Barbarians Have Taken Over Social Media, Soyinka Laments

Prof. Wole Soyinka

Soyinka raises the alarm, says barbarians have taken over social media

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has lamented social media's sorry state in Nigeria, claiming it has been dominated by people he considers to be "barbarians" and brought down to the lowest common denominator.

Soyinka argued that social media's intellectual content and users' rational interactions keep it relevant as a medium for communication in other contexts. He pointed out, though, that in Nigeria, the opposite is true, with those who have undermined it having replaced its intellectual component.

This was said by him on Saturday during the 48th President's Day celebration and his inauguration as an honorary member of Ogun State's esteemed Abeokuta Club. He claimed that things have gotten so bad on social media that someone could be accused of having a phobia of others for simply disagreeing with someone's choice in an election

“In a situation where disagreement in an election can lead one being labelled something phobia or whatever. The social media is awash with accusations of one being a kind of ethnophobic. So strange to me but that is what we have been reduced to. And when that kind of accusation comes, there is no need or value in trying to say you are not. You just say, 'Thank you very much! The complement of ethnophobia is ethnophilia.

“I'm astonished and flabbergasted that people are so power- besotted that they can't even accept the possibility that they did not win an election. It does not matter whether you are right or wrong or they are right. It is just a question. Take your facts to the table, let's examine them carefully, consider the possibility that we may be wrong or you may be wrong but you don't have to descend into demonisation of the group to which others belong to establish your point.

“I don't deal in social media. As far as I'm concerned, barbarians have taken over social media and they have swapped the intellectual quotient which used to make and still make social media valid in other societies. Here in this country, social media has been dragged down to the lowest common denominator. However, I believe in the community of the intellect of minds and creativity to rescue us from the monstrosity that social media has become (in this country).”