “fess”; “will” as “wee” (I can’t figure out why), “house” is now “haus”; “help” has been reduced to “epp”; (“who have you epped?”) instead of the phrase “kind of”, what you get is “kinda”, “money” is simply “moni.”, the computer sign ”@” has effectively replaced the word “at”; “come” is now “cum”, the conjunction “and” is represented with an “n” or the sign &, “that” is now “dat”, “temporary” is likely to be written as “temp”, “are” as “r”, “your” as “ur”  “to” as “2”, “take” as “tk.” In place of “thank you”, you are likely to find “tank u”, “with” is now “wit” or “wif”, and “sorry” is commonly written as “sowie”. I have also seen such expressions as“Hawayu?” (“How are you?”), or “Wia r d u?” (“where are the you?”).  The you? The me? The us?        By the time these new words get combined in what is supposed to be a sentence, you’d have a hard time looking for the sense beyond the sound.

On many occasions, I have had to call the sender of such messages to explain what he or she is trying to communicate in simple English, and if it is on social media, I still often call for help. In recent times, I have encountered such messages as “This kidney gist is giving me heddik. I wee hold ya hand if you need kidney love you till we find a miraku. It kent happun pass dat.”  Try and help translate that into correct English. And how about this: “As fuel don add moni, everybody don park dem moto for haus.” Pidgin English? Well, may be. Or this: “B/c we d p’pl thought #fuelscarcity was temp. with the fuel hike policy, high cost of living is now a perm cond’n in Ng.”

Oftentimes, this special prose arrives amidst a number of other confusing symbols, emoticons, memes, acronyms and abbreviations, looking like a photographic combination of English and hieroglyphics.  Some of the more popular abbreviations include Lmao (“laughing my ass off”) lol (“laughing out loud”), lwkmd (“laughter wan kill man die”), stfu (“shut the fuck up”), omg (“Oh my God”), rofl (“Rolling on the floor with laughter”), uwc (“you are welcome”), smh (“shaking my head”) brb (“be right back”), #tbt (“throw-back Thursday”), #WCW (“Woman Crush Wednesday”), and such new words as “bae”, “boo”, “finz”, “famzing”, “Yaaay”. Not to talk of such expressions as “You should mute me now”; “get wifed-up”,  “birthday loading”, “you hammer”, “kwakwakwakwa.”

 This paring down of language gets really worse when it is further reduced to mere jargon that is understood only by the young people who are adepts at it. You can take a look at your child’s text messages or BB or what’s app and not be able to make any sense out of the jumble of incorrect English, graphics, memes and pure lingo. The danger is that sexually suggestive conversations can be carried out by two young persons, texting each other, and a dinosaur-parent would have no idea.

What can any parent make out of the following for example: “10Q” (it means, thank you), “1174” (this means nude club), “121” (one to one), “143” (I love you), “182” (I hate you), “1daful” (Wonderful), “2BZ4UQT” (Too busy for you, cutey), “420” (Marijuana), “53X” (Sex); “9” (Parent is watching), “PAW” (Parents are watching); “99” (Parent is no longer watching), “ADIDAS” (All Day I Dream About Sex); “aight” (all right), “AITR” (Adult In The Room); “AML” (All My Love); “B4N” (Bye for now), “BF” (Best Friend) and “BFF” (Best Friend Forever). 

This resort to abbreviations, lingo and special English reveals certain things about the growing up generation. There is a fascination with speed- when they get on their phones and other appliances, they want to get the message out of the way as quickly as possible, and they have a lot to say. There is emphasis on secrecy and privacy: that’s why there is so much concern about third party presence.

Many of the children who have become socialized into this new mode of communication are not always able to differentiate between correct and incorrect English, and this is why parents and teachers must be concerned. It is possible to assume that the teaching of morphology and syntax in our various schools is no longer as rigorous as it used to be.

Anyone who was brought up in those days on a compulsory diet of Brighter Grammar By Ogundipe, Eckersley and Macaulay and Practical English by Ogundipe and Tregdigo) would find it difficult to write this new English being made popular on social media.

