I have had cause to take myself out of several platforms over the years. Oftentimes, it would be a platform for some distant friends’ cousins’ wedding. I have never understood why I am involved. I don’t know this distant friend’s cousin, and the distant friend is barely a friend.
Why am I now on a platform to contribute money towards the wedding? Why am I involved in choosing colours for the aso-ebi? Why am I even encouraged to pay for the aso-ebi? I honestly have never understood it. This thing we do as a people. Why was I not even informed that I was being added to a group of unknown persons?
The first time it happened to me, a friend in church added me to a platform where a church member whom I did not know had a wedding in her family. Her son was getting married. I neither knew this woman nor her son. I exited the platform with the plan to berate the church member who added me. When I saw her in church the following Sunday, she was mad with me instead. Over what, I asked her. I am the one who should be angry. She said I had disgraced her by pulling out of the platform, and therefore, I had encouraged everyone else to leave. I was past caring and told her off.
My phone number is a security code and my personal identity. Why should anyone without asking me share same with total strangers? It amazes me that this simple social media etiquette is ignored by most Nigerians.
Who are these Nigerians who think the best way to help a friend of theirs who you don’t know is to put you on a platform with random persons who, in turn, now take advantage of you?
Someone’s parent passes and you are suddenly on a platform encouraged to contribute. Come, did you ask my permission? I have truly become famous for pulling out of platforms I know next to nothing about. Now we have platforms for retirement, for baby naming, for birthdays, and other such other social things. My pain is that even if you remove yourself, several persons whom you don’t know now have your number and can begin to pester you for money and favours.
I am just amazed that the platforms are for all sorts of things. Naming ceremony, husband’s birthday, baby’s teething and such other nonsense matters. I don’t know your husband. Why am I on a platform with total strangers who are your husband’s friends? Why is your daughter’s graduation my business? I don’t even know her.
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Why am I bombarded with idiotic comments, traumatic posts and politics on an Asoebi platform? Why am I seeing pictures of a set of people in distress, a happy goat and a fig drinking coke? I am not interested. This is information terrorism. I am not interested. Often you are notified that you were added by people who are not on your phone. This is so insane! We can’t force people to contribute or join anything they were not told about. No one is in prison. This does not mean I am not on some platforms where I chose to be on or the ones I was informed about. But a lot of them degenerate into some strange stuff, and sometimes there are fights and harsh words. I don’t want to be in the middle of any of this. People should advise themselves. There are ethics for being on a platform. A lot of times, people simply refuse to follow the rules.
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Who are these Nigerians who think the best way to help a friend of theirs who you don’t know is to put you on a platform with random persons who, in turn, now take advantage of you?
If you are to put me on a platform, please let me have the choice of wanting to join or not, even if I know you.
Sorry people, I think it’s pretty disrespectful and high security risk not to tell me. I have therefore decided to post messages saying you have no business putting me on a platform you did not tell me about, and I am therefore pulling out. Even though I know that even if I pull out some strangers now have my number, I still make my point anyway. Please stop doing this. It’s unethical, and I am truly mad about it. Thank you.
