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Jermaine Jenas calls for laws to make social media firms tackle racism

Jermaine Jenas, the former England footballer turned TV presenter, has urged the government to sanction social media companies that fail to stamp out racism and abuse on their platforms.

For months Jenas has been monitoring the rise in online abuse against Black footballers and assessing whether social media companies have kept promises to do more in the wake of abuse faced by Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho after the Euro 2020 final this summer.

In a Channel 4 documentary, Hunting the Football Trolls, Jenas says there has been no improvement in policing and banning racists, and accuses social media companies of being the biggest trolls of all.

“What have social media companies done?” Jenas, who played for Premier League sides including Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, told the Guardian. “They haven’t done anything. The government need to get control over the issue. These companies are operating the way they want to. But if laws are in place they’ll have to work within those laws.”

Channel 4 commissioned the data company Signify to analyse more than 6 million posts across the 2020-21 season including Euro 2020. It found a 48% increase in unmoderated racist abuse in the second half of the season, peaking in May 2021, with 50% of abusive tweets coming from UK accounts.

It also found that Raheem Sterling was subjected to more than twice as much abuse as Harry Kane during the Euros, with 54% of this being racist. Guardian analysis reported similar findings during Euro 2020 – 2,000 abusive tweets were directed at and named the England team including the N-word and monkey emojis.

Jenas said he found a severe disconnect between what the police and social media companies deemed abusive. “The police are working their socks off to get as much information as they can. The UK Football Policing Unit, a specialist department, are actively tracking the things that are online. But generally the police are quite powerless, which I found scary.”

The film explains that police can ask social media companies for information about who set up an abusive account, which IP address posts came from and what devices were used. But a site such as Twitter can sometimes take up to six months to respond, and may determine that the post was not abusive.

In the UK, the online harms bill outlines a duty of care on social media companies to protect users from harmful content. The bill proposes fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual turnover, which would amount to about £6bn for a firm the size of Facebook.

“Nobody knows what happens behind closed doors,” Jenas said. “All footballers look like they’re rich and living great lives but players are receiving an obscene amount of racism and online abuse.

“Social media companies have had more than enough time to adapt and adjust, but all they have done is ask us to change. They’ll send us a new update: turn off these settings, turn off those settings, turn off your comments. But why am I having to do all this when they should be policing it? If people shout abuse at you on the street they’d be arrested, so why are they allowed to do it on these platforms?”

A Facebook company spokesperson said: “No one should have to experience racist abuse anywhere, and we don’t tolerate it on Facebook and Instagram. We remove racist content as soon as we see it and respond to valid legal requests to help with police investigations.

“We’ve also built the Hidden Words tool to prevent people from seeing this abuse in their comments and in DMs … People can also limit comments and DM requests during spikes of increased attention. No one thing will fix this challenge overnight, but we’re committed to continuing our work with the Premier League and others to help keep our community safe from abuse.”

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Osun Commissioner denies sending fake soldiers to Ilobu over ongoing crises

Osun commissioner, Kolapo Alimi, has denied claim that he sent fake soldiers to Ilobu over the the ongoing communal clash between the community and neighbouring Ifon and Erin Osun towns.

The Commissioner said this while responding claim by one Tairu Babatunde, the Public Relations Officer of Ilobu Descendant Union (IDU) that he sent out fake soldiers to Ilobu to carry out killings.

“This is a lie taken to the extreme of great mischief,” Alimi said.

The Commissioner who decried the communal clashes said rather than politicise it, every right thinking person in the affected communities ought to strive for the avoidance of the carnage.

“The killings and destructions in the concerned communities are uncalled for because we are brothers and sisters.

“We have an age long relationship of inter marriages. This brotherhood and sisterhood is what we should promote as opposed to killing and maiming of ourselves. It is despicable and uncalled for.

“More unfortunate is the politicization of the conflicts, by using the conflicts to blackmail my humble self by some political jobbers hiding under the name of the conflicts.

“It started about a year ago when the conflicts between Ifon and Ilobu escalated. Quickly, some politicians from the opposition in Ilobu, hiding under the name of fighting for Ilobu interest started blackmailing Oluomo Kolapo Alimi as the one supporting Ifon against Ilobu.

“These baseless allegations reverberate throughout the length and breadth of Ilobu.

“It took Kolapo Alimi several efforts to disabuse the mind of right thinking people of Ilobu about these allegations.

The situation became worse now that Erin is involved, they reinvented their false claims that Alimi brought fake Soldiers to Ilobu.

“Before I delve into the issues, let’s inform those that might not know or remind those that have forgotten the contributions of Kolapo Alimi to the Development of Ilobu.

