The Nation Newspaper

Tag: social media

  • 2019: IPC trains journalists on election reporting

    Ahead of the 2019 general elections, no fewer than 25 political journalists have been trained on professional and digital reporting by the International Press Centre (IPC).

    The two-day workshop which held in Ogun state was organised by IPC in collaboration with European Union (EU).

    According to IPC, over 500 persons expressed interest to participate in the workshop but only 25 from different media organisations across the South-west of Nigeria were selected.

    Addressing participants on Wednesday, the Director, International Press centre Mr Lanre Arogundade described journalists as the heartbeat of the public.

    He however charged reporters to learn, unlearn and relearn so as to meet the utmost demands of journalism and ensuring desired change in the profession.

    Speaking during the training, Mr. Taiwo Obe, founder of journalism clinic urged participants on the importance of social media tools in news reporting.

    Obe, in a paper presentation titled Covering Political Space using Digital Tools and Apps, emphasised the need for reporters to think and rethink.

    “Your most important tool is your thinking” He said.

    He emphasised the development of creative stories and data ideas urging journalists to make their voices heard using various social media platforms.

    Journalists and former presidential aide on public affairs Mr Bolaji Adebiyi also urged reporters on in depth understanding of the legal frame work of the electoral processes.

    Adebiyi in his presentation titled” The dos and don’ts of election reporting” highlighted inadequate knowledge of the rule as one of the challenges of election coverage in Nigeria.

    Encouraging reporters to go back and study the constitution, he said ” journalists should be abreast and have deep knowledge of provisions of legal framework of the Electoral Processes especially the 1999 Constitution,

    Electoral Act 2010 as amended, INEC guidelines and constitutions of various political parties.”

    Adebiyi noted that political reporters could cause conflicts if they lack the necessary knowledge of the legal rules.

    A social and human capacity expert, Mr Jide Ojo said that the major role of the media as the watchdog of the society is to set agenda for the politicians.

    “The Media should set Agenda for the Contestants with a view to holding them accountable when elected into office” he said.

    Ojo challenged reporters to carry out their responsibilities ahead of the 2019 general elections adding that the media has so far not lived up to expectations.

    Speaking on integrating human index development into data, Ojo urged journalists to ask the right questions from political contestants.

    According to him, campaigns should be based on socio-economic issues such as “water, unemployment, electricity, tourism, agriculture, transportation”

    Participants however expressed joy to be part of the training as they all said they learnt a lot.

  • Social media and national security

    The new generational media has transformed the audience from mere passive readers to a more active, effective and interactive sphere of global community. Recent survey shows a rapid increase in the number of social media users across the world. This is as a result of the proliferation of mobile internet across the world and the emergencies of web 2.0 which gives many people an opportunity not just to read the contents of what was formerly regarded as a static web page, but to also contribute instantly on what they find interesting on the internet. Social media has paved way for millions of people across the world to locate content, make friends, share ideas, solicit support and mobilize people with similar interest against unfavourable government policies, despotic and weak leaders, and injustice, amongst others. Social media has of course, redefined the way news is presented in the public and the way people communicate across the world. It is a fascinating phenomenon which presents both challenges and opportunities to governments and law enforcement agencies across the spectrum.

    In China, there are   over 1.1 billion citizens   on   social   media,   with over 638 million connecting via mobile phones. One of the most popular Chinese mobile social media sites is WeChat which has over 938 million monthly active users. Most users conduct legitimate business while many are involved in criminal activities which make social media usage a problem for the authorities. For instance in 2016,the government’s, concern over social media’s impact on national security compelled her to shut down 90 million WeChat accounts, including 20 million that offered sex from women trafficked for prostitution. In spite of government efforts, illicit activities still occur online. Several laws and law enforcement activities have been instituted to address Chinese government worries about social media related threats to her national security. These include the establishment of a Small Group on Internet, headed by Xi Xinping in 2014, whose tasks include strategic level management of social media threats to national security. Also, the Chinese government created a national gateway called the Great Firewall which serves to regulate internet industry in line with Chinese laws. The Great Firewall gives the Chinese government the means to ensure subversive social media activities are restricted in line with dictates of national security. For instance, it is widely acknowledged that the Arab Spring was organized over social media. To avoid the experience of the Arab Spring, the Great Firewall blocked Facebook, Youtube and Twitter in China after subversive elements began to reflect on this and discuss a similar revolution on these platforms. This measure was able to manage the use of social media against China’s national security.

