On Friday, November 29, 2019, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari was reported to have openly expressed support of the “Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation 2019 Bill”, also known as the social media or hate speech bill.

The First Lady was said to have done this while speaking at the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs General Assembly and National Executive Council Meeting held at the National Mosque in Abuja.

“On this issue of social media, you cannot just sit in the comfort of your house and tweet that the Vice President has resigned. It is a serious issue. If China can control over 1.3 billion people on social media, I see no reason why Nigeria cannot attempt controlling only 180 million people," the First Lady was quoted to have said.

If passed into law, the bill seeks to prevent falsehoods, manipulations, and counter the effects of such communications and transmission.

Despite the outrage that has greeted this bill, it has scaled the second reading. One more stage - the third reading and it will be well on its way to President Muhammadu Buhari’s table where it would be signed into law.

The social media bill has turned out to be one of the most divisive proposed laws in Nigeria’s recent history.

But the division is clearly between the governed powerless majority and the powerful ruling minority. And Aisha Buhari was gracious enough to remind Nigerians of this reality.

Who would have imagined that the First Lady, who many consider her head to be properly balanced on her shoulders, would openly defend a bill to prevent Nigerians from venting on social media about the many waves of abuse of the Nigerian people by corrupt politicians?

Unfortunately, with this public endorsement of the bill by the First Lady, many political jobbers sitting in the parliament as lawmakers who had been on the fence would find a way to start backing the obnoxious bill.

Speak openly, they might not, but confront them publicly, they would speak from both sides of their mouths. And that is why it is dangerous, what Mrs Buhari has done.

Nigerian people are getting the message very clearly. They like to complain and criticise the political authorities, who do not like being criticised. And now, even the first family, which the masses presumed to be on their side, has deserted them.

The onus, however, still lies on the Nigerian people, to try to hold to account, the very people entrusted with the responsibility of representing them at the parliament.

The law cannot be revoked after it is signed into law. And in this part of the world where law enforcers “know how to enforce the laws”, God forbids that the bill is passed into law and you could be scared to even read this article up until this stage.

May God help Nigeria

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