It would feel like an act of murder. Teachers and parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children are able to learn the very minimum of skills: the ability to communicate in decent prose.  Some persons may well argue that this may not be the most important of skills required to live in a modern age, or that it doesn’t really matter in the long run, but I really doubt if a time will ever come when the business of communication will be reduced to a mastery of abbreviations and lingo.

The ability to write clearly strengthens a person’s ability to think clearly and to communicate effectively. It should not be surprising that many young persons these days, seem more at home in the world of gadgets and electronic appliances. They are forever texting or playing computer games and trapped in the electronic, virtual, space. They live both online and offline, spending a better part of their day on websites, thus, their emotional development is tied to this reality.  Most parents lack the knowledge of what happens in the social media, and while some parents are trying to learn very fast, a knowledge gap still exists between them and their more digitally savvy children.  But this should not result in the abdication of responsibility.

The abuse of the English language, and the inability to write well, is certainly not the only risk that an obsession with social media poses for young people. Parents also need to worry about addictiveness, exposure to inappropriate content and liaisons: all kinds of paedophiles and sexual predators operate online looking for innocent victims and luring them with sweet lingo.

 There are bullies too, harassing and stalking their targets. Under ordinary circumstances, parents have a duty to teach their children basic etiquette: this is even more required as they relate with others and navigate both online and offline spaces.

Back to the issue of language, our despair is slightly moderated by the fact that the interface between man and technology through the social media has also resulted in much useful creativity. New words have been invented through the social media, which are now gradually finding their way into mainstream English and the dictionary. In 2013, the word “selfie”- referring to a photograph taken by oneself with a smartphone, or Ipad- was declared the Oxford Dictionary Word of The Year.

Similarly, such words as textspeak, texting, sexting, twitter troll, tweeps and emoticons, are becoming common words in regular, daily communication. Words like “friend”, “timeline”, block” and “like” have also assumed new meanings and recognition, the same with such other words as:  “unfriend”, “unlook” “twitter status”, “profile”, “trending”, “timeline”, “twitterati”, “blogging”, “bloggers”, “tweet”, “retweet”, “hashtag”: all of which have caught the attention of lexicographers as clear evidence of the living and evolving nature of the English language.

If this is all that there is to social media and the English language, there probably would have been no cause for alarm, but the emergence of a generation of young Nigerians who cannot spell well, punctuate properly, or get their tenses right, because they now write social media English may have far-reaching implications for the use of English as a foreign language in our society.

Reuben Abati: 

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Commentary: The Online Warriors