    In Egypt, the penetration of social media applications such as Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook ranges from 32 to 90 per cent of the population. These applications were vital catalysts for protest activism that mobilized people, caused mayhem and eventually the downfall of former President Hosni Mubarak. The April 6th Youth Movement (A6YM) which was the primary driver of the Egyptian uprising in 2011 operated solely on Facebook, which made many to call the Arab Spring in the country the ‘Facebook revolution’. This gives a clear indication of social media’s transformational effect, especially when such media are employed for mobilization and political activism. The fall of Mubarak was made possible by the fact that the Egyptian government lacked tools for effective control of social media as it had for traditional media. After Mubarak, this was reaffirmed as the same social media based techniques used to paralyze the government of President Ahmed Morsi; a situation the military capitalized on to overthrow the government. These events present a clear indication of the threat to national security posed by social media. This threat remains unabated in Egypt despite concerted government attempts to clamp down on social media activism, as revealed by the fact that leaders of the A6YM and similar groups were jailed and the movements proscribed. Thus, despite concerted government efforts and activities, social media continues to impact negatively on national security in Egypt.

    In Nigeria, over 87.37 per cent of social media activities are conducted on Facebook. The National Communications Commission (NCC) attributes 74 per cent of this traffic to 32, 513, 261 young Nigerians who use mobile devices. This new media eliminates the gate keeping mechanism of traditional media, which has allowed a large number of youth the freedom to communicate anonymously thereby resulting to direct hate filled comments to other Nigerians. Such actions generate and fuel hatred, which then leads to acts of individual and collective violence which pose significant threats to national security. Accordingly, the Nigerian government adopted measures, including establishing the Nigeria Internet Registration Association and other organizations which censor content deemed offensive to the Nigerian community. Also, the National Assembly passed the Prohibition of Frivolous Petitions and Other Related Matters Act 2017, which was popularly, termed the “social media bill” that aims to censor aspects of conduct on social media. These steps have failed to curtail hate speech, incitement to violence and other criminal activities conducted over social media in Nigeria.

    The lack of synergy among relevant agencies in charge of digital communication inhibits greater achievement of the unified efforts of the individual agencies that are assigned either advocacy or control responsibility on social media. This resulted in the absence of a designated body endowed with the responsibility to clamp down on perpetrators of abuses on the social media, civil violations and social media related crimes. There is no agency currently saddled with the responsibility and requisite enablement to filter social media postings that constitute threat to national security and track the perpetrators as well as site owners in order to bring them to justice.

    The absence of a regulating body or law for social media users means that messages can be sent without being monitored nor censured regardless of its possible effects on national security. One major challenge encouraging the criminal use of social media in Nigeria is the lack of a regulatory law in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003. In China, the use of social media is regulated, as over 642 Internet users are censored per minute to enhance national security of China due the regulatory mechanism in place. In Nigeria, Subsection 11 (i) of NCA 2003 only seek to promote and safeguard national interests, safety and security in the use of the said scarce national resources without mentioning how social media could be regulated.

    Section 37 of the Constitution of Nigeria guarantees the right to “the privacy of citizens” which essentially implies privacy in the broad sense and not just privacy of homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications that follows. Hence, from the constitutional right to privacy, certain information gathered from Nigerians to form various databases, particularly in the telecommunications industry are protected. The poor enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act and NCC due to the low technological base via the provision of a gateway to control the information space as it obtains in China, has led to the indiscriminate use of social media in information security, which has led to infringement of privacy. There are over 20 social media sites where information could be passed to the public without any form of restriction, which includes Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, among others.

