The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Monday assured that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will not stifle free speech by seeking to regulate the social media or abridging the rights of the citizens.
Speaking through his aide, Segun Adeyemi during a meeting with some social media activists in Lagos, Mohammed said, “Let me assure you that the federal government does not intend to stifle free speech or abridge the rights of Nigerians to air their views freely.”
The minister was further quoted as saying: “We are not about to regulate or stultify the social media. This explains why we are asking you to self-regulate. That is why we are encouraging you to rein in the impostors among you and show restraint when dealing with issues of national unity, issues of Nigeria’s sovereignty, as well as issues concerning the lives and well-being of Nigerians.
“What I am saying in essence is that you must self-regulate in order not to self-destruct. Self-regulation allows you to weed out the charlatans among you in order to maintain your credibility and ensure your survival. Lose credibility and lose it all. That is the stark reality. If you must survive and grow, you must not compromise your credibility.”
According to Adeyemi, the Information Minister described as “alarming the spiralling level of hatred among Nigerians, especially the educated ones, in the social media in recent times, saying that the kind of debate that was being carried out in the social media is exploiting the fault lines in our national unity.”
“It (hate debate) is adding fuel to some low-intensity fires and, if left unchecked, could conflagrate and consume all of us. Remember, you need a peaceful country before you can even dream of greatness. You need a united, strong and virile country to provide the necessary environment for your dreams to come true.
“A marriage between Nigerians of different tribes that should be hailed for solidifying our unity as a people has become one of the reasons to vent incredible hatred and openly predict catastrophe for our nation on the social media. The new media is a powerful platform that has democratised access to information and strengthened citizen journalism. But it is also a double-edged sword that must be wielded with caution.”
