In Nigeria, freedom of speech means different things to different people. But the most accepted meaning of the concept is, “allow me to say whatever it is that I have to say.” This does not imply that what the person is about to say is the truth or that it is healthy. It does not imply that the person’s speech will not destroy another person, or even a state. It does not imply that his message will not mislead others. All he cared about is that he should be free to express himself.

That aside, I noticed many unfavourable things about the way Nigerians exercise their freedom of speech. The first one is the “shut-up-let-me-say-something” approach. Don’t be too fast to say that the leaders are the ones that do this. Many of us, if not all, are guilty of this. We find people like this in all walks of life. Some people believe they have the sole authority to talk and hence, nobody else should do that. To this group of people, everybody else should be their listeners while they exercise the right to free expression.

The next approach is the “believe-what-I-say-or-you-face-the-mob” attitude. Just like the first approach, the people here see themselves as the authority and so every other person must swallow whatever is thrown their way. To them, their words are authority in themselves and so must never be challenged or questioned. These ones are easily found on social media and among some activists. Ndi Igbo kwenu! If you know, you know.

The third approach is the “you-must-not-speak-against-the-crowd” behaviour. I tested this hypothesis during the #ENDSARS protest and the ensuing violence and marvelled at how strong this approach is. Mark you, there is freedom of speech, but this approach and its adopters insist that your freedom of speech must be submitted to them. Hence, if you won’t join the crowd, then keep quiet so that you don’t get hurt. It is quite pathetic, anyway. A lot of people have lost their voices because they got swallowed up in the mob. This approach is the best for the manipulators of “herd-mentality”.

Then, there is the approach used by those who do not really know the limit of “freedom of speech”. In this group, there are several sub-categories, which might not be discussed here. But I believe that those of us that practice them will locate ourselves and work on them. Now, among the sub-categories here, we have the “I-have-the-right-to-insult-you”, “I-am-free-to-slander”, and “I-can-spread-false-information” sub-approaches. These subgroups cut across different ages, genders, educational qualifications, races and what have you. The only group that is not captured here is the emotionally intelligent.

Honestly, this last major approach is the main message of this essay. The thing is becoming unbearable. People come out to spread lies against individuals and organisations and expect that nothing should be done about that. When the victim raises his voice to debunk the lies, he is told that “there is no smoke without fire”. If he takes it up legally, he would be told that he is being “too dramatic”. For reasons unknown, Nigerians derive joy in seeing others weep.

What about those that spread false information? Does freedom of speech includes spreading unverifiable information? Many people, including me, are victims of false information. A lot of people have been attacked and killed because of this. People have lost their jobs and sources of livelihood to this. And guess what, nobody is saying anything about it because it is considered normal in Nigeria.

The one of insulting people is already a norm in Naija. I mean, insult seems to be the current palm oil with which we eat words. When a person has a different view from yours, instead of tabling his argument, he will start and end with terms such as “oponu”, “imbecile”, “fool”, “dummy”, “idiot”, “werey”…please, fill in the rest. But you know what, a lot of people expect you to accept it. I mean, people think it is normal to call people names during arguments. I don’t know who to blame here because we, the English teachers, always made sure students understand how to be logical in their arguments without insulting their opponents. So where do these people learn how to throw insults without making senses?

I once said that Nigerians are not ready for freedom of speech and people reacted in ways that supported the claim. No one is trying to gag you, but you need to talk to yourself. There is no way you should expect everyone to see things your way because your views will definitely be limited to your own experiences. If the next person has something different to say, kindly listen and learn from it. But if your aim is to influence, then look for facts that will support your argument. Unknown to many people, being “oppressive” in exercising freedom of speech shows them in the negative. No one with valid points loses his cool.

But all in all, freedom of speech is not what many Nigerians think it is. It is time for us to go back to the drawing board and relearn how to express ourselves in the public. If your idea is not constructive, please keep it to yourself. And please remember, everyone has the right to contribute towards the betterment of the society.

After months of reeling, Samsung has picked up pace once again to reclaim its position as the world’s largest smartphone vendor. The South Korean phone maker took the first position ahead of Huawei, who has recently been struggling due to US sanctions that have limited its access to smartphone chips.

