Lagos – Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called for a restriction on social media access for Nigerians under the age of 16, citing concerns over the impact of online platforms on children’s well-being.
Falana made the appeal on Saturday during the maiden edition of the Dare2Debate competition held in Lagos.
The initiative, organised by HACmedia, aims to nurture critical thinking and public speaking skills among secondary school students through its “Think, Speak, and Lead” programme.
Speaking at the event, Falana noted that several countries, including Australia, have already set age limits for social media use.
“Once it is adopted by the United States or UK, Nigeria, being a neo-colony, will also be bound to follow suit. But one way or the other, it certainly has to be regulated in the interest of our children,” he said.
Falana also addressed the broader challenges facing Nigerian youth, including unemployment and a distorted educational system, which he said contribute to underemployment and reliance on foreign labor in trades considered “below standard” in Nigeria.
He explained, “Again, because of the distorted educational system, many artisans here are poorly educated. Hence, today, most of the young artisans and young people that are fixing the plumbing and even laying tiles are from Togo, Ghana, and Benin Republic, right? Even Chinese nationals, Indian nationals are now handling jobs that Nigerians consider below their standard or dignity.”
The Dare2Debate competition featured three secondary schools from Lagos, with C.M.S Grammar School emerging as the overall winner and receiving N300,000 in prize money. Bishop Howells Memorial Grammar School and Arester Divine School placed second and third, winning N200,000 and N100,000 respectively.
Davies Ikpoyi, the lead organiser of Dare2Debate, said the initiative is aimed at showing that students can develop better reasoning, public speaking, and problem-solving skills through structured debate.
“The essence of the debate is to train senior secondary school students, youth majorly, on public speaking, critical thinking, and mind management,” he said.
Falana’s call comes amid increasing global concern over the mental health and safety of children navigating online spaces.
He stressed that regulatory measures are necessary to protect young Nigerians from potential harm while promoting responsible digital engagement.
