Browsing the word ‘cyberbullying’ on Google and seeing ‘Alex Iwobi’ as the search result is worrying. Alex Iwobi is now the cornerstone and the garri soaking the disappointment and rage of Nigerians who recently got a silver medal from AFCON.
Super Eagles Skipper, Ahmed Musa, had urged Nigerians to halt the cyberbullying directed towards Alex Iwobi, a midfielder for the Nigerian team. The Super Eagles had given the AFCON cup to the Ivory Coast on Sunday and Iwobi was picked as a major cause of the failure for Netizens. It was obvious that the negativity hurled at Iwobi was massive and dehumanizing. According to the report gathered from the online sphere, most netizens believe that Iwobi played for the Super Eagles because of familial connections to Jay Jay Okocha, one of Africa’s greatest footballers and not because he was capable.
The use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another individual is known as cyberbullying. Threats made online as well as nasty, combative, or nasty texts, tweets, posts, or communications all qualify. Posting private and spiteful images, videos, or other content with the intention of hurting or embarrassing someone else also counts and this is what is happening right now to Iwobi following the loss of the AFCON Cup on Sunday night.
As a public figure, it is expected that you will receive lots of criticisms but receiving insults, threats, spiteful words and blame for the failure of a national team who went to the finals through luck is outrageous. We complain of the negative effects of social media but it is still we human beings that make it toxic for our fellow human beings. Cyberbullying is a serious crime that has grave consequences especially on the image of a person and the mental health of victims. It could also lead to suicidal attempts and emotional disturbances.
Summatively, it seems Alex Iwobi is the main reason why Nigerians lost the cup. We forgot the coach, other players and a government that could not deem it fit to supply electricity for Nigerians to watch their beloved country on an Ivorian field. There is a big difference when I tell you that “Thank you for playing for the Nigerian team. I appreciate your patriotism and desire to serve the country through football. However, I don’t think yesterday’s night was your best. Even if connections worked for you, I believe you have the talents and skills that can be improved upon for the best of you and for Nigeria as a whole. Wishing you the best.” and “You are a useless goat. You were just playing rubbish. See you ugly thing. See as you made Nigeria look stupid on the field.” This is from two different mindsets who wanted to criticise something but because of who they are within, the output is different.
Logging in to Twitter and seeing a Twitter user calling Alex Iwobi a very useless player with a pointless ponytail is disheartening. Another online user had wished Alex wasn’t born so he wouldn’t play for Super Eagles. Truly, a prophet (footballer) is not welcome in his own house. Online Nigerian users calling their brother useless, a fool and an animal because of the loss is heartbreaking for the Nigerian spirit that was positive days ago before the finals.
An X (Twitter) user, Eric Okafor, had blamed the cause of the toxicity on social media influencers. In his words, “We love Alex Iwobi and we are more proud of him. This is what happens when you people let influencers gaslight you into being as toxic as social media allows. How else will they justify regulating social media? Pick sense today.” Another Twitter user blamed two popular social media influencers, and for starting the bullying. “Nigerians are very toxic”, a user of Twitter account commented.
This was done to Uzoho, Bukayo and many other public figures in the past and it is fast becoming a normal culture – a culture of bitterness and hate. We have to caution influencers and opinion makers to mind what they instigate their followers to do just for the sake of engagement. Not respecting a fellow human and using him or her as an object to engage more followers or make money is barbaric.
Alex, wherever you are, you did the right thing by going off from social media. Who sees a raging fire and would not run? It’s not pleasant to come online and see your name trending with negativity and majority of the people you are representing are spitting hate in words and pictures. Take off from social media, travel, be close to God and recover from the online shock. I am with the X (Twitter) user, SarkinFoto on this one, ‘we are united against negativity’.