Q3 reports from research firms, International Data Corporation (IDC) and Canalys shows Samsung having 23 percent share of the smartphone market, while Huawei falls back to 2nd place on 22 percent year-on-year drop in product shipment across international markets and its home country China.

Though worldwide smartphone shipment declined 1.3% year over year due to coronavirus pandemic, the third quarter 2020 saw an increase in demand of smartphones.

A total of 353.6 million smartphones were shipped during Q3, due to the reopening of economies as COVID-19 restrictions were eased around the world. The supply is seen as a positive sign of recovery for the smartphone industry.

“While some of the topline numbers may not seem pretty, we are seeing a lot of improvement in the smartphone market both in terms of supply chains and consumer demands,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

Samsung took back top position, claiming 22.7% of the market share with shipment of 80.4 million smartphones.

There was significant decline in developed markets, especially in North America, Western Europe and China. But emerging markets, such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia, which rank fourth, fifth, and sixth in the world experienced strong growth, according to IDC’s report.

However, Samsung’s rebound came from its major strongholds, the US and India markets. The South Korean vendor raked in 15% of the total sale from India, its largest market; while in the US, its second largest market, sales, especially from Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, accounted for 20% of Q3 total volume.

The increase in sales in India despite fierce competition from Chinese competitors, Xiaomi and Oppo is as a result of anti-China sentiment and the recent price cut strategy adopted by Samsung.

“Samsung suffered in Q2 due to its dependence on offline retail, but Q3 saw a major recovery. Its momentum was fueled by three key factors.

Firstly, in many regions it saw pent-up demand from Q2 spill over into Q3. Secondly, it regained second place in India, as its Korean brand was shielded from anti-Chinese sentiment. Thirdly, Samsung ramped up its launches of low-to-mid-range devices, and introduced other incentives, such as discounts and free online deliveries, to stimulate demand,” said Canalys analyst Shengtao Jin.

Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers also remarked that distance learning in India, actually boosted the demand for low-end smartphones as they are a more affordable option compared to tablets.

Samsung came from Q2, where Huawei was at top spot due to the pandemic induced depressing smartphone demand, to stage a comeback due to these strategies it adopted in India and also US sanctions on Huawei.

Huawei lost the top spot and settled into the second position with 51.9 million smartphones shipped and 14.7% share. This followed over 15% decline in China and continued decline in its international market share, all resulting in a large drop of 22% year over year.

Xiaomi came third with 46.5 million device shipment, beating Apple for the first time with 13.1% share and 42.0% growth. Despite fierce competition and anti-China sentiment in India, the Chinese vendor has managed to secure 53% growth in the Q3 2020.

IDC attributed Xiaomi’s growth to its production capacity recovered to nearly 85% of its pre-pandemic level, which helped to cater for strong demands. Other factors that helped its growth include Xiaomi’s low-end portfolio, particularly the Redmi 9 Series, that recorded sales boom in both India and China; and the launch of mid-range Redmi K30 Ultra and high-end MI 10 Ultra which were also successful.

Apple’s Q3 report came with disappointing figures that placed the US smartphone maker in fourth position. The California-based vendor shipped a total of 41.6 million iPhones for the quarter, recording 10.6 decline year over year.

The report attributed the drop to the delay in the launch of the new iPhone 12 series, which usually happens in the third quarter. But the Q2 result showed growth from devices such as the iPhone SE.

“Regardless, the iPhone 11 series did exceptionally well, contributing the majority of Apple’s volume, followed by the SE device,” the IDC report said.

Vivo returned to top five with 31.5 million units shipped for 4.2% year over year growth and 8.9% market share. The report attributed its comeback to share increase in India and China markets. Vivo’s under $200 low-end models delivered 30% year over year growth in India.

In China, the brand enhanced the market positions of its S, iQOO, and X series phones that helped continue its strong presence there, the IDC report said.

There is hope that the fourth quarter of the year will give brands like Apple a chance for rebound, with its 5G enabled iPhone 12 paired with robust trade-in offers across major carriers.

However, the second wave of COVID-19 that is forcing another phase of shutdown across Europe is posing a threat to the sustainability of Q3 growth. The second wave will likely force the governments to roll out fresh stimulus, and companies to lay off workers. The widespread bankruptcy that will result from these developments would kill the gains of Q3.