My criticisms of the excesses of the online phenomenon in terms of its brazen abuse in an unregulated environment has often made me the target of attacks, with many insisting on quoting the opening paragraph of a piece I once wrote along these lines as if it is a memorial verse, but further developments have shown that indeed, liberal, accommodative, useful and open as the growth of the new media may seem in Nigeria, we may well, if care is not taken, be dealing with a dangerous tool in the hands of the unscrupulous which could drive society towards the lunatic fringe.
      The beauty of the new media is its democratic temper. With any electronic device, anyone at all, can set up a communications unit, using a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, and simply occupy the social space and broadcast information which in a matter of minutes may go viral and condition public opinion. It grants the person involved absolute freedom, even anonymity, dangerous anonymity of self, space and location, but the worst part of it is the freedom from decency, responsibility and conscience. And so while so much good can be done by persons exchanging information, and as has turned out, creative jokes and skits which entertain and amuse, a lot of evil can be committed through resort to blackmail, abuse, and mischief.
    This dangerous dimension is beginning to grow in different directions and the latest that I have seen is what seems to be the emergence of cartels, or perhaps cabals in the online industry, with various persons organizing themselves into groups, and if this were to be a sign of freedom of association exercised by like minds, it would be commendable. But rather what is emerging is bitter rivalry among the various groups, a fierce struggle for territory, unhealthy, cut-throat competition, and a desperation to out-do each other.  The group warriors are not necessarily fighting for any great ideal, but ego, power, privilege and access to the corridors of power.
      I happen to have suddenly become a victim in the midst of this turf-fighting, as my name this week was drawn into a cat fight between two groups: the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN). These are two of the emerging groups but there are others: Association of Online Bloggers, Association of Nigerian Online Publishers (ANOP), the Online Magazines Publishers Association (OMPA). And who knows, there may well be the Association of What’s App Users, the Nigerian Association of Twitter Voltrons, Association of Nigerian BBM Users, National Association of Chat Group Administrators, all of them fighting over influence, space, and patronage. This politicization of the online business can only in the long run diminish its influence and promote opportunism.
      The case that I refer to was triggered by a meeting in Lagos, between the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and a group of online publishers under the umbrella of GOCOP. This prompted a rival group, the OPAN to issue a statement accusing Alhaji Mohammed of meeting with the wrong group and ignoring the main stakeholders. There has been serious “blood-sharing” since then. GOCOP issued a rejoinder in which it attacked OPAN.  And my name was brought in.  I was accused of being the spirit behind OPAN, and an attempt was made to set me up against Femi Adesina, my successor as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of Nigeria. Femi was given special praise, he being a Trustee of GOCOP, so the whole thing is projected as OPAN being pro-Jonathan and GOCOP being pro-Buhari.
      I was also accused of having influenced the Corporate Affairs Commission to block the registration of NOPA, the first name that the other group had chosen when it sought formal registration. I was alleged to have used the powers of the Presidency to victimize members of then NOPA, who eventually adopted a new name and got registered. But obviously, the aggrieved were looking for an opportunity to go after me. And they believe the time is now right and that their facts are right, hence they threatened to release “documents”.
      They are wrong. Here are the facts:  I was invited to be a Trustee of OPAN in 2010 when I was still Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian. I was at the time involved either as a Trustee or contributor to many social causes - motherless children’s homes, special children, book reading clubs, girl child education projects, and hence, adding to that list a group that defined its objective as developing standards in the emerging online space was not a problem for me. I agreed to be a Trustee of OPAN and I made inputs into the drafting of the philosophy of the group. It had become clear by then that the online space was bound to grow and that there was a need for an articulation of ethical and professional standards, which may not be officially imposed but which could provide a basis for the insistence on a responsible use of the internet to promote serious issues. OPAN secured registration with the CAC, but it remained in a formative stage throughout the period I was in office, and was only formally launched late 2015. I did not even attend the launching ceremony. Having seen that the group had finally found its rhythm and its objectives properly defined, I offered to step down from the Board of Trustees.  I got to know of the bitter fight over CAC registration between GOCOP and OPAN in the press release issued by the former.
