Curse of the social media generation

Unfortunately, I have come to the sad realisation that a huge part of the problem lies with the youth themselves. As a recent graduate, it saddens me to say that a lot of Nigeria’s youth are simply not employable. This realisation has come about through various observations that I cannot go into in this piece.The […]

Unfortunately, I have come to the sad realisation that a huge part of the problem lies with the youth themselves. As a recent graduate, it saddens me to say that a lot of Nigeria’s youth are simply not employable. This realisation has come about through various observations that I cannot go into in this piece.The recent online campaign against child marriages in reaction to a bill passed by Senate is the straw that broke my back.
The idea of the campaign against this bill is a noble one that I support whole-heartedly. However the manner it has been executed is what gives me grave concerns about the seriousness of my generation.
The various campaign posters circulating within the social media have lurid messages, like “They need education not ejaculation; Pay her school fees not bride price”, etc. Once these posters surfaced, countless slogans and jokes, most of which are too vulgar for publication, began circulating on Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger and Facebook. I do not have a problem with humour or witty slogans; in fact it should be encouraged if it gets people to take an interest in the topic.
Humour has always been the hallmark of Nigerians, both young and old, and it is why Nigerians are said to be one of the happiest people in the world. We have a unique ability to laugh at ourselves and find humour in difficult situations. Such light heartedness is what makes life in Nigeria more tolerable.
However, what these posters and slogans in my opinion did was to effectively trivialise an extremely serious issue. Child marriage is a very serious and sensitive social issue that deserves our attention.
Social media in my opinion has effectively killed the ability to campaign about anything seriously in Nigeria. It has become a competition to come up with the funniest joke about topical issues, no matter how serious they are. The more ridiculous an issue can be made to be, the faster it spreads across the web. The power that Social Media holds to create lasting change has been successfully demonstrated in many countries. If effectively utilised, the change that Social Media can bring is virtually limitless.
Our parent’s generation grew up with very strict limitations on freedom of speech. They were brought up censored by strict regimes that curtailed their right to criticise or joke about issues. We do not have such limitations and seem to have decided to abuse this freedom.
Nigerian youths incessantly complain about not being given opportunities to lead and to make decisions that affect them. However, the unfortunate reality is that they have failed to prove that they should be taken seriously. They constantly let themselves down by trivialising important issues that affect their future. The Academic Staff Union of Universities is currently on strike, and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has just called off its own that lasted for over three months, and I have seen no broadcasts or movements regarding this. The crumbling state of our education system, especially tertiary institutions, is one that deserves the youth’s outrage and protests, but this is apparently not funny enough to warrant any attention.
We joke about serious issues because we have accepted the narrative that we are powerless to fix anything.
It is about time that young Nigerians get their act together. You cannot be taken seriously if you do not take yourself seriously. The relaxed attitude to governance and obsession with banter makes our archaic leaders justified in their addiction with staying in power. It is hypocritical to criticise the current government when we have not shown any serious capabilities of being able to handle things any better. The fact that I cannot say categorically that my generation will make better decisions than the current set is really a cause for concern.
Bolarinwa wrote from Abuja<[email protected]>;