NewStats: 3,261,915 , 8,175,526 topics. Date: Saturday, 31 May 2025 at 01:17 AM 3l1d5b

Politicians Paying Moronic Youths As Internet Warriors

[size=18pt]Letter from Africa: Nigeria's internet warriors[/size]

In our series of letters from African journalists, writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at the online battle hotting up ahead of next year's elections in Nigeria.

When it comes to providing work for idle minds, the devil seems to have a particular fondness for Nigerian youths, especially around election times.

Most elections conducted in Nigeria over the past decades have been characterised by thuggery.

Politicians turn to the country's pool of unemployed millions to recruit young people who will aid their democratic ambitions.

These youths are then trained and empowered to manipulate the electoral climate.

Their job description includes anything from intimidating political opponents to seizing ballot boxes and clobbering uncooperative electoral officers.

But times are definitely changing.

Rather than supplying them with machetes, missiles and matches, Nigerian politicians are now arming their hirelings with laptops, smart phones and internet connections.

Political thuggery has gone digital.

As Nigeria gears up for the 2015 general elections, squads of young people are being recruited across the nation to storm cyberspace: To harass, intimidate and persecute their employer's opponents or those with views that oppose his ambitions.

For many Nigerian youths, being an "internet warrior" is a full-time job.

Some work from home; others work from an office - many work round the clock.

I spoke to a 28-year-old chemistry graduate who patrols the online war front for one of Nigeria's popular politicians.

Every morning, he gets dressed and embarks on a 20-minute drive to work, where he sits in an office with dozens of other young people on the same mission as himself.

With a burst of laughter, he summarised his job description in three words: "Distort public opinion".

He and his colleagues have about 10 different pseudonyms each for news websites and blogs, but fewer for Facebook and Twitter.

They bombard articles about their politician with positive comments, and blast those of his opponents with negative posts.

"I usually use corruption and ethnicity to attack," he said.

Some months ago, he was engaged in the exact opposite: Maligning his current employer.

At the time, he was working in an enemy camp, but the pay and conditions were not as favourable as those offered him now.

"They had promised us jobs," he said, "but when the time came, they offered all the positions to people from their constituency."

[size=14pt]No broken bones[/size]

Another young man told me that certain online platforms, especially newspapers, block any comments his team post in of their candidate.

Others allow for his principal, and disallow negativity from enemy camps.

It all depends on whose payroll the newspaper's online editor has been signed.

These internet warriors, while not stealing ballot boxes or bullying electoral officers, are manipulating the electoral climate.

Public opinion is being rigged.

At this rate, the forthcoming elections will be full of many surprises, especially for those who depend on online forums to gauge Nigerians' sentiments on any issue.

Meanwhile, the multitude of Nigerians who actually go out to stand in the rain or sun for hours to vote on election day, often do not have internet connections in their shacks.

Being an internet warrior certainly comes across as a more acceptable form of thuggery than ripping shirts and hurling stones in the streets.

Brain instead of brawn. No bones broken, no limbs amputated, no blood shed, no lives lost.

[size=14pt]Broken promises[/size]

The pseudonymous adversaries may even be best friends.

At the close of business, they shut their laptops and meet at the pepper-soup t down the road for a stout, the day's vicious tasks safely behind their screens.

But what will become of all these recruits when the 2015 battles have been lost or won?

Despite the promises that may have been made to them, not all will be given better jobs or government appointments.

The Niger Delta oil militants who terrorised southern Nigeria a few years ago were reported to be thugs used during election campaigning who suddenly found themselves jobless - but adequately armed after the ballots had been cast.

Some of the Boko Haram insurgents currently terrorising the north were also born out of a similarly expired campaign contract.

Increased armed robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in different parts of Nigeria after elections have also been linked to youths with weapons who find an alternative use for them.

I wonder what these armies of young Nigerians will do with their laptops, smart phones and internet connections after the 2015 electoral battle - which many politicians view as Armageddon - is over.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29237507

Sincere9gerian, tomakint, Jking001, PointB and others (with your numerous monikers), you are busted!



At least it is now public knowledge you are being paid to help continue destroying your own lives and pendusky's life.