      Let me make this clear: I could not have been involved in that fight. The CAC is a statutory body and I believe it is in a position to defend its integrity. Anyone knows that the CAC conducts name-search before registering any organization and where any conflict in identity is subsequently reported, it has its own mechanism for resolving such. If NOPA and OPAN were fighting over nomenclature, it was the job of the CAC to resolve that, not the Presidency. In any case, my office could not have supported one group of online publishers against another, because that would have been counter-productive.  My assignment required me to relate regularly with website owners, bloggers, and all categories of journalists and they all published our materials. I have made it clear privately that I probably received more support from members of GOCOP, many of whom I had always known and with whom I had shared happier moments, particularly at the St Bottles’ Cathedral in Lagos: our hang-out in those days.
       But I see that twice in the past eight months, there have been curious attempts to pitch me against my successor, Femi Adesina. In the imagination of a dubious minority, I am supposed to be fighting him and make his work difficult. I can imagine the kind of stories that may have been going back and forth, invented by persons looking for what to eat. I have been there and I know how it is. But Femi and I have never fought over anything and we have absolutely no reason to fight. I am out. He is in. Life goes on. I have nothing against him or the PMB government. In 2015, the Nigerian people made a choice and spoke. It is a choice that we respect.
       But as if all that is not plain enough, the latest that I have seen is a 2012 private e-mail “document” purportedly leaked to Sahara Reporters giving the impression that I worked with an online group to undermine Sahara Reporters in defence of the Jonathan Government, and of course the sub-text is to link me with the current war of the online publishers. This has to do with an e-mail, which the Association of Nigerian Online Publishers (ANOP) sent to a third party which was forwarded to me. I was then hearing about ANOP for the first time.
        I forwarded the mail to the main promoter of OPAN, the only one of such groups that was known to me then and I only wanted to know if this was the same group, given the striking similarity. The leaked mail is one of many such unsolicited proposals and suggestions that came to my desk. Nothing came out of it thereafter, and I had no reason to worry about that innocuous incident until now. I took an oath of office to defend the interests of the people, President and Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I did my bit, but it was not the style of that administration or my office to intimidate, gag, frustrate or undermine the free media. I had direct access to Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters.
      Throughout my four years on the job, he used every single press release that we issued and always listened to my many protestations. He always insisted however, that he had his facts, and that he knew more insiders than I could ever imagine. I was always shocked how State House documents and inside stories regularly found their way to his desk, and how on the day the President’s brother died, he had published the story even before anyone in Aso Rock knew. If the leaked e-mail proves anything, it is that he and his own colleagues are involved in a bitter rivalry, and that there is indeed a war of online operators and this can only get worse with everyone these days, becoming a blogger or online publisher.   This poses a serious challenge for media, reputation, and perception managers who must continuously swim in an ocean of sharks, alligators and piranhas. If you relate with A, you could offend B. And if you receive a mail from C, you could get into trouble, not knowing which cartel or cabal you are dealing with.
      The truth, if we must say so, is that the social media in Nigeria has become a battle-ground for survival. It is no longer about young people playing with a phone or a laptop, it is big business, and where the stomach or sheer rivalry, is involved, we can see that persons are ready to shed blood, shred reputations and break jaws. It is most unfortunate that this positive force that could be used for the good of society is finally going the way of all things. The other truth is that the big war of communications is no longer fought on the pages of newspapers, but online and all the bad habits of old have been transported, without any ethical restraint. This is where the real danger lies.
     The challenge is to insist that online journalists, publishers, bloggers and tweeters must be held down to certain prudential standards of practice. The in-fighting is unnecessary. The various associations can be useful as vehicles of self-regulation, and for promoting values and best options.  They should not become special purpose mechanisms for patronizing politicians and political office holders.
- See more at: http://www.reubenabati.com.ng/2016-01-29-The-Online-Warriors-By-Reuben-Abati.html#sthash.fR9kNQCV.lAlR5zJs.dpuf

