Sadly, missing in action today: Gani Fawehinmi . We would be getting some thoughtful orientation and directions from him, but in his absence, when it comes to some telling deliberations on this issue locally and internationally, I will be looking to people like Brer Soyinka, Ayo Olukotun, Jibrin Ibrahim, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, and Chinweizu Ibekwe , to name a few…
Of relevance: Hate Speech in Israel
In the cultural and politically diverse systems, countries in which we live, free will and freedom of speech in the modern sense and in the modern world is perfectly alright, but as we all know, there are limits. For example, at the Hyde Park Speakers' Corner , his Lordship Olayinka Agbetuyi or Ayatollah Zakzaky can say all that they like about Donald Trump, the president of The United States but he knows that there are certain things that they cannot say about Queen Elisabeth II without being immediately arrested by the nearest police constable.
Let us imagine that such a law was proposed for Nigeria, that you can say what you like about Zik, Jesus, Awolowo, Ojukwu, but if you breathe the word "revolution" (anathema) or if you say certain things about President Muhammadu Buhari (certain abominations, abominable things about Mr President) you will be peremptorily arrested by the nearest Daura police commissioner.
I think that full of venom, Farooq Kperogi would be spitting fire and sputtering blood in his Notes from Atlanta
From the usually more nuanced and poetic Chidi Anthony Opara, it's mostly love talk – no need for a hate speech bill for him but he would most probably also be beside himself but only asking metaphysical or rhetorical questions such as,
"Is he God"
Who?
"Buhari"
"Does Muhammadu Buhari think that he is God that some strong criticism or hatred of him is "hate speech" – a criminal offence?
"Even Jesus was crucified! Is he (Buhari) not a mere mortal like the rest of us?"
I believe (understand) that a lot of what Kperogi has been saying these past several years should handsomely qualify as unmitigated "hate speech" and under the new law, if he were to set foot in any part of sovereign Naija territory again, he would be apprehended either retroactively for his old language misdemeanours ( his old sins) or proactively for whatever current thoughts fall foul of the new hate speech law. For a surety, he would be arrested at the airport and detained until he finally faces the music at his trial.
That's why he will wisely chooses to stay put in Atlanta and, brave soul, continue shouting and foaming at the mouth from that safe distance.
Undoubtedly, the most successful genre at bypassing hate speech should be satire at which Pius Adesanmi was quite good.
In Nigeria, where the English language is already on fire and already has a lot of flare and in the political and ethnic arena where indigenous Nigerian languages can also sometimes get overheated, the Hate Speech Bill is aimed at containing/taming some of the ethnic animosities which sometimes, so hatefully expressed, inspire political and ethnic violence. As we also all know, this kind of violence is also sometimes stirred and inspired by fanatical religious fervour.
Just as we have the Marxists and the Capitalists, the ethnic rivalries between the Igbo and the Yoruba (and I don't know when it all started), so we also have the atheists and the agnostics, the deities and spirits of African traditional ethnic religions, their shrines, their sacrifices and libations.
We have the Ten Commandments , we even have the 613 Commandments, not to mention the prohibition against al-cohol in Islam and the kinds of heresies, blasphemies, iconoclasm and intolerable critiques, pungent criticism and antagonistic points of view that led to fatwas and judgements resulting in what some people want to portray as "Muhammad's Dead Poets Society"
About two decades ago, I asked a rabbi ( Dr.. Moshe Edelman ) why the Holy Law was not being promulgated in Israel and his answer was, " Who would interpret it ?"
Fast forward to today's Merry England where we find Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party being amply accused of anti-Semitism - and if he's not careful and he crosses the line and is accused of " Hate Speech" he will only have himself to blame when finds himself sadly or defiantly in the dock, awaiting trial and possibly doing time as a guest of Her Majesty's Prison, or paying a stiff fine. Jeremy Corbyn, I almost added " the scoundrel," which in certain circles could be regarded as " hate speech"
I haven't read the fine print of the Nigerian Hate Speech Bill yet or how it will be interpreted from case to case and I haven't yet read anything written in this forum on that topic but the ongoing fallout, mostly negative ( everywhere) is all set to be considerable in both Nigeria and the Diaspora. Hopefully, before it is passed the full spectrum of Nigerian and international lawyers should go through the proposed bill with a fine comb.