The Title Should Have Been:

[size=14pt]Letter To The TANiods and OccupySocialMediaForJonadafft Group[/size]

Ngene ukwenu, gbawe, berem etc I hope your conscience troubles you as you deceive gullible Nigerians for your pay master

Please what business does tinubu own that afforded him 166 houses in Lagos apart from 20 in ikoyi alone.

Keep enjoying your brown envelopes . Evil youths.

Finally. I knew there was an explanation behind the otu nne gi boys.

Sagamite: Sincere9gerian, tomakint and others (with your numerous monikers), you are busted!



At least it is now public knowledge you are being paid to help continue destroying your own lives and pendusky's life.

This is penkelemesi

"I usually use corruption and ethnicity to attack," he said. 

This is the exact way these APC people attack by using ethnicity aka Yoruba to twist the minds of Nigerians

I was caught in their online hypnosis as I am a Yoruba man first ! But never again, I hope other Yorubas open their eyes before its too late.

Priceless topic sagamite! As per the use of ethnicity Eko Ile pioneered that nonsense on this site

nku5: Priceless topic sagamite! As per the use of ethnicity Eko Ile pioneered that nonsense on this site

Lolz you mean Babapupa, Agbameta, mafiaman, plaindealer and recently aresa.

Una see una life outside? I told you guys to desist from e-warrior thing.. It is not good for ya health.

Jmain:
Lolz you mean Babapupa, Agbameta, mafiaman, plaindealer and recently aresa.

Don't forget berem, Gbawe , Ngene

All they do is promote APC, encourage Corruption and twist the truth to their favour.

Notice all their post is on the political section and its all about how good APC is and how bad PDP is.

In fact they were so good even I alj harem fell for their gimmick . Looool .

Nairalanders shine your eyes

aljharem:

Don't forget berem, Gbawe , Ngene

All they do is promote APC, encourage Corruption and twist the truth to their favour.

Notice all their post is on the political section and its all about how good APC is and how bad PDP is.

In fact they were so good even I alj harem fell for their gimmick . Looool .

Nairalanders shine your eyes

It is allowed, this is the politics section where extreme propaganda is fair game by all active parties

Sagamite: Sincere9gerian, tomakint, Jking001, PointB and others (with your numerous monikers), you are busted!



At least it is now public knowledge you are being paid to help continue destroying your own lives and pendusky's life.

And they never fail to display their stupidity in its purest form.

They won't provide good jobs for the jobless graduates.

They only offer them the hatchet jobs and later dump them.

O ma se oooooo.

Sagamite: Sincere9gerian, tomakint, Jking001, PointB and others (with your numerous monikers), you are busted!



At least it is now public knowledge you are being paid to help continue destroying your own lives and pendusky's life.

Sagamite, you don craze before?

And Ngwakwe! Dude is now active since he got sacked by Seun.

tomakint:
Sagamite, you don craze before?

You are a cretinous person!

How much are you selling your future for, jobless youth?

aljharem:

Don't forget berem, Gbawe , Ngene

All they do is promote APC, encourage Corruption and twist the truth to their favour.

Notice all their post is on the political section and its all about how good APC is and how bad PDP is.

In fact they were so good even I alj harem fell for their gimmick . Looool .

Nairalanders shine your eyes

I swear you don kolo finish.............

If the politicians are doing what they have to do to win elections, the electorates have to do what they have to, to make politicians serve them.

The easiest way is to make sure there are always alternatives to parties in order not to be taken for granted.

This is the reason electorates have to the APC to have a strong alternative to the PDP.

[size=20pt] APC today![/size]

Jmain:

Lolz you mean Babapupa, Agbameta, mafiaman, plaindealer and recently aresa.

Lol!

Didn't know someone else noticed.

Change is always a constant thing!

No one mentioned the great BEAF. That guy was a serious warrior. He couldn't have been paid anything less than 100K to GEJ on NL. Babanla E-warrior, it only took Gbawe to rip him off his job








RIP beaf

Where dem dey submit cv?

FRONT PAGE... TNX oga JESUS

Warriors indeed. They are employed by APC and PDP.

Ok

Well that explains a lot.
I suspected that many in politics were jobless, but the joke is on me

yeeeee