Professor Soyinka says Barbarians have taken over social media

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has lamented over the sorry state the social media has fallen into in recent times.

According to him, the social media space has been dragged down to the lowest common denominator and taken over by people he described as “barbarians”.

The literary icon made the assertion while speaking on Saturday at the 48th President’s party and his investiture as a honourary member of Abeokuta Club, Ogun.

“I’m astonished and flabbergasted that people are so power besotted that they can’t even accept the possibility that they did not win an election. It does not matter whether you are right or wrong or they are right. It is just a question. Take your facts to the table, let’s examine them carefully, consider the possibility that we may be wrong or you may be wrong but you don’t have to descend into demonisation of the group to which others belong in order to establish your point.

“I don’t deal in social media. As far as I’m concerned, babarians have taken over social media and they have swap the intellectual quotient which used to make and still make social media valid in other society. Here in this country, social media has been dragged down to the lowest common denominator.

“However, I believe in the community of the intellect of minds and creativity to rescue us from the monstrosity that the social media has become (in this country),” he was quoted as saying.