“If Nigerians can devote as much energy as possible to addressing issues of mismanagement and leadership crises, weak economy, increasing insecurity and conflict, violence between farmers and pastoralists, etc., if they can take their time resolving regional divisions, armed bandits and Boko Forbidden rebels, electoral fraud, we have long had a more productive society competing with other nations.”
Social media platforms have decisively impacted our society. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat are the most used sources of information worldwide. The less costly access to these platforms, their ease of use and the presence of a larger number of users make them one of the easiest and most effective ways to disseminate information.
Over the past decade and a half, the use of social media has skyrocketed. For example, about three billion people (40% of the world’s population) spend up to two hours a day sharing, liking, tweeting and using these platforms. That percentage breaks down into the nearly half a million tweets or Snapchat photos shared every minute. The impact of social media has tripled in recent years on different layers of society. On the brighter side, social media has spread a great deal of awareness by spreading news and providing entertainment on many platforms, enabling more people to learn about opinions they would not otherwise have known. On the flip side, people, unfortunately, have used social media to provoke, incite or stifle public anger towards specific situations or people. In Nigeria, for example, social media has continued to play a toxic role in destroying marriages. It also spread false news, unnecessary panic among families, giving false information and misleading the public.
Although there are no official statistics to know how social media is ruining marriages in Nigeria, many examples of celebrity marriages have been spoiled by the influence of their relatives on social media. In 2019, news of a controversial love story between Nollywood actress Regina Daniels and billionaire businessman Prince Ned Noko spread on the internet. After this news, there was a series of mixed reactions from the social media in-laws. They criticized the marriage on the basis of the 38-year age gap between the spouses. Just as we were trying to make sense of the marriage between Ned and Regina, news of the divorce between Anita and Paul Okoye (AKA Rudeboy) surfaced on the internet. The leaked court document states that Anita Okoye was seeking an annulment of marriage to Paul Okoye due to irreconcilable differences.
Looking at the recent events on social media, I have concluded that most people in Nigeria care a lot about the failure of celebrity marriages than anything substantial that will affect our nation. For example, in 2021, beloved Nigerian actress Annie Idebia, in a now-deleted Instagram story, accused her husband, Tufas, of infidelity. In the post, the Nollywood actress accused 2Baba of sleeping with his ex-girlfriend, Pero Adeniyi, on the pretext of visiting her children. Annie also claimed that the Tophas family did not find her worthy despite all their efforts. Shortly after Annie Idibia took to her Instagram Story in a now-deleted post accusing her husband, Tuface, of infidelity, some Nigerians on Twitter took to their various accounts to express their views on the situation. Some of her in-laws on social media, who commented on the case, criticized the actress for expressing her marital problems on social media. Many argued that posting her marriage issues on social media would exacerbate the fire.
In 2022, new news surfaced on social media about Ibier, the wife of comedian Julius Ajo, who was said to have given up the marital home after 14 years of marriage. Some in-laws on social media reported that the couple had been going through tough times for years due to Aju’s ill health. Remember that in 2015, the comedian, singer, and writer was diagnosed with a brain tumor. According to some unsupported reports on the Internet, Ebere went back to her maiden name McClayton and traveled abroad with their children. Although it was not clear what led to the breakdown of the marriage, there were many speculations from some relatives on social media that the couple was going through a financial crisis caused by Aju’s ill health.
This year, Nollywood actor, Yul Edochie, caused a stir on social media when he announced his second marriage to actress Jodie Austin. In his announcement, Yul also revealed that he welcomed a son by his second wife. Several influencers on social media responded to the news of Yule’s second marriage, calling for God’s judgment and wrath on him. The internet has gone berserk. One day, I saw four different moments on Twitter from his post. I received many notifications about it. Specifically, on social media, I’ve seen more buzz about Yul Edochie than comments on our shattered democracy, not just from people I follow but from trending tabs and news headlines.
These issues led to the realization that people tend to care more about celebrity marriage than about the challenges affecting politics and governance in Nigeria. My frustration stems from the fact that if Nigerians can devote as much energy as possible to addressing issues of mismanagement and leadership crisis, a weak economy, increasing insecurity and conflict, and violence among farmers. If they could spend their time resolving regional divisions, armed gangs, Boko Haram insurgents and electoral fraud, we would have long ago had a more productive society competing with other nations. There is nothing inherently wrong with caring for celebrities and their families. I follow celebrities publicly on social media as well. But I do have my say and caution in my judgment of their personal lives on social media. I do not endorse (in any way) the actions of these celebrities or justify cheating in marriages. Nor do I support polygamy because it is against my religion.
However, I stress that something is worrisome when people put so much energy into the personal lives of celebrities when Nigeria is facing a severe crisis in democracy. Nigeria’s problem is not the celebrities. Our problems are more than the lives of those we call our guides. For example, there is a widespread perception that our democracy has failed to address Nigeria’s most pressing problems and that elected representatives are unreachable by those who elected them. Besides the failure of democracy, Nigerians feel disconnected from politicians who are making decisions that affect their lives. The news that dominates Nigeria often seems to have little relevance to people’s daily lives.
Today, our democracy is in dire need of reform. We need to seize this opportunity to move beyond celebrity problems to strengthen the foundations of Nigerian democracy. Failure to reform our democracy can lead to protest or extremism, both of which are detrimental to democratic performance. Hence, it would be wrong to say that social media is generally bad because it brings innumerable benefits to our lives. However, if there is little effort on our part to control the margin of information we consume online, we are doomed to become online bullies rather than online influencers.
Reverend Ma, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and PhD student in Public and Social Policy at Saint Louis University, Missouri, USA.