    The growth of social networks during the last decade has been astonishing with over 200 active social networking sites. Information on these sites can only be monitored, analysed and investigated through forensic computer analysts and social network forensic experts amongst others. There is dearth of manpower in these areas to address some of the negative challenges of social network on national security. Forensic computer analysts make use of range of forensic tools and software to extract and analyse data, deal with highly sensitive data and collect information as well as evidence in a legally admissible way, amongst others. Increased manpower in these fields will go a long way to address the negative effects of social network on national security.

     

    • Beckley, a Commodore, is of the Nigerian Navy.

  • Girls, the social media is stealing from you!

    DEAR Mummy Temilolu, I just graduated from secondary school and I’m aspiring to study law. However, I find it so difficult to read a lot of books or even concentrate on one. More so, how do I overcome peer pressure? A lot of guys are asking me out. I know I need to stay focused to be able to achieve my dreams but I need words of encouragement. Please help ma!

    Miss B., 17

    My darling, precious, glorious, dignified, world-famous and heavenly celebrated Nigerian sisters,

    As I always say, as much as the social media is one of the best things that happened to civilisation, it’s going to ensure the mass failure of too many youth who are not using it appropriately! Miss B.’s beautiful Face book profile picture had caught my fancy when she commented on one of my posts and before she sent me the message above. Out of curiosity I went to her timeline to take a peek into her world only to discover my lovely girl has approximately 5000 friends (Face book friend limit) and almost 3000 followers yet she’s fresh from high school and doesn’t have so much freedom as she’s still leaving with her parents and yet to be on university campus. So, what would happen when she eventually gets to the university? She wants to study law which requires reading a lot of books and maximum concentration yet she’s prominent on Face book. If you ask me, I really don’t know how she wants to juggle the two. It’s so amazing and I just wonder what her followership will eventually become when she finally discovers herself- she’s not even an adult yet! I imagine she can’t do without the kick and joy she derives from it daily such that her timeline is a melting pot for others. When I told her the first thing to do is to leave the social media, she practically broke down! What a tragedy! Who knows if studying law is what God has designed to announce her in the world and the stupid, bad, devil is so poised to ensure that doesn’t happen. I imagine she would become a social butterfly on campus and would be so badly distracted. How can anyone live a life of purpose setting out on a wrong footing?

    Would anyone in her shoes with the type of friends and posts on her timeline even have time for God, bible studies etc? No! Can she concentrate on her studies? No! Can she conquer peer pressure? No! Can she be filled with the power of the Holy Ghost being daily bombarded and consumed with worldliness on her timeline and other social media handles where her spirit gravitates towards daily? No!

    Hmm…girls…girls…girls, I keep telling you the foundation you lay in your teens is what would determine the success or failure of your entire life! Too many of you have allowed Satan to steal all the time you’d have spent using your vivid imagination and spirit to capture divine information and energy which could give you phenomenal success and make you tower above your entire generation! All the time you should spend gathering super ammunition to ensure you have all what God has planned for you in life is what you’d spend on inanities on Face book, Instagram etc. even in the middle of the night when you should be connected to heaven or burning the midnight oil!

    I insist there’s a spirit behind everything we have to deal with in life! If you don’t possess the spirit of God, you get easily swept away by the spirit of the world which is in contention with God’s spirit. However, what amazes me is that Miss B. doesn’t even wear earrings in her pictures probably due to her church doctrine yet she’s so beautiful but getting swept away by the worldly spirit!

    THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS MATTER! What can I do? I can only pray God in His infinite mercy intervene in the life of Miss B. and every other confused youth out there!

     

    • To be continued.

