PhotoCredit: Porapak Apichodilok
The current digital rights landscape in Nigeria is plagued with a lot of half-truths and skepticism about the government’s true intentions in making digital devices accessible for all. The past administration leveraged the acceptance of Elon Musk’s Starlink as a way of claiming that the internet penetration in Nigeria is at 100% and that, in my humble opinion is far from the truth. The peak of COVID-19 showed us that we have a long way to go in bridging the digital inclusion gap as information could not reach a lot of people who had no access to or could not afford to purchase any digital device. The Twitter ban by the Nigerian Government, which happened from 5 June 2021 to 13 January 2022 also dampened the citizen’s trust in the government’s mandate to ensure free speech for its citizens. Here are some ways that I believe we can improve the state of digital rights:
- The Digital Rights and Freedom Bill (2019) should be passed into law. According to Paradigm Initiative, this is a bill that seeks to protect Internet users in Nigeria from infringement of their fundamental freedoms and to guarantee the application of human rights for users of digital platforms and/or Digital media. With the advent of generative AI and the proliferation of deep fakes, this would serve as a quick win for the current administration and send a signal to stakeholders that the government is willing to improve on digital inclusion.
- Collaboration and Capacity Building:
The government should invest in enhancing the capacity of institutions and relevant stakeholders responsible for enforcing digital rights, such as Civil Societies, the National Human Rights Commission, Youth Advocates, and the Judiciary. These bodies must be empowered to tackle digital rights issues. Providing adequate resources, training programs, and technical expertise is essential for the effective implementation and enforcement of digital rights by the commission.
- Make Universal Access a Priority: This has the potential to increase the country’s GDP and close the digital divide by building better infrastructure and offering training programs with a strong caveat that it should be accessible nationally.
While no policy is infallible, domesticating a policy that protects young people’s voices from being stifled can always be counted as a step in the right direction.
