Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives has warned Nigerians against spreading fake news due to its devastating effects on nation building.<\/p>\n
This advice was given on Thursday by Gbajabiamila at a two-day National Conference on Information organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values in Abuja.<\/p>\n
The speaker also charged leaders and followers in the country to combat fake news to keep the unity of the country.<\/p>\n
He said that technology tools have made information gathering and dissemination cheaper and faster than it has ever been in the history of the world.<\/p>\n
According to him, citizens all over have become broadcasters and publishers capable of influencing the opinions of many from the quiet of their enclaves.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria is with 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, countering misinformation by whatever proper and legal means 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us all 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be most unfortunate, and as leaders and government policymakers, we must avoid that outcome by all means,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added:\u201cTo do that, we must also focus on building legal systems and protocols that support free expression and robust public debate .<\/p>\n
\u201dWhilst 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The speaker said that information management was central to defeating insecurity and safeguarding the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur laws, systems and practices, and the policies that guide our strategies for information management were written for a world that no longer exists.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, from the government to the private sector around the globe, there has been failure to recognise this and reluctance to act to fix the problems it portends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a grave error for us in Nigeria, a country with a dark and documented history of expensive and deadly conflicts considering the faultiness that exist in our society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gbajabiamila, however, commended the committee for organising the conference and drawing
\nthe attention of critical stakeholders on the need to ensure proper management of information.
\nEarlier, Rep. Olusegun Odebunmi (APC-Oyo) the Chairman, House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, said that the importance of information management to national development cannot be overemphasised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives has warned Nigerians against spreading fake news due to its devastating effects on nation building. This advice was given on Thursday by Gbajabiamila at a two-day National Conference on Information organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values in Abuja. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":82701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_bookmark_settings":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[457,1781,1591,24042],"class_list":["post-115584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-abuja","tag-fake-news","tag-femi-gbajabiamila","tag-national-orientation-agency"],"yoast_head":"\n