By Prince Debo Luwaji
This piece is meant to be a timely call for caution, before the casualty starts to mount. Those who have ingeniously turned funny pranks into business would argue that their intentions are noble and harmless, but several of the kinds I have seen lately are tending towards putting their unsuspecting targets in harm’s way!
Those who produce these pranks are many and increasing daily, apparently spurred by the new wave of money spinning enterprise that a growing social media presence has suddenly become.
Unguarded and uncensored in their desperation to gain followership, these guys seem to be in an unspoken competition to outdo one another on whose plots are most brazen, crafty, audacious or bizarrely eye-popping!
You probably know what I am talking about. Comedy skits are commonplace these days. Its difficult not to have come across a couple of them, whether you are a big fan or not. Once you run through your phone, a single curious click on a video is all you need to bring its likes tumbling down in synchronised intervals. In many cases, they are the worst kinds of April Fool pranks!
I must admit , of course, that they have their relevance. In the midst of our current chaotic mixture of saddening and confusing socio-economic realities, many of the comedy skits really do constitute a delightful entertainment and a welcome distraction.
Could we really blame them for cashing in on the moment? When times are as tough as they are, what else is anyone left with in these days other than the sermons in our worship centres, the soothing messages in the media (if you care to be that selective) and just about anything witty to take our minds off the very dispiriting circumstances that seem to envelope us unyieldingly.
So, its not surprising that comedy skits are gaining traction everywhere you turn.The fact that anyone with a good phone or camera can constitute himself into a one-man mini television station, with sole responsibility for content creation, videography, script writing, editing, quality assurance and legal advisor, all roled into one without the burden of submitting to any vetting by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) or any such regulator makes this genre an open field for anything goes.
There lies the problems. Do these skit makers know the extent of their liability should the targets of their expensive jokes fall into any grievous harm? The Police or some public enlightenment authority must take this up quickly before we have some rising casualties on our hands.
Take the instance of a woman accosted on the road; was shown what looked like a concealed gun with a stern messsge that an enemy somewhere had paid for her head. Or a man who was approached in a bar, had a note dropped for him surreptitiously in which was wriiten: “the man behind you has a bottle of acid he plans to use on you. He thinks you’re going out with his wife”.
The plots are diverse and often very dramatic, sometimes creating sudden palpitations that some weak hearts may not handle. There are cases in which the targets took to their heels and into the road, oblivious of vehicles or any real dangers. Until the pranker called their attention to a hidden camera and apologised for their victim’s obvious disconfixture.
In this kind of drama anything could go wrong. As it did in a recent case when a final year undergraduate student jumped out of a tricycle and was fatally injured when a pranker told her he was a robber.
Remorseful for the unintended consequence of his joke, the young pranker stayed back to take the victim to the hospital where she died of her wounds. His unhappy parents took care of the burial expenses as the bereaved family refused to press charges. God gives. God takes. Why not just leave vengeance to him? Typical Nigerian reaction!
That’s a key problem in Nigeria, impunity. People engage in all manner of risky undertakings that pose severe threats to others, knowing they would get away with the adverse consequences of their actions one way or another.
To be pardoned for the most serious infringement on others’ safety or reputation is some half hearted apologies. Ultimately, no one pays any penalty for causing others grief, and its often for God’s sake.
That’s why I am happy about some cases in court where victims of some petty postings are suing for damages. How could you destroy others in your selfish quest for increased followership on social media?
Prince Debo Luwaji is a Public Affairs Analyst and Entrepreneur
