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A recent incident where a mother purportedly filmed herself feeding her baby a substance believed to be alcohol for social media content has sparked widespread outrage and debate on News Central TV’s Jasiri.
Hosts at the Friday discussion condemned the act, raising serious concerns about child welfare, the impact of social media “clout-chasing,” and the need for accountability.
Omotunde Adebowale-David, one of the show’s hosts, expressed alarm over the video, emphasising the potential danger given that many uneducated individuals might view such content and deem it acceptable.
“Social media is somewhere that people take hook, line, and sinker,” she stated, referencing the mother’s alleged claim that the substance helps the baby sleep.
Adebowale-David decried the use of helpless children for content, highlighting the infant’s lack of agency.
“This baby has no say in what is happening to her. They are using her as content, and she’s even laughing. How can this be funny?” she questioned, adding that such content is why she no longer uses TikTok.
Call for Investigation and Legal Consequences
Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun, another host, connected the incident to a broader trend of “clout-chasing” in Nigeria.
She criticised the deliberate creation of such content for virality, stating, “Clout is going to send people to jail, and the Lagos State government still needs to do an investigation. Let’s check that this child is safe.”
Blessings Mosugu, another host, echoed calls for legal repercussions. She found the act of mixing “gas with alcohol” and giving it to a baby reprehensible.
“I think it’s high time the security and the judicial system start to punish people for what they say they did,” Mosugu asserted, suggesting that such acts are a consequence of the drive for social media fame. She warned that people might deny their actions, claiming it was “just for clout,” despite clear evidence.
However, Katherine Obiang, another host, offered a different perspective, noting a previous discussion with Nedu on “Hot Topics Special Friday.”
Nedu had predicted that “people are going to be doing more extreme things because everything is beginning to be monetised.”
This sentiment suggests a growing concern that the pursuit of online monetisation drives individuals to increasingly dangerous and unethical acts for attention.
The incident has ignited a crucial conversation about the responsibilities of content creators, the vulnerability of minors in the digital age, and the urgent need for robust social media regulation and legal consequences for harmful online behaviour.