“My humble self, Kolapo Alimi , as a young boy, had a spell of almost ten years as a teacher in Ilobu Grammar School,Ilobu. I had a record of hard work which impacted positively on many Ilobu indigenes who are today doing well in their different areas of specialisation.

“Thereafter, when I ventured into public service as a politician and eventually, a Commissioner, I, Kolapo Alimi appointed an Ilobu indigene as my Personal Assistant, (an unprecedented step in our political development in our areas).

“In addition, I have records of facilitating the employment of many Ilobu indigenes into Local Govts, Lautech (now Uniosun teaching hospital) and Civil Defence among other key offices in various establishments in Osun and beyond.

“With all humility and modesty , I make bold to say that, I have assisted many Ilobu indigenes despite the fact that I am not an indigene of the town.
On politics, I stood firmly with Honourable Nasiru Olateju, an Ilobu indigene to become the member representing Irepodun/Orolu state constituency, in 2019. Let me stop at that for now.

“It is then quite surprising and astonishing that some people will deliberately be out as a result of mischief and other reasons, particularly politics, to malign my person and integrity.

“An example of such was a blackmail and malicious press release authored by one Tairu Babatunde, the Public Relations Officer of Ilobu Descendant Union (IDU) in which he alleged that I sent fake soldiers to Ilobu to carry out killings. This is a lie taken to the extreme of great mischief.

“Ordinarily,I wouldn’t have responded the way I am currently doing because, anybody holding a public position, more so, who is into politics, should from time to time expect such backlashes from the political opponents,” the Commissioner concluded.

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“I’m in charge” – Gov Alia dismisses calls for state of emergency in Benue

Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, has dismissed calls for a state of emergency in the state, describing them as politically motivated and a desperate attempt to undermine his administration’s progress.

The Governor was reacting to allegations made by the Centre for Judicial Integrity, CJI, which accused his government of attempting to buy off members of the judiciary.

Governor Alia, through his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, refuted the claims as baseless and unfounded.

He stated that those behind the calls for a state of emergency are disgruntled political elements seeking to destabilize Benue for their selfish interests.

“There is no crisis in Benue State. Governor Hyacinth Alia is fully in charge and committed to good governance,” the statement read.

He urged the people of Benue to disregard the falsehoods being spread by “crisis vendors” and focus on the transformational governance his administration is delivering.

“The call for a “state of emergency” in Benue State is not purely vexatious but also a flagrant display of political opportunism. It is evident that these irritated political operatives are sponsored by unscrupulous factions desperate and eager to capitalize on any situation for their advantage.

“Their motives are clear: to undermine a state that is presently going through effective governance and progress under Governor Alia’s leadership.

“There is no unrest in Benue State. Gov. Hyacinth Alia is fully in charge and control of the state,” he added.

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Tinubu inaugurates academy to nurture future leaders

President Bola Tinubu on Monday inaugurated the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA) to empower young Nigerians and nurture the next generation of leaders.

Tinubu, represented by the Vice-President Kashim Shettima, said the academy would focus on skills development, employment, leadership and civil engagement.

This, according to him will be achieved through world-class training in digital literacy, technical skills, entrepreneurship and the creative industries.

Tinubu said his administration would ensure that the youth were equipped to compete on the global stage

He said initiatives like the Youth Investment Fund and the Presidential Initiative for Youth Enterprise Clusters would provide financial support, mentorship and resources for young entrepreneurs.

“The establishment of the National Youth Development Bank will ensure access to the capital needed to turn ideas into thriving businesses,” said the President.

According to Tinubu, Nigeria is a peculiar nation with a median age of 17 years, one of the youngest in the world.

“This demographic reality presents both extraordinary opportunity and a pressing challenge. The Nigerian Youth Academy is, therefore, our bold response to this reality.

“Over the next two years, this academy will train and empower millions of young Nigerians. It will equip them with the skills, knowledge and opportunities needed to compete with the rest of the world.

“This is not just an investment in their future, it is an investment in the future of our nation,” Tinubu said.

Earlier, Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said the academy would complement other transformative government initiatives that empahaised Tinubu’s commitment to young people.

Edun said the ministry of finance was fully committed to supporting programmes like NIYA that created real values, promoted service export and reduced youth unemployment.

“We will continue to work with the ministry of youth development and other partners to ensure that this platform succeeds and be integrated into the national economic strategy,” Edun said.

Also, Mr Ayodele Olawande, the Minister of Youth Development, said the academy would train, connect and empower the youth with skills needed for entrepreneurship.

“This initiative is for every Nigerian youth and is free. NIYA represents the determination of Mr President to help the youth to build their future, create opportunity for themselves and their family,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highpoint of the event was the presentation of N1 million start-up packs for six youths selected from each geopolitical zones. (PM/NAN)