By Bimbo Lukman

The world over, people are ascribing the coronavirus Pandemic to 5G technology. About two weeks ago, a friend sent me a link to a website via Whatsapp, wherein a former American telecommunications worker set ablaze a 5G tower, due to what he claimed was its harmful effects on the human body.

Like the Coronavirus, these conspiracy theories have gone viral. There’s a twitter post alleging that an unidentified mast had been set ablaze to protect Nigerians. Like most conspiracies, information regarding the authenticity of the video is missing. The post failed to state the location, date and time of the destruction of the mast.

It appears that the mass ignorance that is being exhibited across the globe would be the world’s undoing, maybe even faster than the dreaded coronavirus itself. That said, judging by the way people are panicking, the best way to come out of this pandemic alive would be to protect ourselves by seeking knowledge.

When my friend sent that link, I was clearly taken aback by that piece of information; the reason is my friend is not one for broadcasts. The pandemic has given anyone who wishes to separate facts from conspiracy ample time to do their own findings.

A brief history of the fifth generation (5G) network. We have had 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G. Many of us only found out at about 3G. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything, including machines, objects, and devices. In the 1980s the world was introduced to 1G when it delivered analog. By the early 1990s, 2G gave us digital voice and in the early 2000s 3G brought mobile data. About a decade ago, with 4G came the era of mobile broadband.

In my research, I discovered, all this was interesting, however, they didn’t touch on the issue – is 5G dangerous? After combing through everything I could possibly get my hands on, I came to two conclusions. The first being that the world is volatile at the moment and if care is not taken we will pelt stones at a loaf of bread and claim that it is the cause of malaria. The second thing is, misinformation will spread a lot faster; it just needs eager hands and minds that don’t care for in-depth study.

Nigeria’s social media space was recently overtaken by videos of pastors supposedly explaining the correlation between 5G and coronavirus. Every pastor that attempted to link the coronavirus to 5G has sounded amateurish at best.

Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading, England, Simon Clarke, delved into the claims that the electromagnetic waves from 5G would reduce immunity. “The idea that 5G lowers your immune system doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.”

There are a lot of things that can affect one’s immunity – tiredness, bad diet, allergies. Electromagnetic waves are just not strong enough to do that. If it were, we probably would have all been dead by now. The same waves for 5G are used for TV. In fact, that microwave oven in your kitchen emits more wavelength than a 5G mast. There is electromagnetic radiation everywhere – television, radio signal, and even sunlight.

The World Health Organization, WHO, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified all radiofrequency radiation (mobile signals are a part of this) as “possibly carcinogenic”. This includes the radios that our 80-90 year-old mothers and fathers are still clutching to their ears, the TV sets that our kids are glued to.

When the word ‘non-ionising’ is used in reference to radio waves, it means it lacks sufficient energy to break apart DNA and cause cellular damage. Phones, radios and microwaves which are in the category of 5G are non-ionising when compared to x-rays, gamma rays and ultraviolet from the sun.

WHO further stated that “to date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies. Health-related conclusions are drawn from studies performed across the entire radio spectrum but, so far, only a few studies have been carried out at the frequencies to be used by 5G.

“Tissue heating is the main mechanism of interaction between radiofrequency fields and the human body. Radiofrequency exposure levels from current technologies result in negligible temperature rise in the human body. As the frequency increases, there is less penetration into the body tissues and absorption of the energy becomes more confined to the surface of the body (skin and eye). Provided that the overall exposure remains below international guidelines, no consequences for public health are anticipated.”

The twitter post alleging that a mast was set ablaze somewhere in Nigeria may seem harmless at the moment, however we should not take it for granted. If this is treated with levity, knowing Nigerians, it’s just a matter of time before someone takes to destroying telecommunication masts across the country. This we must prevent, because buying into these conspiracy theories will be the death of us.

• Bimbo Lukman is a Lagos-based tech entrepreneur and enthusiast