NFF to stop players from using social media

A code of conduct that will restrict players of the national team from publishing camp activities on social media is underway.

Pinnick

According to the Nigeria Football Federation’s website, this was disclosed by its President, Amaju Pinnick, earlier today.

The move could have been instigated by the recent face-off between the Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh, and its erstwhile captain, Vincent Enyeama.

Enyeama had posted on his Instagram page how he was “humiliated” by Oliseh at the Super Eagles camp in Belgium. The post, coupled with a reaction from the coach, caused a nationwide stir, which lasted throughout last week.

The post published on thenff.com quoted Pinnick as saying that the code of conduct would restrict players from publishing training and other official activities on social media during national camps.

He said the players submitted to similar practices in their clubs, and that there was no reason such restraints should not be imbibed at the level of national engagements. 

“No player launches his career through the social media. When players are at their clubs, they don’t broadcast the camp’s situation on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. The same restraint and discipline must be observed in the national camps,” the NFF boss was quoted as saying. 

When implemented, the code of conduct, according to him, will spell out how players and officials will conduct themselves. He said it would also reduce conflicts.

He said, “A small group had been working on the code of conduct and I am happy to say that it is now ready for implementation. This will spell out how players and officials must conduct themselves while in any of the national camps, and minimise the probability of misunderstanding between coaches and players.”

Already, lawyers, social media activists and communication experts are kicking against the move by the football body.

Speaking with on telephone, Mr. Japheth Omojuwa, a leading social media analyst, said limiting members of the Super Eagles from the use of social media would further distance them from the fans.

  

He said, “The NFF should know that Super Eagles’ fans are not in their best mood at the moment. This is when the federation should encourage footballers to connect more with their fans. They do that at their clubs; hence, they cannot do otherwise while on national assignments.

When they cannot post photos and training programmes on Twitter and Instagram, you are limiting their ability to connect with fans. And that is not going to do the national team any good.”

Omojuwa urged the NFF to use other means to instill discipline in the footballers rather than banning them from using social media, saying Nigeria could not afford to ignore a trend that had been adopted worldwide. 

Also, Dr. Isa Momoh of the School of Media and Communication, the Pan Atlantic University, said such a restriction would amount to a breach of the freedom of press.

According to him, it does not make any difference whether the NFF uses a code of conduct or a policy to restrict the players’ communication need. Whichever means it uses, he said, the proposed ban would affect the ability of the players to engage with Nigerians.

Extending the argument, Chuks Nwachukwu, a constitutional lawyer, said it was unlawful to say the footballers should not interact with Nigerians while in camp.

“As Nigerians, they are free to comment on Super Eagles if they see anything wrong with the manner it is run. By fair comment rule, nobody can stop them from expressing their opinions.

“What they could say is that they should not post things that will bring the team into public ridicule. The law is concerned about what you say. It cannot say you should not talk at all. So, you cannot say they should not say anything. That is against their fundamental human rights.”