Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole
Soyinka, has bemoaned the sorry state the social media has fallen into in
Nigeria, saying it has been dragged down to the lowest common denominator and
taken over by people he reckoned as “babarians.”
Soyinka said while in other
climes the social media remains valid as means of interaction because of the
intellectual contents and reasoned engagements being deployed by users, the
reverse is the case in Nigeria as those who dragged it down have swapped the intellectual
quotient aspect of it.
The octogenarian, who spoke on
Saturday at the 48th President’s party and his investiture as a honorary member
of Abeokuta Club, Ogun State, said the situation has degenerated to a level
where even a mere disagreement in an election could lead to one being labeled
on social media as having a phobia about others.
At the investiture graced by the
Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, and many prominent
Egba sons and daughters, the playwright urged the nation’s community of
intellect of minds and creativity to rescue the country from the monstrosity of
the social media.
Apparently referring to the last
general elections, especially the presidential election, Soyinka said he was
both “astonished and flabbergasted” that people were so power besotted that
they could not even accept the possibility that they did not win the election,
and rather than table their facts for thorough scrutiny, they resorted to
demonising others.
He said: “In a situation where disagreement
in an election can lead to one being labeled something phobia or whatever. It
is certainly amazing that in a community of intellect, genuine and authentic
value and then we have a situation of something called the social media.
“The social media is awash with
accusations of one being a kind of ethnophobic. So strange to me, but that is
what we have been reduced to. And when that kind of accusation comes, there is
no need or value in trying to say you are not. You just say thank you very
much! The compliment of ethnophobia is ethnophilia.
“So, if you are ethnophobic in
one direction, then pull back and become ethnophilia in the other direction and
leave those who claim that they are being phobilized to wallow in their own
campaign of hatred, of dehumanization of others simply because of glaring
routine mundane activities as holding a political opinion, as making political
observation and warning others not to plunge the society into the dark age from
which we barely emerged at very cruel dictatorship, the most cruel this nation
has ever had.
“I’m astonished and flabbergasted
that people are so power-besotted that they can’t even accept the possibility
that they did not win an election. It does not matter whether you are right or
wrong or they are right. It is just a question.
“Take your facts to the table,
let’s examine them carefully, consider the possibility that we may be wrong or
you may be wrong. But you don’t have to descend into demonization of the group
to which others belong in order to establish your point.
“I don’t deal in social media. As
far as I’m concerned, babarians have taken over social media and they have swap
the intellectual quotient which used to make and still make social media valid
in other society. Here in this country, social media has been dragged down to
the lowest common denominator.
“However, I believe in the
community of the intellect of minds and creativity to rescue us from the
monstrosity that the social media has become (in this country).
On his investiture as a honorary
member of the Abeokuta Club where Dr. Adewale Adeola is the president, Soyinka
said it was a recognition he personally cherished, saying the club is a
honourable social group, having interacted with a good number of members at personal
level.
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