  • Exposing children to social media dangerous – Lawyer

    An Ilorin-based legal practitioner, Mr Kolawole Alabi, has warned parents against exposing their children to social media, saying it could ruin their future.

    Alabi gave the warning in Ilorin on Wednesday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    He said early exposure of children to social media often lead to inundating them with undue influences at an impressionable age.

    Alabi said many parents often allow their children free access to their phones and sometimes handle their Facebook, Twitter,WhatsApp accounts.

    ” What do you expect from a child that has access to nude pictures right from nine years of age?

    “ They will like to copy and dress exactly the way it is on their mother’s phone because they think it is right.

    ” Children are not mature enough to handle this. They have impressionable minds and like to practise what they see.

    ” Social media is a destructive tool for children and must be kept far away from them.

    “ You parents must not allow them access to your password talk less of accessing your accounts.

    ” The future of children should be the priority of any parent .

    “ It is better to deny them things that can have negative effects on their future right from childhood,” he said.

  • Social media ‘rapist-robber’ held

    The police have arrested a man who woos women on the social media, rapes and robs them.

    Ayo Salau was arrested after his gang’s last victim raised the alarm after being gang-raped and robbed.

    The woman met Richard Samuel Gbenga on Facebook last month and they started dating.

    According to a statement by Lagos Police Command spokesman, Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), the woman did not know that Gbenga is a rapist and an armed robber.

    The statement read: “They interacted a couple of times, getting to know each other. However, on August 4, Gbenga invited the woman for a dinner and she accepted. She further told him where they would meet before taking off for the dinner.

    “The suspect arrived at the agreed take off point in a Toyota Camry saloon car marked JJJ 406 DL driven by Salau.

    “On their way to Lekki, they pulled over at a lonely spot, brought out cutlasses and ordered the woman to take off her clothes or be killed. Seeing she was naked, they took turns to rape her after which, they robbed her of her wristwatch and cash.

    “The moment the hoodlums left, the victim raised the alarm and gave a description of their car. Police operatives attached to Maroko Division laid ambush for the fleeing criminals.

    “As soon as the police operatives stopped their vehicle, the criminals took to their heels. The officers chased them and arrested Salau while Gbenga escaped.

    “The suspect has since been identified by the victim and he confessed to have committed the crime. He added that Gbenga recruited him for the job.”

    The Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, Oti said, cautioned youths especially women, to beware of those who may use the social media to take advantage of them.

  • Influence of social media on Nigerian youths

    The present age has brought a mixture of advantages and disadvantages with new technologies that has caused a great change globally. This can be seen as there is a transformation from what technology was in the past.

    Technology is evolving everyday due to increase in knowledge impacted through the boom in digital revolution and new media, especially social media.

    According to Wikipedia, social media can be described as computer mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual, communities and networks.

    Some of the applications include: Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, twitter, LikedIn, Snapchat, Google, Skype, Messanger, Telegram, and so on.

    Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications said “about 75 percent of Nigeria’s population that use the internet are on social media; and the number keeps growing on both social networking sites and blogging sites.”

    The emergence of internet has brought about a change in economic, political, intellectual, and socio-cultural interaction in the world today. The Internet and social media offers lots of benefits for youths.

    The social media aids social interaction especially among youths. It enables them to create and exchange information in one way or the other via technological devices and ensures connection between friends when they are not able to see each other.

    Youths are said to be the most active users of social media. The platforms have given the youths the voice to express themselves.

    Read Also: Social media on English language use

    Social media keeps you up to date with things going on around your environment and things you are not familiar with. For example, with the emergence of blogs, people get the latest news on social media, ranging from politics, business, entertainment, etc.

    Youths can also use the platforms to express themselves and develop social skills like writing, reading, acting, calculations, business and lots more.

    However, social media has its negative sides. One of it is that youths are sometimes exposed to social vices. Another disadvantage is that youths can get addicted to it and abandon other important aspect of their lives.

