The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday stated that the advancement in information technology, as well as the evolution of new media, are giving currency to the spread of misinformation which in turn threatens the society.
He stated this while declaring open a two-day national conference on information themed: Information as a Strategic Tool for National Development, Organised by the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values.
Consequently, he said that deliberate measures under the law needed to be taken to mitigate the effects of such development on the journey to achieving a perfect union of the diverse cultures and religions of Nigeria.
He however cautioned against taking action that would suppress free expression and robust public debate on social issues, stressing that only the purveyors of narrow interests who seek to subvert the collective will of the society should be held responsible.
According to him, “as we undertake this crucial assignment today, I would like for us to keep a few things in mind. First is that right now, across the length and breadth of our beloved country, we are besieged by several security challenges that strike at the very heart of our continued nationhood. Triumph over these challenges requires overcoming our differences in politics and religion, tribe and ethnicity, and building a national alliance against the forces that threaten us. Information management is central to success in this regard. We have to do better at making sure that citizens understand the nature of the problems we face and are kept informed of our wins and losses and the sacrifices made by those who do battle on our behalf.
“Secondly, as technology and new media have democratized public debate to benefit citizens and nations, it has also created the ideal conditions for bad actors to spread misinformation and manipulate people in ways that threaten our societies. In Nigeria, with our diverse cultures and religions still working towards achieving a more perfect union, hate speech and other forms of misinformation and disinformation can quickly have a devastating real-world effect. Therefore, countering misinformation by whatever proper and legal means are available is not a theoretical question but a responsibility that goes to the heart of our ability to continue to exist as one nation in peace, unity and prosperity.
“Let us be aware that in trying to prevent the worst consequences of misinformation and hate speech, there is a danger of going too far in ways that smother the marketplace of ideas and deprive citizens of their free speech rights. That would be most unfortunate, and as leaders and government policymakers, we must avoid that outcome by all means. To do that, we must focus on building legal systems and protocols that support free expression and robust public debate whilst holding to account those who in service of their narrow interests will seek to subvert our societies and harm our country using choreographed and mischievously curated misinformation.”
While examining the theme of the conference, Gbajabiamila said that the ongoing debate on the Electoral Bill passed by the National Assembly must be based on facts.
According to him, “let us pause for a moment and re-examine the depth and breadth of the theme we are here to discuss today– National development. National development is predicated on credible elections and strong electoral laws that allow for accountability. Right now, there is a robust debate going on as to our electoral law and the bill that has been passed by the national assembly. This debate must be guided by factual and verifiable information.
“Through the Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, I am pleased that the House of Representatives has taken the lead on this matter of significant national importance”.
In his goodwill message, the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom, Mr Moses Ekpo, who was represented by Hon. Aniekan Umanah preferred ways to curb cases of fake news in the country in the nation’s interest.
According to him, “by means of fake news, hate speeches and misinformation, national development is being daily compromised. And when government fails to speak up in order to counter such misinformation and hate speeches, the body language of such inaction in high places becomes even louder in it incendiary decibel. The result of this is avoidable deaths which are daily recorded in all parts of the country. And the worst of all for national harmony, cohesion and development, are the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers, unknown gunmen, so-called bandits as well as inter-ethnic tension arising from the activities of these ‘faceless’ groups.
“The question as to who is a journalist must be posed with a new kind of vehemence. This is so because in discussing the deployment of the information tool towards national development, we should be definite about the human agency of such deployment – would that also include the online blogger and the other assortments of social media information carriers over whom there is currently no control?
“In Akwa Ibom State, the state chapter of the NUJ has come up with an electronic register of duly certified journalists in the state. I recommend this in states where it is not yet done. Such Register and the data it provides are a critical first step in the admittedly monumental workload ahead of us in separating the real from the fake journalist, and thereby narrowing down the focus of accountability regarding the effect of information on national development. Addressing that workload will involve greater collaboration amongst stakeholders within and outside of government.
“I agree that there is a lot that is positive about the liberalization of the media space in the wake of digitization, its apparent open-ended license notwithstanding. But in order not to throw away the baby with the bathwater, stakeholders such as the Ministries of Information, teachers of Mass Communication in our institutions of higher learning, the National Broadcasting Commission, and hands-on media practitioners, etc, should come together to brainstorm on the way forward. The motivation in all these should of course be to return the elements of truth, fairness and patriotism, typical of traditional media practice, to the contemporary digitalized information space.
“This way, attempts at regulation such as the recent Twitter ban would be conceived and executed with the best of intension, and not as an act of vendetta. If the news media must be the voice of conscience and truth, these are the irreducible minimum in house-cleaning expected of stakeholders,” he said.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, National Orientation and Ethics and Values, Hon Odebunmi Olusegun Dokun, said that proper information management needed to be given the right consideration to discourage hate speech.
According to him, “proper information management has not been given its deserved consideration in our society, hence. It has consistently resulted in the unguided environment for the promotion of hate speech and fake news that has become the order of the day and accompanied by its negative consequences of setting us against one another and lack of belief in our country, which in most cases lead to the destruction of lives and properties as well as disruption of our social interactions and economic fortunes individually and collectively as a nation.
“We as people, community and government must ask ourselves for what purpose, to what end and in which manner do we move from the present phase of development of our nation to the next? Once such vision is identified, the major tool for making that vision a mantra and our way of life is through proper information generation, management and dissemination. Unfortunately, we as Nigerians have engaged ourselves mainly in social media adventurism and economic gain until recently when certain developments at one point or the other showed us the strength in our unity, and the need to see Nigeria as a project that requires our collective effort for prosperity, of which proper information can bring to reality.
“To this end, a properly managed information is not a way of hiding the fact from the public, deviation from the truth or denying them of their right of being informed. It is such a piece that is not over or under-delivered, such that is mindful of the sensitive happenings and current volatility of the environment and such that is verified for integrity purposes. Hence, it becomes capable of ensuring orientation and re-orientation of our minds and thoughts toward others, institutional and government activities.”
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