Legislative Control and Native Metaphors in Social Media Interactions in Africa: Making Liberal Press Theories Functional in the Continent

Abstract

Executive and the legislators find a way of making laws and pronouncements that implicate citizens and impinge on their right to freedom of expression. This exploratory position paper notes that the struggle of citizen to stay afloat because of government controls and regulatory attempts ought to have gained added advantage because of technology. The study observes that Netizens are yet to discover the sanctuary in metaphorical cues embedded in many native metaphors of Nigerian and other African heritage. It recommends message sender’s encryptions using native metaphors, as they are essential bulwark against legislative fiats and sundry control ticks that could inhibit freedom of expression on social media.KeywordsLegislative controlNative metaphorsSocial media interactionsAlibiFree speech