    Youths are also prone to giving false impression about themselves on social media in addition to engaging in violence due to what they are exposed to.

    Social media is a good introduction to today’s world, but it can result in ills if not managed properly.

  • Candidates worried over abuse of social media

    Candidates in the July 14 Ekiti State governorship election have expressed concerns over abuse of social media by supporters of political parties.

    They accused some social media users of circulating fake, baseless and unfounded information capable of setting the state on fire.

    The matter generated concern at a debate organised by the Ekiti in the United States for governorship aspirants in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    Candidates who participated in the debate include Tope Adebayo of Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA); Chief Ayodele David-Adesua of Democratic Alternative (DA); Dr. Sikiru Lawal of Labour Party (LP) and Dr. Kayode Fayemi of All Progressives Congress (APC), who was represented by the party chairman, Chief Jide Awe.

    Ekiti indigenes resident in the United States called from their bases to ask the candidates questions.

    The candidates spoke on their development agenda for the state in the areas of workers’ welfare, education, power supply, health, industrialisation, revenue generation, poverty alleviation, agriculture and health, among others.

    Awe recalled how certain characters concocted his resignation letter and circulated it on Facebook without his knowledge.

    Chairman of Ekiti in the US, Dr. Emmanuel Dada based in Houston, Texas stated the body is driven by the consciousness to identify the pedigree of governorship candidates in its quest to contribute to the political development of Ekiti State.

    He said issues agreed on at the debate will form part of the agenda for the incoming governor of Ekiti State.

  • Buratai cautions Nigerians against celebrating insecurity on social media

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai on Friday pleaded with Nigerians to desist from celebrating insecurity by helping terrorists and criminal elements in spreading their propaganda on the social media.

    According to Buratai, if we celebrate insecurity, we will continue to live with insecurity.

    The army chief made the plea, while fielding questions at a news conference to herald activities to mark the 2018 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) in Maiduguri.

    NADCEL is scheduled to hold between June 29 and July 7 in Monguno, Borno North.

    “Insecurity generally is a challenge to everybody, but there is no challenge that is insurmountable.

    “I think if we get the support of the media and other stakeholders against negative publicity, I think we will be able to reduce drastically the spread of Boko Haram propaganda.

    “As far as I am concerned, the major challenge is the Boko Haram propaganda which wittingly or unwittingly is being spread by so many others, especially the social media.

    “If we are patriotic enough, we should see the insurgency and all other security challenges across the country as a national challenge.

    “If we eschew propaganda by Boko Haram and other individuals who have their own interest to destabilise this country, then I assure you we will find the quickest solution to all the security challenges.

    “If we celebrate insecurity, then we will continue to live with insecurity,’’ Buratai said.

    On why NADCEL is being held in Borno North, the army chief explained that it was to consolidate on the achievement so far recorded in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.

    “Bringing the celebration here, we want to show that the Nigerian army has lived to its billings, it has walked the talk.

    “We have degraded the Boko Haram terrorists, but many people across the country still believe that the terrorists have not been degraded to the point that people move around normally to do their own businesses.

    “This is the stabilisation phase of the operation. We want to stabilise, this is why many people – IDPs are moving back to their communities.’’

    Read Also: Buratai: Liberated Captives And Loud Songs Of Joy From Northern-Borno 

    Buratai said holding NADCEL in Borno North was an indication that peace was returning to the area, which he said had the greatest challenge in the nine years of insurgency.

    According to him, the area is not only vast but shares border with neighbouring countries.

    On Sunday killings on the Plateau, Buratai described it as unfortunate, but added that appropriate steps were being taken to forestall a reoccurrence of such incident.

    He said more troops, including Special Forces had been deployed in the state.
    On NADCEL, the army chief said it was celebrated as “a constant reminder of the sacrifices paid by troops, most of who laid down their lives to ensure we remain united as a nation.

