The Military and Social Media

Simmering in the background is the sound of rumbling, with the ocean lashing and splashing, slapping against the pristine white sands. I saunter along side the expansive well-beaten seashore of Catalonian town of Calella in Spain. The crimson orange of the sun slowly emerges, as the cool temperature gives way to stifling and ravaging heat only moderated by the breeze blowing its way from across the ocean.

All around me I am crowded with joggers, making feeble attempts at running off the excess calories acquired from the previous rumbustious night. Whirling away in the background is a singular truck spraying water on the grounds to prevent the dust from rising from the pounding of joggers. 

Here is a land were decency prevails, hard work rewarded and transgression punished. The society succeeds because it is structured, it flourishes because people are free and free speech is unhindered and unimpeded.  This puts into context the recent attempts by a tweet from the so called ‘Defense Monitors’ now identified as fake to return Nigeria back to the era of Decree 2 and press censorship. 

Ordinarily the statement by the Nigerian Army of the fakeness of the handle should suffice, however, credence given to the sentiment expressed by The Director of Defence Information Major General John Enenche on Channels Television that the move at at monitoring became necessary in the light of the troubling activities and misinformation capable of jeopardizing the unity of the country is the issue. 

The Armed Forces of Nigeria must fully understand its role and it must never be conflated with law enforcement or that of the Secret Security Service.  Many will prefer to see their efforts concentrated on Boko Haram rather than on many within the Social media. I support its role as that of the defense of the territorial integrity of Nigeria and its realm, but beyond that it’s a sail against an ill wind that brings unrelenting waves of nothing more but sorrow, tears and blood.