The Human Project

Things have fallen apart; the centre can no longer hold. Journalists cannot do their jobs anymore for fear of being killed. If you do not choose your words carefully, DSS will extend you a “friendly invite”. Who wan die? Not me Sir. You’re on your own. It sounds funny right? No, it isn’t funny. This is not how it is supposed to be. The government is turning our Constitutional rights to audio rights. Na only for ear we dey hear am; we no dey use am. I don’t want to talk about the NBC and their incessant attacks on media houses. At the end of the day, you only air what pleases the government. Anything outside that, you will pay for it. What then is the essence of freedom of the press? It’s truly frustrating. Well, to be fair, we sef no dey try sometimes. You have the right to freedom of expression, and so? Do you have to misuse it? Last week, the PlayMaster explained in details how people misuse their rights on social media. It was quite an interesting read. You can find it here if you ...

Hey pals, it is very nice to have you back here reading from me. Hope you missed me just like I missed you. Welcome back from the Eid celebrations and holidays and I hope you’ve been handling well the different bad news plaguing the world and Nigeria in particular. I tell you what? It is one of such bad news that particularly seduced my interest to handle this branch of the discussion on Freedom of expression. I’ll let you in on this as we go on, but for now let’s dive in headfirst. Sooo last week oga de law, Edim Edim esq introduced us to the right to freedom of expression. Maybe I should move on with the mindset that everyone has read that lovely piece? Absolutely not. For the sake of the proper Nigerians who did not read it, I’ll do a brief re-cap on what the right to freedom of expression entails.  Read Edim's article here . The Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria in section 39(1) provides that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the f...

Have you ever been told "you too talk!?" Have you ever told someone "this your mouth go put you for trouble one day?" The mouth was indeed created for talking (and of course eating). Little wonder the RIGHT TO TALK (like I would love to call it) is inalienable. Mind you, this right does not only mean talking ooh; it also includes the freedom to hold opinions and pass information in whatever medium one chooses to. However, whether this right has been truly guaranteed is what myself, Emine (DePlaymaster) and Fifi will be discussing this month.  In 1999, freedom of expression became protected by the new Nigerian Constitution. Section 39(1) of the Constitution provides that: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference." The Nigerian Constitution therefore, has made it clear that liberty of thought and freedom of expression are paramount. As a matt...