The proposed Social media bill that is been reviewed by the senate and hopefully will take effect from next year is a welcome development in the affairs of Nigeria, although many Nigerians who are used to spreading malicious propaganda and unverified information online will do all they can to oppose the signing of this bill, but their reservations about the proposed bill, will have no consequence on the outcome of how this will unfold, Linda Ikeji, is a Nigerian Blogger, and she is a good Nigerian, but she is fond of spreading malicious and unverified information online, and a lot of harm has been done to a lot of people because of her use of social media to spread unverified information, and I believe that when this bill is passed into law, she is going to face a lot of challenges, as she would be faced with either going to jail or paying fines, and this would probably be the undoing of her blogging career, hence her constant bad mouthing of the social media bill, the social media bill is not a bad proposal, and it's something that would help to discipline Nigerians, as Nigerians are very used to spreading false information about Government officials and Other citizens at large, and with a law like this, a lot of Nigerians would learn to back up their allegations and claims online with evidence, I welcome this development, and I urge Miss Linda Ikeji, to sit down and try to look for another good business to do, Blogging is not a business, what is she going to do, if the Internet is closed up for business? Would she be able to blog for a living then? Or has she ever considered the possibility that one day, maybe just oneday in the nearest future, that the Internet might be shut down? And when this happens what is she going to do then? Call me a hater or whatever, that is your beans and dodo, but Truth be told, The social Media bill is going to help discipline Nigerians. Linda Ikeji can light her buttocks on fire for all we care, but know this, the bill is going to become law.

Sahara reporter's own are the worst, they are fighting the bill and promoting the anti bill tweet in Twitter BC they are guilty... They publish unverified information and dish to the audience cooked up stories.

I welcome this development with open hands. Our bloggers are going wild and needs to be tamed.

First of all, I don't blame you, because the real issue is that Nigeria is dysfunctional and hence people want to make and support this law. There are laws against defamation. My dad took a colleague to court on charges of defamation in the 80s. If you genuinely feel that your reputaion has been tarnished then go to court. The problem is that Nigeria is tarnished including the police and judiciary and that makes the accused not ready to take an alleged defamation to court because he himself may not want more details to come out becuase in a real legal system you have to give the defendant information that can incriminate you if you a politician. Yes I believe Nigeria talk trash including vocal support of useless laws and politicians (which I think is more worrisome)but it is their right to tarnish the country. The funny thing about this law is that the history of Nigeria is based on trash talking from Macaulay to Azikiwe, Bello and Awolowo but yet then their medium which was the press was vibrant. Daily times, West African Pilot and even Tribune had real analysis much better than we have now and that was in the 50s. I know because I have been to library of congress for research. and yet the media which publishes real news is actually quite like Nigeria itself tarnish, corrupted and the most worrisome lacks real information and analysis of modern day issues. I will give you an example, there is a 20 page serial on Adaka Boro in 1970 if you do proper research but when I was looking for info on Orkar (1990), some outlets only had columns on him and even a book published on Orkar did not have real info on his background. so this law does not promote any intelligent reporting.

YoundDoctor:
Sahara reporter's own are the worst, they are fighting the bill and promoting the anti bill tweet in Twitter BC they are guilty... They publish unverified information and dish to the audience cooked up stories.

I welcome this development with open hands. Our bloggers are going wild and needs to be tamed.

very well said my good mann, the Truth is online news media outlets like Sahara and it's ilk are nothing but tools used in spreading malicious content about supposed enemies of some very obscure Nigerian politicians, who pay these people just to spoil the names of their political rivals,

Twy:
First of all, I don't blame you, because the real issue is that Nigeria is dysfunctional and hence people want to make and support this law. There are laws against defamation. My dad took a colleague to court on charges of defamation in the 80s. If you genuinely feel that your reputaion has been tarnished then go to court. The problem is that Nigeria is tarnished including the police and judiciary and that makes the accused not ready to take an alleged defamation to court because he himself may not want more details to come out becuase in a real legal system you have to give the defendant information that can incriminate you if you a politician. Yes I believe Nigeria talk trash including vocal support of useless laws and politicians (which I think is more worrisome)but it is their right to tarnish the country. The funny thing about this law is that the history of Nigeria is based on trash talking from Macaulay to Azikiwe, Bello and Awolowo but yet then their medium which was the press was vibrant. Daily times, West African Pilot and even Tribune had real analysis much better than we have now and that was in the 50s. I know because I have been to library of congress for research. and yet the media which publishes real news is actually quite like Nigeria itself tarnish, corrupted and the most worrisome lacks real information and analysis of modern day issues. I will give you an example, there is a 20 page serial on Adaka Boro in 1970 if you do proper research but when I was looking for info on Orkar (1990), some outlets only had columns on him and even a book published on Orkar did not have real info on his background. so this law does not promote any intelligent reporting.

you sound like a learned Individual, so I'll be as straight as I can, I'm not saying that Nigeria is practicing a perfect form of democracy, but who in this world is truly practicing true democracy? Is the Americans or the British? These countries have laws that require their law enforcement agencies to arrest and detain members of the public for months or even years, if they deem it fit that such an individual is using his or her rights as a citizen of their country to spread dangerous information online, and even in most cases, these people are actually innocent of some of these charges, but yet they are taken to secret prison facilities and detained without much as a trial in any of their courts, and these are the countries you're trying to compare us with, Nigeria is not dysfunctional, Nigeria is just a developing country, and it would be laws like this social media bill, that would help to shape the Federal character of this our developing country, the truth is, every citizen should be held accountable for what he or she says, the Government is not putting a lid on freedom of speech, No, rather the Government is trying to make all Nigerians more responsible for what they say online and in public, as most of the problems we face in Nigeria are as a result of false information being circulated by private news outlets and online media outlets, I remember vividly how the online Media outlet Sahara reporters were doing all they could to spread the news about Radio Biafra and it's intentions to balkanize Nigeria, by giving the now Incarcerated Nnamdi Kanu, endless opportunities to rant about his psychotic and treasonable Biafran Agendas, he would always refer to Nigeria as a Zoo on Sahara reporters online tv, it was really obvious that they were being paid to spread the Biafran propaganda, likewise so many other cases, but with a Law like the social media bill, The press would not be used as instruments to undermine the sovereignty of Our nation or be used as tools to defame law abiding and respectable Nigerians.