In northern Nigeria, the Islamic police are playing the intelligence card with influencers in order to drive out “immoral content” from social networks. A new attitude that contrasts with his usual oppression, but is difficult to convince.
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Last January, Murja Kunya, a young TikTok star, was arrested along with about ten other celebrities for “immoral behavior on social networks that could corrupt the youth.”
She was arrested at a hotel in Kano, the northern capital, while reserving rooms for her guests ahead of a star-studded birthday party. She was remanded in custody for two weeks before being released.
The 24-year-old influencer, who is popular with the young Hausa population in the north of the country, was sentenced to three weeks of community service, which she served as a cleaner at a major hospital in the city.
At the beginning of November, the atmosphere changes: Murja Kunya is invited, along with dozens of other influencers, to a public meeting organized by the Islamic Police (Hisbah) of Kano to “draw attention to the negative impact of immoral content” that she publishes online , particularly on TikTok, Hisbah general director Abba Sufi told AFP.
The young woman, who has nearly a million followers on social media, made an impression when she arrived wearing a veil (hijab) commonly worn by women in the predominantly Muslim north.
A striking contrast to the videos she usually posts – in which she often appears bareheaded, in fashionable clothes and sometimes speaks in foul language – that have brought her notoriety and ire. the Hisbah.
“Carrot and Stick”
“The meeting with Murja Kunya and other Tiktokers marks a change in strategy by Hisbah in light of the immoral content they publish online. It is better to show compassion to a person you want to reform than to denigrate and stigmatize them,” explains Mr. Sufi.
He added that the Kano State Government is ready to help Ms Kunya and her colleagues change careers, including providing financial support to those who want to return to school or start a business.
The influencers, including Murja Kunya, did not want to respond to AFP’s request.
For Abdallah Uba Adamu, a professor of anthropology and popular culture at Bayero University in Kano, this will not be enough to slow down young celebrities.
“The Hisbah can use the stick and the carrot, but it will never be able to stop people from doing what they want to survive because they rely on social networks to live,” he tells AFP.
For influencers, the meeting was likely seen as another way to gain more followers, “which is part of their online showmanship,” he notes.
Kano is one of twelve Muslim-majority states in northern Nigeria where, in addition to civil and criminal law, Sharia (Islamic law) and its courts apply.
The capital, Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city, is home to a thriving film industry called Kannywood, which produces more than 200 Hausa-language films a month and is also home to hundreds of music recording studios.
“Stop wasting your saliva”
The Hisbah dictates the rules of conduct for the local film and music industries, for example banning a man and a woman from touching each other on screen. She often condemns actors for “immorality,” as she regularly raids brothels, alcohol parties or weddings where men and women come together.
The censorship bureau set up by Muslim preachers and local authorities to monitor Kannywood last year expanded its activities to include social networks.
But the meeting with the influencers called by Hisbah did not have the expected impact.
Almost two weeks later, on November 19, Murja Kunya returned to his usual habits and sharply attacked the religious police on TikTok. “Stop wasting your saliva, I’m not interested in your sermons,” she stormed.
“Many people thought she would stop or be less criminal after the previous conviction,” Muhsin Ibrahim, a professor at the Institute of African Studies at the University of Cologne (Germany), told AFP. “That’s not the case”.