Tag Archives: Social media
Show Us a Frivolous Corruption Petition!
In the arena of corruption, especially at the grand level where billions of dollars are stolen as a rule of thumb, secrecy and cover-ups are two of the most dominant factors. Many of the world’s great scandals relating to corruption are found out by mistake or whistle-blowing. Once in a while trifling investigations into some minor malfeasance or routine crime ends up unexpectedly uncovering some case of grand corruption. A peripheral component of major corruption may seem frivolous by those who choose to see it so, but how about the main act? Continue reading
Gagging Social Media with Democratic Decree: Nigeria
Ouch! The Nigerian Legislative Houses will through a least beneficial and developmentally obtuse act of legislation, the “Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Related Matters” bill, sponsored by Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah who decided that commentators on Nigerian politics and society will face a seven jail sentence or $25,000 / $10,000 fine for “abusive messages”. Nigeria’s military days may be here again but by democratic decree. The self-interest of those in power seeks to become unrestricted regardless of the constitution. Well, the people and their expressions do not count. Continue reading
What Does the Word “Fuck” Have To Do With “Christ”?
Increasingly on social media, we are witnessing a tidal wave of swear words as ‘acceptable’ reactions of disbelief, anger, disappointment or shock to the comments and utterance of others. These swear words are coming from decent people, even highly lettered intellectuals. One of the most common swear words (phrases) used is “FFS” (For Fuck Sake(s)) often abbreviated to demonstrate some decency on the part of the user. It is not too surprising but still highly incongruent to observe that the word “fuck” in FFS is interchangeably used or readily substituted with the word “Christ” as in FCS (For Christ Sake(s)). Continue reading
Goodluck Jonathan & the Ontology of the African
Can Africans in power ever get it right? They can but choose not to for reasons of venality and mediocrity and sometimes sheer stupidity.
I concur with the fact that resorting to insulting a President or anyone for that matter via social media, especially cheaply is an incorrigible practice. But what happens when a president brings untold shame and embarrassment on his people? Insults are still inappropriate but proper critique necessary. The #BringBackJonathan2015 hashtags is an exercise in the most extreme of follies. It is a classic if not memorable contribution to the derisory ontology of the African. Continue reading
