Nigeria, Twitter and Aregbeshola’s “foolish”

Ipemndoh dan Iyan

Marxism, in both its world system and dependencia theories, paints a picture of the helplessness of the states in the periphery of capitalist economic system. Certainly, the Government of such states can enact laws that can restrict the manoeuvrability of transnational corporations and capital although in choosing to follow this course, a Government may be inviting economic problems for its state. Nigeria’s Indigenisation Decree of 1977 is illustrative of both the willingness of the Government of a state to retrieve the state’s overall sovereignty and autonomy over the economic transactions within its borders, and the failure of such an attempt. However, the failure of the Nigerian experiments was due mostly to the absence of any serious implementation. Thus, not only must such Governments bring forward laws to protect economic activities within their states, they must also install mechanisms for the serious implementation of such laws©1 

Twitter is a transnational Corporation albeit a Professor has incorrectly described it as multinational. It is first and foremost a money-making Machine, and only incidental as a Platform for the public Expression of privately held Beliefs in a mass production Format. Twitter makes its Money through the Volume of Users. While, the Exclusion of a User might not impact on its Revenue Streams, the Fact remains that Twitter makes Money from the Participation of Users on the Platform.

It is Nonsense ordinarily to claim that Twitter is a Vehicle for "Freedom of Expression." It is so bewildering in its Ludicrousness. If it were, why does it remove Comments - textual Expressions - at all? Y’all, especially Nigerians, need to get your Heads around the Principle of “Freedom of Expression." Twitter is actually anti-"Freedom of [textual] Expression.'' Otherwise, why does it disengage Comments its Officials do not agree with, declaring them 'Disinformation' or 'Misinformation' or however Twitter deems to excuse its policing of Commentaries? Twitter does not have to justify its Decision to exclude certain Comments under Camouflage of populist Sentiment; left Wing, right Wing or whatever Wing takes anyone's Fancy. Twitter owns its Platform, period. Twitter has the absolute Right to do what it likes with its Platform, period. It is, however, deplorable for Twitter to claim that it is the World’s Platform of Conscience, that it is the global Custodian of "Freedom of Expression." 'Freedom of Expression' is 'Freedom of Expression'. There is no Restriction to it unless it is abused to threaten or put at Risk the Life of an organic Entity and/or Community in any Way. So, there you are, Twitter is just another Medium for expressing held Beliefs and for exchanging Views and for just posting anything Online. It is unbelievable to the sane Mind that Twitter plugs itself as a Human Rights Vehicle. It is not. It is simply a mode for conveying Expression(s). Even at that, it conditions what you can express. It stipulates the Content(s) of your Expression. How is that "Freedom of Expression"? Why is the World so dull in Intellect that most of its Population cannot think through quite simple Concepts? Twitter controls what you can express on its Platform, and it is why it deletes certain Tweets. 

Nigeria's Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP) and Others threatening to take the current Nigerian Government to Court can go ahead. It is a legal Fight they will lose. There are many Areas in the Nigerian Constitution upon which the Government can rely. Ordinarily, SERAP’s and Others’ Pleas would be self-contradicting. If by banning Twitter in Nigeria, the Government infringes on certain Rights of Citizens – an Argument that is clearly specious – then by removing Buhari’s Tweet, Twitter encroaches on the Sovereignty of the Territorial-State of Nigeria. At any rate, Access or not to Twitter involves no Right with locus standi. Even the User’s Contract with Twitter does not. By accepting Twitter’s Use ex gratia, the User has forfeited any Argument of ‘Disparity of bargaining Power’ otherwise an Argument could be made that by acting recklessly in disconnecting Buhari’s Tweet, Twitter itself deprived its Users in Nigeria access to the Platform. By removing Buhari’s Tweet, Twitter made itself an extra-judicial Authority, yet just a private Business, that believes it can interfere in the internal Affairs of a Sovereign Territorial-State. Why does Twitter have this Arrogance? It is telling, is it not, that SERAP and other misguided Nigerians, including those who claim to be Lawyers or have read Law, have taken or are taking Buhari and the Nigerian Government to the Community Court of Justice (CCJ) ECOWAS. Did SERAP haul Buhari and his Government to this Court over the killing of defenceless Protesters during #ENDSARS? What or who funds SERAP? SERAP does not have any Understanding of Human Rights. Anyway, it does not claim to be. 'Human Right' is not, after all, in its Signifier. For the PDP Members of the National Assembly of Nigeria (NASS) kicking up Dust over the Twitter Ban, they are just being childish with their Partisanship and unforgivably obstructive to the Peace of Nigeria.

I get Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Supporters’ and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Tweets sent to my Twitter Feed (or whatever it is called) every day. To me those Tweets are clearly sectarian incendiary but Twitter lets them stay (otherwise they would not have found their Way to me). Muhammadu Buhari tweeted a Response to IPOB's Belligerence with factual and sobering Reflection of where such Conduct had taken Nigeria previously with Warning of how his Government intends to counter it and Twitter took it down? What was that, the Master’s Stick? Twitter made a preferential Decision. It has a Right to make such Decisions. The Nigerian Government of Buhari retaliated – do not believe its Denial that it did not – with a preferential Decision and the Western World is in Uproar. The Government of Nigeria does not have the Right to make a preferential Decision? Any Government has the Right to forbid anything within its Territory, period. Twitter cut Buhari’s Comment from its Platform. Buhari severed Twitter from Nigeria. Tit for tat. C’est la vie. I do not buy into Twitter’s Crocodile Tears’ Outrage. It is only concerned with the Money it is losing from the Nigerian Ban. It should have thought twice before playing the Master Judge over Nigeria’s Nationalism2 Issues of which it has zilch Clue. 