My criticisms of the excesses of the online phenomenon in terms of its brazen abuse in an unregulated environment has often made me the target of attacks, with many insisting on quoting the opening paragraph of a piece I once wrote along these lines as if it is a memorial verse, but further developments have shown that indeed, liberal, accommodative, useful and open as the growth of the new media may seem in Nigeria, we may well, if care is not taken, be dealing with a dangerous tool in the hands of the unscrupulous which could drive society towards the lunatic fringe.
      The beauty of the new media is its democratic temper. With any electronic device, anyone at all, can set up a communications unit, using a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, and simply occupy the social space and broadcast information which in a matter of minutes may go viral and condition public opinion. It grants the person involved absolute freedom, even anonymity, dangerous anonymity of self, space and location, but the worst part of it is the freedom from decency, responsibility and conscience. And so while so much good can be done by persons exchanging information, and as has turned out, creative jokes and skits which entertain and amuse, a lot of evil can be committed through resort to blackmail, abuse, and mischief.
    This dangerous dimension is beginning to grow in different directions and the latest that I have seen is what seems to be the emergence of cartels, or perhaps cabals in the online industry, with various persons organizing themselves into groups, and if this were to be a sign of freedom of association exercised by like minds, it would be commendable. But rather what is emerging is bitter rivalry among the various groups, a fierce struggle for territory, unhealthy, cut-throat competition, and a desperation to out-do each other.  The group warriors are not necessarily fighting for any great ideal, but ego, power, privilege and access to the corridors of power.
      I happen to have suddenly become a victim in the midst of this turf-fighting, as my name this week was drawn into a cat fight between two groups: the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN). These are two of the emerging groups but there are others: Association of Online Bloggers, Association of Nigerian Online Publishers (ANOP), the Online Magazines Publishers Association (OMPA). And who knows, there may well be the Association of What’s App Users, the Nigerian Association of Twitter Voltrons, Association of Nigerian BBM Users, National Association of Chat Group Administrators, all of them fighting over influence, space, and patronage. This politicization of the online business can only in the long run diminish its influence and promote opportunism.
      The case that I refer to was triggered by a meeting in Lagos, between the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and a group of online publishers under the umbrella of GOCOP. This prompted a rival group, the OPAN to issue a statement accusing Alhaji Mohammed of meeting with the wrong group and ignoring the main stakeholders. There has been serious “blood-sharing” since then. GOCOP issued a rejoinder in which it attacked OPAN.  And my name was brought in.  I was accused of being the spirit behind OPAN, and an attempt was made to set me up against Femi Adesina, my successor as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of Nigeria. Femi was given special praise, he being a Trustee of GOCOP, so the whole thing is projected as OPAN being pro-Jonathan and GOCOP being pro-Buhari.
      I was also accused of having influenced the Corporate Affairs Commission to block the registration of NOPA, the first name that the other group had chosen when it sought formal registration. I was alleged to have used the powers of the Presidency to victimize members of then NOPA, who eventually adopted a new name and got registered. But obviously, the aggrieved were looking for an opportunity to go after me. And they believe the time is now right and that their facts are right, hence they threatened to release “documents”.
      They are wrong. Here are the facts:  I was invited to be a Trustee of OPAN in 2010 when I was still Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian. I was at the time involved either as a Trustee or contributor to many social causes - motherless children’s homes, special children, book reading clubs, girl child education projects, and hence, adding to that list a group that defined its objective as developing standards in the emerging online space was not a problem for me. I agreed to be a Trustee of OPAN and I made inputs into the drafting of the philosophy of the group. It had become clear by then that the online space was bound to grow and that there was a need for an articulation of ethical and professional standards, which may not be officially imposed but which could provide a basis for the insistence on a responsible use of the internet to promote serious issues. OPAN secured registration with the CAC, but it remained in a formative stage throughout the period I was in office, and was only formally launched late 2015. I did not even attend the launching ceremony. Having seen that the group had finally found its rhythm and its objectives properly defined, I offered to step down from the Board of Trustees.  I got to know of the bitter fight over CAC registration between GOCOP and OPAN in the press release issued by the former.
