Celebrating the Dead, Crucifying the Living: Paradox of Social Media Judges

Celebrating the Dead, Crucifying the Living: Paradox of Social Media Judges

By Alex Enemanna

An Igbo proverb says the world is like a marketplace where you come, transact and go home. For my dear namesake, Alex Ikenna Ekubo, a talented actor and filmmaker, who incidentally is from my God’s Own State, Abia, the world is no longer his home. He has completed his earthly journey and transited. What is left of him is the footprint he created in the minds of those he came in contact with and of course his big name in the creative industry.

But beyond his exit, we have read torrents of tributes from social media users and his fans who have expressed grief, sadness and deep pain over the unforeseen departure of the young and handsome entertainer who easily grabs attention. Like the Biblical Rachel, their eyes are overflowing with tears of anguish and their heart bleeds profusely and they have refused to be comforted, for their favourite movie start is no more. Interesting isn’t it?

The paradox of this love in the casket can easily be seen on the flip, as recent as 2022 when this same social media served as the courtroom to trial, judge and convict Ekubo of whatever it is that was levelled against him by his erstwhile fiancée, a US-based model, Fancy Acholonu when their relationship hit the rock. Like a pride of lion hungry for flesh, the social media served as a slaughter slab, descended on him vociferously, devoured him with utter viciousness and made a mincemeat of his reputation, then move on, looking for the next matter to judge. Even before Ekubo could alter a single word to tell his own side of the story, the world had already passed and executed judgement. It is the way of a generation with a fixation for inflicting injury, then come back to weep for their victim.

Those who gave him war with their keypads are now masquerading as angels of peace. Those who tore him to shreds with their tongues of sword today have every soothing words to say of him. Those who condemned him to death are now asking death ‘oh why’? What is it with social media and love in the casket?

Today, two full-grown adults are struggling to explain to this same social media, a street of toxicity why they decided to be with each other as husband and wife when they clearly could not find fulfillment in their first unions. Judith Austin and Yul Edochie are arguably the most vilified and bullied personalities in Nigeria’s social media space today.

We grab our keypads, carefully craft awful and hurtful messages about people we barely know their stories, people on whose shoes we can’t step into and people whose inner battle we have no scintilla knowledge of. We mock and laugh them to scorn, same way Ekubo’s failed relationship became a thing of entertainment for everyone, not knowing he was fighting a battle for survival — cancer, which was later said to have taken him to his creator.

Today, if anything goes wrong, same social media that says Edochie and his darling wife, Judith should live in perpetual sadness and regret will flood everywhere with pretentious love and tears of hypocrisy. Paradoxical isn’t it? We easily forget that somehow, what we wish others have a way of coming back into our lives. You can’t be wishing others endless sadness and expect everlasting joy. Mbanu! Is Judith Austin the first woman to have left a relationship she no more finds love and respect in? How often, my cherished reader have you walked out of someone’s life? Is Yul Edochie the first man to marry a second wife? Why are we silently praying praying for evil to befall them? Do you own the universe?

We commit so much energy, time and resources analysing the lifestyle of people we hardly know, even plan a life for them, yet we pay a deaf ear to the litany of personal issues staring at us brazenly. Since you pontificate in sainthood, as the keeper of gate of morals, why not lift your hand to cast the first stone oh ye without sin? If two individuals, adults for that matter have decided to be with each other, the best society owes them is to wish them luck. If for any reason a party feels aggrieved, the courts are open to seek redress. Unleashing avalanche of curses on them, as if you are Jehovah, the Creator of universe, from whom all good things flow is both nonsensical and of no effect.

If it takes 6 feet to activate the humanity in us, if the living cannot enjoy the peace within us, if media liberalisation only serves as conduit to spew venom over words of peace, love and calm, then there is something fundamentally wrong and it calls for a holistic change and there never a better time to be a new person than now.

𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙜𝙤…

It is indeed very troubling that a month after, relevant authorities are yet to secure the release of the dozens of schoolchildren and their teachers abducted from Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area for Oyo State. More worrisome is the report of serial torture and dehumanisation of the victims by the clearly wicked kidnappers.

The trauma, agony and the psychological disturbances their parents and loved ones have gone through at this moment is better imagined. Our hearts are indeed with them.

This is a passionate appeal to the relevant agencies of government, particularly the security and intelligence organisations to fast-track efforts to secure the safe release of these patriots and indeed every other Nigerian held captive within the shores of this country. We want an end to the reign of terror on innocent citizens. That is leadership.

Enemanna, an Abuja-based journalist writes from alexenemanna3@gmail.com