Nothing beats the exuberance of youth. The energy they put into anything they believe in – love, the pursuit of happiness, wealth acquisition and politics. All these are splattered over their timelines. In the age of social media you could write a biography based on their posts.
Politics and social media have knocked down our natural defense mechanisms. The young are eager to let people know where their political or social tents are pitched. It is wonderful to see young people energetically involved in partisan politics. My generation mostly lived under the illusion that politics is a dirty game. That created room for nitwits and nincompoops to wade and waddle in and to determine how the rest of humanity is run or ruined. Today’s youths have told us that they are not too young to run.
If you are young, I have bad news. It’s a free world, but you are actually not entirely free to do as you please in it. Specifically, not on social media. Fifty years ago perhaps, your stupidities were exposed to a closed few. Today, they are advertised before the whole world. Google is not just your friend, it is your frenemy advancing judgment day.
Welcome to the world where a shut or silenced phone later asks you how was that trip to the grocery store. With gadgets and social media, those with the means or the interest could track your movement for the day, the month or years with or without your consent. We all hit the agree button without taking time to check what we have agreed to, because they are written in fine print.
Some entry clearance officers now request that you surrender the password to your social media accounts to process your visa application to some countries. Employers have followed the same route. Truth is, nobody wants to hire someone with a personal or political view that runs against the established order or an establishment’s run of play. The law requires that deleted or deactivated accounts be warehoused for a while or for posterity. Some firms would stop at nothing to dig up your past; especially if the position you’re applying for requires high security clearance. Some people have Facebooked, Tweeted or Instagrammed their future into oblivion. Modern employment (including elective political office) no longer condones paedophilia, misogyny, theft, and support for violence, religious extremism, intolerance, homophobia or cultism.
Nasir el-Rufai could make the gaffe about body bags and foreign interference in elections; his immunity might cover him for a while. Problems usually arise later when you need the help of the same international community and get the cold shoulder. The social media parrots justifying gaffes are worse off since they are treated as individuals.
President Buhari recently ordered that ballot box snatchers be shot on sight. Normal people do not condone electoral or any form of brigandage, but jungle justice is analogous to the principles of natural justice. Political supporters hail their hero on every count. It is obvious that a bad government is not usually as much the problem as its unreasoning supporters. The International Criminal Court at The Hague still tries people for violent political crimes or genocide. Judges have been quick to remind those obeying orders that the orders must be lawful. Buhari and his generals might not be as lucky as Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Ble Goude.
Down the line, when those justifying unlawful orders are confronted with the question whether they have belonged to or supported organizations that advocate violence as a means of achieving its end, they would answer ‘no’ forgetting their posts.
Not to worry, we are a religious society. We attribute our failures to get visas, jobs or promotion to the witches and wizards in our clans, the wicked in our community or the curse of disgruntled ancestors. We blame nepotism and racism, anything except our penchant for senseless narcissism and unquestioning loyalty.
People should exercise their freedom of expression with extreme caution. When the #MeToo movement started in America, nobody believed it would hit us here. Just last week, young northern women shared their sad experiences with the world using the #ArewaMeToo hashtag.
Before putting fingers to the keyboard and posting to please your hailers in the heat of political, romantic or social passion, it would be wise to ask whether you could be shamed by your thoughts sometimes down the line. Virginian governor, Ralph Northam gave no second thought to taking a racist picture in high school. It was probably cool and he forgot until someone exhumed his past to haunt his career as a governor in 2019. Romantic dalliances have been exposed on internet rooftops.
If you are satisfied with where you are or where you want you or your children to be, by all means post recklessly. But if you know that you’ll remain an active player in an ever-changing world, think twice. Restrain your emotions in a moment of passion until you have taken a deep breath. Elections are in cycles, governments and political actors last eight years at the most, your life should perhaps count for more.
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