      Let me make this clear: I could not have been involved in that fight. The CAC is a statutory body and I believe it is in a position to defend its integrity. Anyone knows that the CAC conducts name-search before registering any organization and where any conflict in identity is subsequently reported, it has its own mechanism for resolving such. If NOPA and OPAN were fighting over nomenclature, it was the job of the CAC to resolve that, not the Presidency. In any case, my office could not have supported one group of online publishers against another, because that would have been counter-productive.  My assignment required me to relate regularly with website owners, bloggers, and all categories of journalists and they all published our materials. I have made it clear privately that I probably received more support from members of GOCOP, many of whom I had always known and with whom I had shared happier moments, particularly at the St Bottles’ Cathedral in Lagos: our hang-out in those days.
       But I see that twice in the past eight months, there have been curious attempts to pitch me against my successor, Femi Adesina. In the imagination of a dubious minority, I am supposed to be fighting him and make his work difficult. I can imagine the kind of stories that may have been going back and forth, invented by persons looking for what to eat. I have been there and I know how it is. But Femi and I have never fought over anything and we have absolutely no reason to fight. I am out. He is in. Life goes on. I have nothing against him or the PMB government. In 2015, the Nigerian people made a choice and spoke. It is a choice that we respect.
       But as if all that is not plain enough, the latest that I have seen is a 2012 private e-mail “document” purportedly leaked to Sahara Reporters giving the impression that I worked with an online group to undermine Sahara Reporters in defence of the Jonathan Government, and of course the sub-text is to link me with the current war of the online publishers. This has to do with an e-mail, which the Association of Nigerian Online Publishers (ANOP) sent to a third party which was forwarded to me. I was then hearing about ANOP for the first time.
        I forwarded the mail to the main promoter of OPAN, the only one of such groups that was known to me then and I only wanted to know if this was the same group, given the striking similarity. The leaked mail is one of many such unsolicited proposals and suggestions that came to my desk. Nothing came out of it thereafter, and I had no reason to worry about that innocuous incident until now. I took an oath of office to defend the interests of the people, President and Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I did my bit, but it was not the style of that administration or my office to intimidate, gag, frustrate or undermine the free media. I had direct access to Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters.
      Throughout my four years on the job, he used every single press release that we issued and always listened to my many protestations. He always insisted however, that he had his facts, and that he knew more insiders than I could ever imagine. I was always shocked how State House documents and inside stories regularly found their way to his desk, and how on the day the President’s brother died, he had published the story even before anyone in Aso Rock knew. If the leaked e-mail proves anything, it is that he and his own colleagues are involved in a bitter rivalry, and that there is indeed a war of online operators and this can only get worse with everyone these days, becoming a blogger or online publisher.   This poses a serious challenge for media, reputation, and perception managers who must continuously swim in an ocean of sharks, alligators and piranhas. If you relate with A, you could offend B. And if you receive a mail from C, you could get into trouble, not knowing which cartel or cabal you are dealing with.
      The truth, if we must say so, is that the social media in Nigeria has become a battle-ground for survival. It is no longer about young people playing with a phone or a laptop, it is big business, and where the stomach or sheer rivalry, is involved, we can see that persons are ready to shed blood, shred reputations and break jaws. It is most unfortunate that this positive force that could be used for the good of society is finally going the way of all things. The other truth is that the big war of communications is no longer fought on the pages of newspapers, but online and all the bad habits of old have been transported, without any ethical restraint. This is where the real danger lies.
     The challenge is to insist that online journalists, publishers, bloggers and tweeters must be held down to certain prudential standards of practice. The in-fighting is unnecessary. The various associations can be useful as vehicles of self-regulation, and for promoting values and best options.  They should not become special purpose mechanisms for patronizing politicians and political office holders.
- See more at: http://www.reubenabati.com.ng/2016-01-29-The-Online-Warriors-By-Reuben-Abati.html#sthash.fR9kNQCV.lAlR5zJs.dpuf

