Hate Speech Vs Freedom of Speech

With benefit of hindsight many have described the president’s outburst against the now greatly vibrant medium of communication, and social integration as the proverbial case of one biting the fingers that fed him. Many Nigerians quickly made detour to the pre 2014 presidential election and the president’s inaugural speech after he was sworn into office. President Buhari had praised the same social media to high heavens, for their support in ensuring that the pendulum of victory swung in his direction. The president did not, however, envisage that the social media activists were not zombies. He never foresaw that they would use the same medium to question his government the moment he fell below standard.

They recalled how the then opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, deployed the same social media to use and many of their ardent supporters used the various platforms available on the social media to ensure that the then ruling PDP was not only vilified in the minds of Nigerians but the party’s presidential candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan lost his second term bid.

Suddenly free speech has become anathema to the ruling APC. The party’s stalwarts have also rechristened it hate speech without drawing a line between what is hate speech and what is an exercise of the freedom of speech. As a result, in the eyes of the government and its security apparatuses, persons indicted of making ‘hate speech’ would be branded as terrorists and hounded, perhaps to their graves.

Nigerians recall vividly that the only time their freedom of expression and other freedoms were gagged was during the dark days of the Buhari’s military dictatorship. First, they set aside the constitution which was the grundnorm for the mutual existence of the various nationalities which formed the entity called Nigeria. They immediately replaced it with decrees by which the people were ruled with an iron fist. Woe betide any civilian who fell foul of such obnoxious decrees.

Buhari’s body language from the moment he assumed office as civilian president in 2015 has left Nigerians with little doubts that sooner than later, Nigerian social media activist would be back in the trenches to challenge his policies and actions. Many insist that if the country’s populace have become divided, throwing tantrums from all corners, the president kick started the whole process. Not a few have said the president and his party, APC began the use of hate speech in this dispensation. They made allusion to one of his most infamous comment about 97 per cent that voted for him and the five per cent which did not vote for him.

Former Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Reno Omokri, made the point to the then  Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, after the later warned that hate speech makers would be meted the treatment meted on terrorists. He told the Vice President that his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari was guilty of hate speeches. He tweeted: “When @ProfOsinbajo warns that FG would deal with those giving hate speech I hope he knows his boss is guilty? 5% versus 97% on my mind.”

Omokri spoke against the background of meetings Osinbajo had at that time with leaders of thought from the South East and the North. He had warned State Governors against making speeches that could needlessly heat-up the polity and endanger national security. The then Acting President noted that the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression but that it must be done in a decent way.