Of course, Twitter does not pose the kind of Threat to Nigeria as I identified in my Indent above although the Nigerian Government of rtd Major General Muhammadu Buhari believes it does. I brought it in only to confirm to y’all that I have long held the Position that no transnational Corporation, or even a multinational Corporation, can be more powerful than any Government, no matter how weak or failed that Government is, and Nigeria is truly a “failed State” because its Governments post Colonialism have been failing Governments. However, Twitter can never be as powerful as any Government. Nigerians should know that. 

It will be inhospitable for, and of anyone to suggest that I am apologizing for Muhammadu Buhari. I have never been a Fan of the Guy. Anyone familiar with my Commentary on Nigeria knows that I begged Nigerians not to vote for him but no, they did. They made him Civilian President once, and again. I tire for how Nigerians dey tink. Dem say Omoyele Sowore no get Experience. I never agreed with that Gibberish although he was not my Preference despite his huge Originality. There was something about him that made me wary of him. Kingsley Moghalu was my favourite in spite of his Sophistry sometimes. Moghalu is not an original Mind but he made a Woman his Vice-Presidential choice and that got me.  I went into more Detail in an Essay on one of my Websites at the Time. 

Just as I signed and contributed Money to the Petition to bring President Muhammadu Buhari before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over #ENDSARS, I am again right here simply saying Things as I see them. If it is good for the Goose, it should be too for the Gander. IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu, two legally unconstituted Entities, are given free Rein to use Twitter to wreak Havoc in Nigeria. They deployed Twitter to issue a “Sit-at-home” Order on Nigerian Citizens in direct (1) Challenge to the Authority of an elected Government, (2) Threat to the Sovereignty of Nigeria, (3) Breach of the Freedom of Movement of ‘the People’. Movement is an Expression too. IPOB thereafter, further to Fugitive Kanu’s Order, summarily punished on the Streets those who did not comply with IPOB's unlawful Order. Kanu uses Twitter to feed his Followers with Disinformation.  About 1 Year or so ago, he tweeted that the United Nations was recognizing Biafra in about a Month or so, i.e. This is the Person Twitter celebrates, Israel gives a Home to, and the UK bestows Citizenship? He has not been elected by any Constituency or made Leader by any due Process of Representation. He was not appointed by any lawfully constituted Group. He simply imposed himself on the Sentiments of a Section of a People and pronounces Orders which impinge upon the ‘Inalienable Rights’ of ‘the People'. The President of Nigerian then tweets a Warning of the Consequence of the  Insurrection Kanu is masterminding, but the same Twitter took umbrage at that. Certainly, Twitter is duplicitous.  

Now, a Mention of the Yoruba Agitation for Secession from Nigeria. When Reuben Abati (PhD) asked over and over: “is Rauf Aregbesola in a position to say Professor ... is ignorant?” in https://youtu.be/NuEhvvUYPzA, what he was doing was implicitly directing Attention at Aregbesola's Level of Education vis-à-vis those Others. Aregbesola holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) from the Polytechnic of Ibadan. Academic Philosophers (MPhil/PhM and DPhil/PhD) are snobbish. I am, but you have to trigger my Sensibilities first then I let loose explicitly. I am telling ya, I ain’t yet come across an Academic Philosopher who is not academically-elitist either by telling you of their Qualification without your asking or whipping you with it, at any rate, irrespective of how many times they defended their Theses. Even those with the lesser Degree of Master's are hubristic. Being ‘foolish’, Dr Abati, has nothing to do with academic Achievements. It is rather a State of Mind; momentarily or temporarily or permanently. Anyone can be ‘foolish' at any time, even Professors, if that Person is overwhelmed by Sentimentalism rather than concerned with Objectivity. 

I am acquainted with the reasoning Templates of the Professors Abati mentioned and I am aware of their academic Credentials. One of them has a PhD and the other does not even hold a good Honours Degree although he claims he does but has not evidenced it in any Way. As for being a Professor, I know of University Professors with no University Education, and there are those with only the first Degree. Me? I had a tentative Offer as an Adjunct Professor in 2003 at a prestigious private Research University in Western United States. I did not take up the Offer because I was “foolish”. I was not overridden by Sentiment in that Decisionmaking. I was simply stupid on that Occasion. In terms of holding a PhD, I have wondered how some could have passed or how many Defences and/or Submissions got them to pass, as I hear no originality from them. However, I do not accept Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s – Nigeria’s Minister of the Interior – View that Yoruba Agitation for own Country carved out of Nigeria is “foolish.” This is not to say Aregbesola does not have good Reason for his Opinion in the Context of the Yoruba People within the extant Republic of Nigeria. He might well have. I am in Disagreement with him only from my Standpoint that the Human Geography Configuration of Nigeria has always been a colonial poisoned Chalice. 'Nigeria' has to divide for the Peace of the different Nationalities3 which constitute it.

Endnotes

1dan Iyan, I. P., The New World Order 1986 to 1999: The Behaviour of the United States Within United Nations Security Council Responses to Global Conflicts, Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen, Google Books, 2002.

2Nigeria does not have "ethnic" Conflicts. What is referred to as "ethnic" is actually nationalist. The Nation is Group Identity founded on common cultural History, and shared Genealogy.    

3My ‘Nationality’ is Belongingness to a Nation.

Ipemndoh dan Iyan PhM©

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9 June