Commentary@ITRealms:

My criticisms of the excesses of the online phenomenon in terms of its brazen abuse in an unregulated environment has often made me the target of attacks, with many insisting on quoting the opening paragraph of a piece I once wrote along these lines as if it is a memorial verse, but further developments have shown that indeed, liberal, accommodative, useful and open as the growth of the new media may seem in Nigeria, we may well, if care is not taken, be dealing with a dangerous tool in the hands of the unscrupulous which could drive society towards the lunatic fringe.

      The beauty of the new media is its democratic temper. With any electronic device, anyone at all, can set up a communications unit, using a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, and simply occupy the social space and broadcast information which in a matter of minutes may go viral and condition public opinion. It grants the person involved absolute freedom, even anonymity, dangerous anonymity of self, space and location, but the worst part of it is the freedom from decency, responsibility and conscience. And so while so much good can be done by persons exchanging information, and as has turned out, creative jokes and skits which entertain and amuse, a lot of evil can be committed through resort to blackmail, abuse, and mischief.

    This dangerous dimension is beginning to grow in different directions and the latest that I have seen is what seems to be the emergence of cartels, or perhaps cabals in the online industry, with various persons organizing themselves into groups, and if this were to be a sign of freedom of association exercised by like minds, it would be commendable. But rather what is emerging is bitter rivalry among the various groups, a fierce struggle for territory, unhealthy, cut-throat competition, and a desperation to out-do each other.  The group warriors are not necessarily fighting for any great ideal, but ego, power, privilege and access to the corridors of power.

      I happen to have suddenly become a victim in the midst of this turf-fighting, as my name this week was drawn into a cat fight between two groups: the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN). These are two of the emerging groups but there are others: Association of Online Bloggers, Association of Nigerian Online Publishers (ANOP), the Online Magazines Publishers Association (OMPA). And who knows, there may well be the Association of What’s App Users, the Nigerian Association of Twitter Voltrons, Association of Nigerian BBM Users, National Association of Chat Group Administrators, all of them fighting over influence, space, and patronage. This politicization of the online business can only in the long run diminish its influence and promote opportunism.

      The case that I refer to was triggered by a meeting in Lagos, between the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and a group of online publishers under the umbrella of GOCOP. This prompted a rival group, the OPAN to issue a statement accusing Alhaji Mohammed of meeting with the wrong group and ignoring the main stakeholders. There has been serious “blood-sharing” since then. GOCOP issued a rejoinder in which it attacked OPAN.  And my name was brought in.  I was accused of being the spirit behind OPAN, and an attempt was made to set me up against Femi Adesina, my successor as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of Nigeria. Femi was given special praise, he being a Trustee of GOCOP, so the whole thing is projected as OPAN being pro-Jonathan and GOCOP being pro-Buhari.

      I was also accused of having influenced the Corporate Affairs Commission to block the registration of NOPA, the first name that the other group had chosen when it sought formal registration. I was alleged to have used the powers of the Presidency to victimize members of then NOPA, who eventually adopted a new name and got registered. But obviously, the aggrieved were looking for an opportunity to go after me. And they believe the time is now right and that their facts are right, hence they threatened to release “documents”.

      They are wrong. Here are the facts:  I was invited to be a Trustee of OPAN in 2010 when I was still Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian. I was at the time involved either as a Trustee or contributor to many social causes - motherless children’s homes, special children, book reading clubs, girl child education projects, and hence, adding to that list a group that defined its objective as developing standards in the emerging online space was not a problem for me. I agreed to be a Trustee of OPAN and I made inputs into the drafting of the philosophy of the group. It had become clear by then that the online space was bound to grow and that there was a need for an articulation of ethical and professional standards, which may not be officially imposed but which could provide a basis for the insistence on a responsible use of the internet to promote serious issues. OPAN secured registration with the CAC, but it remained in a formative stage throughout the period I was in office, and was only formally launched late 2015. I did not even attend the launching ceremony. Having seen that the group had finally found its rhythm and its objectives properly defined, I offered to step down from the Board of Trustees.  I got to know of the bitter fight over CAC registration between GOCOP and OPAN in the press release issued by the former. 

      Let me make this clear: I could not have been involved in that fight. The CAC is a statutory body and I believe it is in a position to defend its integrity. Anyone knows that the CAC conducts name-search before registering any organization and where any conflict in identity is subsequently reported, it has its own mechanism for resolving such. If NOPA and OPAN were fighting over nomenclature, it was the job of the CAC to resolve that, not the Presidency. In any case, my office could not have supported one group of online publishers against another, because that would have been counter-productive.  My assignment required me to relate regularly with website owners, bloggers, and all categories of journalists and they all published our materials. I have made it clear privately that I probably received more support from members of GOCOP, many of whom I had always known and with whom I had shared happier moments, particularly at the St Bottles’ Cathedral in Lagos: our hang-out in those days.

       But I see that twice in the past eight months, there have been curious attempts to pitch me against my successor, Femi Adesina. In the imagination of a dubious minority, I am supposed to be fighting him and make his work difficult. I can imagine the kind of stories that may have been going back and forth, invented by persons looking for what to eat. I have been there and I know how it is. But Femi and I have never fought over anything and we have absolutely no reason to fight. I am out. He is in. Life goes on. I have nothing against him or the PMB government. In 2015, the Nigerian people made a choice and spoke. It is a choice that we respect.

