SPEECH IS NEVER FREE

SPEECH IS NEVER FREE In a society where everyone has a voice but not everyone can afford the consequences of using it,speech becomes a privilege that requires courage. That prompted the question " if people can speak but must constantly fear the consequences of their words,can we truly say they are free? Let us look at it from the legal perspective that people say there's freedom of speech. Yes,there's freedom of speech. The Nigerian constitution; section 39 guarantees freedom of expression but there's difference between freedom of speech and freedom of consequences and that's why section 45 of the same constitution recognizes that certain fundamental human rights including freedom of expression may be restricted by laws reasonably justified in a democratic society for specified purposes. Even the constitution that guarantees freedom of speech recognise that this freedom has consequences. Futhermore,in today's social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X, people have the privilege to express their individual opinions but this privilege comes with prices. This prices can be in form of fear of criticism, bullying, rejection and the list goes on or the fact that these platforms have community guidelines where posts can be removed, account can be suspended or permanently banned. This shows us that platforms where people are encouraged to express themselves, their speech is controlled by rules where violating them can bring consequences. In fact, according to freedom house 2024 reports,Nigeria scored 59 out of 100 and was classified as partly free in Internet freedom. The reports documented arrests of people over their social media activities. When people are afraid to express their genuine opinions because of what might happen to them,can we say speech is free ? For instance, a citizen may be told that he has fundamental human rights, including the freedom of speech. Yet, when he expresses himself, he is either criticized or punished for exercising that right. Let's take the case of a tiktok user, Aliyu musa who was arrested in 2024 over a tiktok video criticizing the police force. The police reportedly argued that the video could lead to a breakdown of law and order. Which means criticizing those in authority can sometimes attract consequences even when it is from a platform. In addition, in our contemporary environment where there's established norms, beliefs and expectations, people are often expected to think,speak, and behave in ways that align with these standards,expressing an uncommon opinion can make someone appear rebellious, disrespectful. In a scenario where we have a person who has a contrary opinion that challenges the society expectations will have to face public humiliation, misunderstood or judged wrongly. This means sometimes people sacrifice their genuine opinions to maintain social acceptance. In conclusion, I strongly believe that speech is never free. Every words we speak,every opinion we express and every statement we publish carries a consequence.We have seen people lose their jobs,face legal battles because of what they have said. A society give everyone the right to speak but untill everyone has the c