Remember the good old days? Back when we thought the internet was going to be this great democratizing force. A digital town square where every voice mattered, where information would flow freely and tyrants would tremble.
What a load of crap that was.
Turns out, the internet is just another tool. And like any tool, it can be used to build a house or to bash someone’s skull in. Right now, governments around the world are getting really good at the skull-bashing part. And if you want to see the blueprint for how it’s done, look no further than what’s happening in Nigeria.
The Tyrant's New Toolkit
They call it "digital authoritarianism," which is a fancy, academic way of saying Nigeria’s government is using digital technology to repress citizens. A researcher explains how. It’s not some far-off dystopian fantasy; it’s happening right now in Africa’s most populous nation.
The turning point, it seems, was the #EndSARS movement in 2020. For a brief, shining moment, it looked like a real, grassroots movement, powered by social media, was about to hold the powerful accountable. You could almost feel the panic in the air, the frantic scramble of officials who suddenly realized they couldn't control the narrative anymore. People in Lagos and across the country were organizing online, sharing evidence, and bypassing the state-run media. It was the internet’s promise made real.
And the Nigerian government’s response? It was predictable. No, 'predictable' doesn't cover it—it was a five-alarm dumpster fire of authoritarian panic.
First, they banned Twitter. The official excuse was a masterclass in corporate doublespeak, claiming the platform was being used for “activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” Let me translate that for you: “People are using it to say things we don’t like, and it’s making us look bad.” Give me a break. It's the digital equivalent of putting your hands over your ears and screaming "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU."
But a simple ban wasn't enough. That’s just whack-a-mole. The real prize is building the mole-whacking machine itself. So what did they do next? According to reports, they went shopping. They allegedly reached out to the absolute masters of digital oppression, China, to inquire about building their own version of the “Great Firewall.” Think about that. They want to import a pre-packaged censorship and surveillance system, a digital iron curtain to drop over 200 million people. And the companies selling this stuff just...
Sold Separately: 'Development' and 'Control'
This is where the story gets even more insidious. These tools of repression aren't always sold in a box labeled "OPPRESSION-WARE 5000." They come disguised as something else entirely: progress.
The playbook is simple. A government in a place like Nigeria or even South Africa goes to a foreign supplier—be it from China, the US, or Israel—and says, "We need to modernize. We want smart cities, national broadband networks, all the shiny tech that makes us look like we’re in the 21st century." And the suppliers, motivated by profit and a chance to expand their influence, are more than happy to oblige.
This is the ultimate Trojan horse. The fiber optic cables laid for "economic development" can also be used to monitor all internet traffic. The AI-powered surveillance cameras installed for "public safety" in Lagos are perfect for facial recognition and tracking protestors. It’s like buying a home security system that, buried deep in the terms and service you never read, gives the security company the right to listen to every conversation in your living room. Offcourse, they'll say it's for your own good.
What's the real end game here? Is it truly about building a modern nation, or is that just the marketing pitch for installing a digital nervous system that the state can control? I find it hard to believe these are separate goals. The line between "development" and "security" has been deliberately blurred until it’s disappeared entirely. Modernization has become the vehicle for total information control.
It’s easy to point fingers at the Nigerian government, but what about the companies and countries selling them the shovels to dig these digital graves? Are we really supposed to believe that American and European tech firms don't know how their "dual-use" technologies are being implemented? It ain't a secret. They know exactly what they're selling, and they're cashing the checks anyway. It’s the same old story of profit over principle, just with more fiber optics.
Just Another Tuesday on the Internet
Let's be real. This isn't a "Nigeria problem" or an "Africa problem." This is the global template. The tools of digital control are getting cheaper, more efficient, and more marketable every single day. What’s being tested and refined in Abuja today is just a product demo for the rest of the world tomorrow. The idea that this couldn’t happen in a so-called "developed" democracy is dangerously naive. The infrastructure is already here. All it takes is the political will and a convenient crisis to flip the switch. The promise of a free, open internet is dead. We're just living in its ghost, and the rent is coming due.