       But as if all that is not plain enough, the latest that I have seen is a 2012 private e-mail “document” purportedly leaked to Sahara Reporters giving the impression that I worked with an online group to undermine Sahara Reporters in defence of the Jonathan Government, and of course the sub-text is to link me with the current war of the online publishers. This has to do with an e-mail, which the Association of Nigerian Online Publishers (ANOP) sent to a third party which was forwarded to me. I was then hearing about ANOP for the first time.

        I forwarded the mail to the main promoter of OPAN, the only one of such groups that was known to me then and I only wanted to know if this was the same group, given the striking similarity. The leaked mail is one of many such unsolicited proposals and suggestions that came to my desk. Nothing came out of it thereafter, and I had no reason to worry about that innocuous incident until now. I took an oath of office to defend the interests of the people, President and Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I did my bit, but it was not the style of that administration or my office to intimidate, gag, frustrate or undermine the free media. I had direct access to Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters.

      Throughout my four years on the job, he used every single press release that we issued and always listened to my many protestations. He always insisted however, that he had his facts, and that he knew more insiders than I could ever imagine. I was always shocked how State House documents and inside stories regularly found their way to his desk, and how on the day the President’s brother died, he had published the story even before anyone in Aso Rock knew. If the leaked e-mail proves anything, it is that he and his own colleagues are involved in a bitter rivalry, and that there is indeed a war of online operators and this can only get worse with everyone these days, becoming a blogger or online publisher.   This poses a serious challenge for media, reputation, and perception managers who must continuously swim in an ocean of sharks, alligators and piranhas. If you relate with A, you could offend B. And if you receive a mail from C, you could get into trouble, not knowing which cartel or cabal you are dealing with.

      The truth, if we must say so, is that the social media in Nigeria has become a battle-ground for survival. It is no longer about young people playing with a phone or a laptop, it is big business, and where the stomach or sheer rivalry, is involved, we can see that persons are ready to shed blood, shred reputations and break jaws. It is most unfortunate that this positive force that could be used for the good of society is finally going the way of all things. The other truth is that the big war of communications is no longer fought on the pages of newspapers, but online and all the bad habits of old have been transported, without any ethical restraint. This is where the real danger lies.

     The challenge is to insist that online journalists, publishers, bloggers and tweeters must be held down to certain prudential standards of practice. The in-fighting is unnecessary. The various associations can be useful as vehicles of self-regulation, and for promoting values and best options.  They should not become special purpose mechanisms for patronizing politicians and political office holders.

Courtesy: Reuben Abati

 

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IG of Police, Suleiman Abba sacked as Solomon Arase takes over

    ITRealms

  

Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba has been sacked by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. The sack was announced by the president’s spokesperson, Reuben Abati, in a statement on Tuesday, ITRealms can report authoritatively.

ITRealms, however, gathered that a Deputy Inspector General of police, Solomon Arase, was appointed to act in his stead just as Mr. Abba’s removal and the assumption of office of his replacement are with immediate effect.

Mr. Abati’s statement read in full, “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has relieved the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba of his appointment and duties with immediate effect.

“President Jonathan has also appointed Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase as Acting Inspector-General of Police, also with immediate effect.” Until his appointment as Mr. Abba’s replacement, Mr. Arase ITRealms learnt, was the Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department.

“Mr. Arase olds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Law, as well as  Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Political Science and Strategic Studies. He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence College.”

ITRealms further learnt that Mr. Abba, 56, became acting Inspector General on August 1, 2014 following the retirement of his predecessor, Mohammed Abubakar after 35 years of public service. He was confirmed substantive IGP on November 4, 2014.

With his removal, Mr. Abba will proceed on forced retirement four years before he attains retirement age.

Cyriacus Nnaji /GEE

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Pix: Acting IG, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase