Restricted & Unrestricted Internet - Freedom World
With the growing use of the Internet, more residents in Nigeria are being exposed to the Internet but the limitations they encounter on a daily basis is quite frustrating and this makes a great number of the Nigeria population not to be utilizing the Internet as they could have love to.
For those of you who might not know. Nigeria is located in western Africa and one of the top ten world's growing population.
One of the problems Nigerians face is the high rate of data charges. The minimum wage in my country, Nigeria is #18000 which is equivalent to $50. To purchase a 1.5gb plan of data in a month here costs 2.7$. Yeah 1.5gb, that may not exceed a week in theory. So an average Nigerian is facing the situation of trying to manage his/her mobile data because of the high price. I do spend 10gb to 15gb roughly in a month and it does cost me 10$ to 13.8$. As a student my monthly stipend is just $47, thank goodness I am from a middle-class family but to my peers from a lower-class family, it's hard for them to sustain time on the Internet due to finance.
You could see that I get just 3$ less to the minimum wage here as my monthly stipend, so imagine those working-class that depend fully on their salary and their monthly pay is just $50. And one of the reasons I can cope with the high data tariff rate is that apart from my monthly allowance I do take some online jobs that earn me some extra box so I can subscribe for mobile data more compared to others (especially students like myself). But usually my 10gb to 15gb isn't enough and I have to restrain myself from doing somethings I love doing online like surfing through YouTubes and co.
And sometimes I do midnight subscription between the hours of 12 am to 5 am which has been really helpful because I can get 1gb for just #100($0.27) between those hours. But seriously it's draining and stressful for sleep is important for the wholeness and healthy well being of every human and so at times I do sleep off even when I set an alarm but the night subscription have really helped me to be fair but I am still restricted to use the internet unlike the way I could have loved to.
Apart from the high cost of mobile data here, another restriction my country does face is electricity.
For three days in my current location, we have only had stable light for two hours each day. What will two hours of electricity be used for? When do people love using their gadgets to surf the Internet? To curb this lack/low electricity rate I had to buy a power bank, which has been a little bit helpful. But the only good solution, the people of Nigeria have been able to use to solve electricity limitation is by getting a generator. I will say 90% or more modern homes in Nigeria have a generator because of lack of stable electricity but most of these homes can't afford to keep their generators running all day because it costs fuel which in turn costs money to buy.
The wealthy class may not have a problem purchasing fuel to keep their generators running 24/7 when there is electricity shortage but we from the middle class and those from the low class in the society have to time ourselves and dedicate a few amounts of hours to put on our generators thereby we mind the way we use our gadgets so that their batteries don't run down quickly. And by not using those gadgets(phones, laptops, and co) we are in turn staying away from utilizing the Internet.
Despite the restrictions we do face due to electricity and high tarrif rate of mobile data. I will say I am glad that there are no government restrictions. Because through the internet, there have been various employment oppourtunities for many nigerian youths especially unemployed/ underemployed graduates.
Imagine the Nigeria government should place a restriction on the way citizens and residents use the internet, surely thousands of Nigeria population will go jobless.
I think unrestricted internet should be a right given to every citizen and resident of a country.
These are the ways we experience internet restrictions in my country, nigeria.
I want to say thank you to @upmewhale for the oppourtunity given to partake in this contest