I just couldn’t help but jump on this topic immediately after seeing it this morning, I mostly feel this way when i love and find a particular topic interesting enough to talk about, especially if it’s relating to my rights as a citizen of a country. I guess I will be having lots of things to say today on this topic. Are you ready to walk with me on this topic, if you are then let’s dive right into it…
A funny phrase relating to this topic just popped up in my head right now, for every Nigerian who will be participating in this prompt I believe this phrase will be somewhat familiar to them, since it is one of the most used phrases in our country, especially in the aspect of freedom of speech. This is the funny phrase below;
Freedom of speech is guaranteed, but then the freedom after speech is never guaranteed…
This particular phrase somehow sounds like a threat to me, this phrase is like a daily reminder to the public that they need to be very conscious of every word that comes out of their mouth in the process of exercising their freedom of speech…
What you say can be used and will be used against you at any point in time if care isn’t taken, especially for those of us in the lower class, exercising our freedom of speech against those in power can cost us greatly, which is why many of us choose to limit ourselves in exercising those rights, even when we have the privilege to exercise them freely. As i have said in the past, the freedom after speech is never guaranteed…
Moving on, i have been in this country long enough to know how my country and its system operates. When it comes to wether or not our freedom of speech can be taken away from us, i have been in this country long enough to tell you the answer to this question is a 2 way street…
Our right to free speech cannot be directly taken away from us, and this is because the country is governed by a constitutional law that protects the freedom of speech of everyone, which means we all have the freedom to voice out our opinions at any point in time, but then there is no law guaranteeing the freedom after speech, which is why we need to make use of our senses when exercising our rights…
I also believe our freedom of speech can be taken away from us, imagine speaking against someone in power and as a result of that action you end up getting arrested by the authorities, and probably found guilty for defamation. In this case your freedom of speech has been restricted and can be taken away from you, especially if you are up against someone in power…
When threat is introduced to the public, our freedom of speech is limited, if it can be limited it means it can also be taken away completely, but mostly by illegal means…
Ten heads are better than nine, the fact is that we can’t be stopped from saying what’s on our mind, on a scale of 1-100, the rate at which people come out to speak their minds in public is quite high, the lesser percentage are those scared of speaking up because of the likely outcome of their actions if care is not taken…
The world is made up of both fearless ones and the fearful ones, the fearless ones dominate the public but then there might be a cost if they aren’t well managed, while the fearful ones choose silence, but then when they get pushed to the walk they end up becoming more violent and fearless than the normal ones, without worrying about what could befall them in the course of exercising their right to speak…
I won’t blame those who are scared or those who feel intimidated by the opposing force, the reason for their fear is well known, they choose to be silent because they have more to lose in the battle than they will ever gain, especially when they are up against those in power…
This is something I will do when many people are involved. Even after voicing out our minds there’s no guarantee change or improvements anywhere. It is better to keep mute and be safe than to speak up and be in danger…
In summary, the reason why many people don’t speak up is because of their fear of the aftermath, they are scared of what might happen to them if those they speak up against decide to retaliate. Those in power don’t play safe at all when angered, they play really dirty and that too very reckless…
In conclusion, I believe if there’s a guaranteed protection of identity,, everything will be much better and safer, at least this will keep them from harms way, unlike what would happen if they revealed to the public…
THANKS FOR READING…