Farooq Kperogi: What is at Stake?

Farooq Keprogi

The last few days have been of intense reactions from Nigerians and other nationals on the release of Omoyele Sowore and Sambo Dasuki. The duo had earlier been granted bail by Courts. Despite the judgements, they were kept in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS) until 24th December, 2019.

As the public analysts and ordinary citizens continue examining the forces that shaped their detention and eventual release, Infoprations examines the consequences of the information published by Farooq Adamu Kperogi, a Nigerian academic, media scholar, public speaker and newspaper columnist, alleging the secret killing of Sambo Dasuki.

Information has it that Sambo Dasuki is a retired Nigerian Army Colonel and former National Security Adviser to the former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He was appointed NSA on June 22, 2012, following the removal of General Owoye Andrew Azazi. In 2015, Colonel Dasuki was arrested over $2bn arms fraud and accused of awarding phantom contracts to buy 12 helicopters, four fighter jets and ammunition.

Farooq Keprogi is an Associate Professor at the Kennesaw State University in the United States of America. In the last two years, he has been the main Critic of the President Muhammadu Buhari from the Global North. Apart from being a public analyst, Farooq Keprogi is a renowned linguist, helping people to understand the right use of English Language using his website and other platforms.

However, his publication that alleged the killing of Dasuki has been hunting him and leading to different reactions across Nigeria, most importantly from his region (North). Among the social commentators, public affairs analysts and ordinary citizens, his publication posed the greatest risk to the unity in the country. Our analyst observes that this position aligns with the view of a University Don ahead of the 2019 General Elections on the implications of fake news and hate speech.

The Timeline

Since January, 2019, our analysis shows that people have been having significant interest in Farooq Keprogi. Our first analysis indicates that people have had the course of seeking information about Farooq Keprogi in relation with Sambo Dasuki. Analysis reveals 52.2% connection between the interest in Farooq Keprogi and Sambo Dasuki. Analysis further shows that there is no positive connective between Farooq Keprogi and Fake News, suggesting that people do not seek information about the Professor in relation to the need of understanding fake news within global and national context. We specifically discover -0.4% linkage, which translates to 0.4% reduction in interest about fake news.

Surprisingly, we could not find a link between the Professor’s activism or criticism of the current administration towards better governance in the country. Our expectation is that people should seek information about good governance considering the position of some public affairs analysts and citizens (in the online communities) that the US-based Professor is playing significant roles in checkmating the excesses of the current administration.  Our analysis reveals that one percent of interest in Farooq Keprogi reduces interest in good governance by 51.8%.

Source: Google Trends, 2019; Infoprations Analysis, 2019

Potential Reputation Crisis

As the negative reactions continue to trail the fake news, our analyst notes that Professor Farooq Keprogi and Kennesaw State University are likely to have reputation crisis, which must be mitigated with data-driven strategies and tactics. Though, our real time analysis is yet to reveal a positive link between people’s interest in Farooq Keprogi and the University regarding the fake news, it is possible to have the crisis considering the reactions such as:

“Dear @kennesawstate, it's appalling you still have @farooqkperogi as a lecturer in your reputable university. That man is an agent of destruction that often peddle fake news that may likely instigate a genocide in his home country, Nigeria. You can view his posts for your perusal.”

“Professor Farooq Kperogi told us last week that Buhari has killed Dasuki and he went further to give a detailed description of how it happened. Should we continue to tolerate this level of fake news?”

“I stopped trusting this Ph.D. man a long time ago. I wonder how people take you serious anymore. Your bitterness towards this government has clouded everything good in you.”

“May your sources never be as 'reliable' as those of @farooqkperogi 'WhatsApp' Kperogi, a low-IQ journalism 'scholar' at a low-ranking US university whose only definition of 'reliable source' is a viral.”

“Lies have speed, but truth has endurance. Whenever you do something that is not aligned with the yearning of your soul you create suffering. though, Dr. Farooq Kperogi blocked me sometimes in 2018 when I engaged him on bogus, he fabricated to discredit @MBuhari.”

What is at Stake?

Beyond the personal and institutional reputation damages which could result from the ongoing reactions, the incident could lead to more efforts intensification towards the assent of the Nigeria Social Media and Hate Speech Bills into Law by the current administration. Having the bills could mean the death sentence for anyone found guilty of hate speech.