HaHaHa
Please, join me in laughing—even if it’s not funny. And it’s really not.

Jamie, Shanelle, Claudia, Rick, Dominic, Racy, Trinidad, Cameron… and all the others. These kids had their lives changed in a moment last month. Why? Because of a shameless disregard for decency and morals that plagues people like Sam Salami.

Cameron, the last of these names, was barely getting through university. He wasn’t rich, didn’t have family backing, just a young guy barely scraping by. And what did he do wrong? Trusting the wrong person. When he refused to hand over the demanded hush money, his life collapsed. Cameron was disowned, even blacklisted from his part-time job. All because Sam Salami wanted a few hundred thousand naira.

In September, Sam started blackmailing these kids into paying him, threatening to expose their private photos on Twitter. Can you imagine? For a measly 100,000 to 300,000 naira, lives were thrown into chaos. From job losses and shattered marriages to a spike in Lexapro, Zoloft, and CBD sales, it was pandemonium. And how he got those images in the first place? Beyond my understanding. But the fact that the authorities stood by, letting it happen? Well, if you know, you know.

You might say, “why do these kids even have nudes?” I too wonder. The youngest victim was 16. The oldest? 30, and I was surprised she didn’t pay. There’s a trap with blackmail where if you pay once, you might just keep paying. Maybe she did what was best, though who am I to say?

Back to Salami…

For anyone who doubts karma, allow me to introduce you. I love her. Just last weekend, Sam Salami was trending, and I was there for it. I could’ve set a record for the speed at which I opened the bird app. There he was, Sam in all his shriveled glory, for the world to see. Did he deserve it? I’ll admit, I laughed initially. But it wasn’t funny, not really. Could I, someone who had felt the sting of disgrace, truly take pleasure in this? Did it make things right? Did he deserve it? Should perpetrators have to face their own evils? An eye for an eye?

As it stands, the root of the problem wasn’t addressed as there was no punishment for Sam and hence, no expected punishment for his own abuser. And social media isn’t the issue, it’s the people who misuse it, it’s people like Sam Salami. I had a conversation once, with a friend,  about AI and how it might make the world safer or more dangerous. We agreed that robots aren’t the problem, people are. People with unchecked desires, people with no respect for values, for morals.

We’ve lost the importance of morality, of shame, and it’s only deepening. The fact that humans are the ones in control of technology might just be the scariest thing about the future.

So to Sam…sorrows, sorrows, prayers.

My Sincere Condolences,
A Former Victim