    “This celebration is also designed to array Nigerian Army personnel and equipment as well as showcase the combat capability of the Nigerian Army.

    “Furthermore, the celebration affords us the opportunity to celebrate our evolution, achievements and also to showcase our transformational strides in the area of innovation, research and development, civil military relations and technological advances.

    “This is in addition to projecting the Nigerian Army as an instrument of national unity, integration and development.

    “This year, the Nigerian Army will be marking 155 years of its existence, dating back to its inception in 1863,’’ he said.

  • 40 arrested for spreading rumours on social media

    Indian police have arrested 40 people in northeastern state of Assam for spreading rumours about child lifters and hate messages on social media.

    A police official told newsmen on Tuesday that “the arrests came in the aftermath of Friday night’s horrific lynching of two youths in Assam.

    “These arrests were separate from the 25 people held so far for the lynching of the duo in Karbi Anglong district.”

    A mob of hundreds had beaten to death the duo- Nilotal Das, a 29-year-old sound engineer, and 30-year-old Abhijeet Nath, while they were on adventure tourism in a village in Assam’s Karbi Anglong, 200 km from capital Guwahati.

    Media report said that they suspected them to be child-lifters.

    “A massive manhunt is on to nab other accused in the lynching case,’’ local police chief G.V. Siva Prasad said on Monday.

    State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has issued a stern warning to people spreading fake rumours on social media.

    “People found circulating rumours would be dealt with very firmly,’’ he told newsmen in Guwahati after holding a high-level security meeting on Sunday.

  • Synthesis explores the influence of social media

    The coming of the social media has transformed the ways in which people interact with each other, the public, the institutions that govern them, as well as their careers. But to one artist, Timi Kakandar, the undesirable effect of social media is having an upper hand and this he considers disturbing.

    As the social media has found its way into the lives of many, so has it found its way into the work of Kakandar.  “I feel intrigued by the attention the social media is receiving and the way ourselves are being fused with it. When the social media started it used to be a medium to reach out to people but now it has gone beyond that. It’s getting to an additive phase and everyday I see people get lost in it.”

    Looking at what he called growing obsession, he said: “This is disturbing because people are beginning to lose touch, people are beginning to be dependant on it so much. The dependance is becoming crazy,” but he admitted that people are also benefiting from it.

    “And to live life based on the number of post likes, comments and shares, is to live a life of vanity.”

    Kakanda’s work taps into a world of beauty, poetry and the spiritual balancing bold elements in the paintings full of life, movement and colour. This was seen in his last solo at the Freedom Park, Lagos titled Synthesis. The show ended this weekend.

    Inspired by the rise of social media. The show beyond generating awareness on the influence of the social media, brings a question mark. “It asks people to stop and think, and reason out the situation. It’s frightening. We are becoming too dependent on the social media. People should try to bring a check; some kind of balance to it, that is what my work does. My work asks questions like how can we make it better? How can we stop looking for validation?”

    Talking about a piece titled Validation, the artist from Bayelsa State said: “People go to the internet and post pictures, if they have about 200 friends they are believing or waiting for those 200 friends to click the like button and when they wait and see that a few friends have liked the image that they posted, they begin to look deeply into the image and question the image because they are searching for validation, sometimes from a total stranger. When they post an idea and no body had liked it or showed support, they start feeling like ‘is this post okay’, so they are seeking validation. Even those on the street are connected and are seeking validation. When they don’t validate our images on the social media or like it, we start to feel there is something wrong with the image.”

    Media Queen was among the 30 works on view. “The piece is also about people seeking validation. People are waiting to get likes when they post, when the likes are increasing they get excited.”

    According to the artist, who graduated from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the negative impact of the social media has been heavy on his mind since last year. His is trying to use his work “to get peoples’ mind off the social media. As an artist, what I think we usually do is a take snapshot of the society and preserve it. I have done that with this exhibition,” he said.