On Thursday, 5 December 2019 18:44:49 UTC+1, Cornelius Hamelberg wrote:
Sadly, missing in action today: Gani Fawehinmi . We would be getting some thoughtful orientation and directions from him, but in his absence, when it comes to some telling deliberations on this issue locally and internationally, I will be looking to people like Brer Soyinka, Ayo Olukotun, Jibrin Ibrahim, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, and Chinweizu Ibekwe , to name a few…
Of relevance: Hate Speech in Israel
In the cultural and politically diverse systems, countries in which we live, free will and freedom of speech in the modern sense and in the modern world is perfectly alright, but as we all know, there are limits. For example, at the Hyde Park Speakers' Corner , his Lordship Olayinka Agbetuyi or Ayatollah Zakzaky can say all that he likes about Donald Trump, the president of the The United States but he knows that there are certain things that he cannot say about Queen Elisabeth II without being immediately arrested by the nearest police constable.
Let us imagine that such a law was proposed for Nigeria, that you can say what you like about Zik, Jesus, Awolowo, Ojukwu but if you breathe the word "revolution" (anathema) or if you say certain things about President Muhammadu Buhari ( certain abominations, abominable things about Mr President) you will be peremptorily arrested by the nearest Daura police commissioner. I think that full of venom, Farooq Kperogi would be spitting fire and sputtering blood in his Notes from Atlanta
From the usually more nuanced and poetic Chidi Anthony Opara it's mostly love talk – not need for a hate speech bill for him but he would most probably also be besides himself but only asking metaphysical or rhetorical questions such as,
"Is he God"
Who?
"Buhari"
"Does Muhammadu Buhari think that he is God that some strong criticism or hatred of him is "hate speech – a criminal offence?
"Even Jesus was crucified! Is he (Buhari) not a mere mortal like the rest of us?"
I believe ( understand) that a lot of what Kperogi has been saying these past several years should handsomely qualify as unmitigated " hate speech" and under the new law, if he were to set foot in any part of sovereign Naija territory again, he would be apprehended either retroactively for his old language misdemeanours ( his old sins) or proactively for whatever current thoughts fall foul of the new hate speech law. For a surety, he would be arrested at the airport and detained until he finally faces the music at his trial.
That's why he will wisely choose to stay put in Atlanta and, brave soul, continue shouting and foaming at the mouth from that safe distance.
Undoubtedly, the most successful genre at bypassing hate speech should be satire at which Pius Adesanmi was quite good.
In Nigeria, where the English language is already on fire and already has a lot of flare and in the political and ethnic arena where indigenous Nigerian languages can also sometimes get overheated, the Hate Speech Bill is aimed at containing/taming some of the ethnic animosities which sometimes, so hatefully expressed, inspires political and ethnic violence. As we also all know, this kind of violence is also sometimes stirred and inspired by fanatical religious fervour.
Just as we have the Marxists and the Capitalists, the ethnic rivalries between the Igbo and the Yoruba (and I don't know when it all started), so we also have the atheists and the agnostics, the deities and spirits of African traditional ethnic religions, their shrines, their sacrifices and libations.
We have the Ten Commandments , we even have the 613 Commandments, not to mention the prohibition against al-cohol in Islam and the kinds of heresies, blasphemies, iconoclasm and intolerable critiques, pungent criticism and antagonistic points of view that led to fatwas and judgements resulting in what some people want to portray as "Muhammad's Dead Poets Society"
About two decades ago, I asked a rabbi ( Dr.. Moshe Edelman ) why the Holy Law was not being promulgated in Israel and his answer was, " Who would interpret it"!
Fast forward to today's Merry England where we find Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party being amply accused of anti-Semitism - and if he's not careful and he crosses the line and is accused of " Hate Speech" he will only have himself to blame when find himself sadly or defiantly in the dock, awaiting trial and possibly doing time as a guest of Her Majesty's Prison, or paying a stiff fine….
I haven't read the fine print of the Nigerian Hate Speech Bill yet or how it will be interpreted from case to case or anything written in this forum on that topic but the ongoing fallout, mostly negative ( everywhere) is all set to be considerable in both Nigeria and the Diaspora. Hopefully, before it is passed the full spectrum of Nigerian and international lawyers should go through the prosed bill with a fine comb.
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