‘Hate speeches pose threat to ruling party, government’

President Muhammadu Buhari

Leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) must have come to grasp with the reality that the party is gradually losing the goodwill, confidence and support of most Nigerians that gave it victory in the 2015 general elections.

 This is coupled with the volume of hate speeches and political propaganda currently enveloping the nation through the social media and other online news portals.

In less than four months to the two years anniversary of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Nigerians have experienced the worst form of economic hardship, which include the galloping rate of inflation, economic recession, challenging state of insecurity, prevailing unemployment and inability of government and private sector to pay workers salaries.


The situation is made worse by the persistent fall in the value of the naira among others.Worried by the development and the nose-diving popularity of the ruling party and the Buhari administration, the party’s national publicity secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi pleaded with Nigerians not to despair “as they would not be disappointed, if they understand what the present government policies and programs are.” 

 Fielding questions from journalists yesterday, at the ‘Social Media Week’ organised by Bethphage LLC in Lagos, he pleaded for understanding from Nigerians.

Similarly, a Commissioner of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, Mr. Abdul Ajilola, said the solution to hate speech is the people. “It is all about morality and there is no religion that teaches anyone to ‘backbite’ or fabricate stories. We grew up to know that pictures don’t lie but nowadays I don’t think it is so again.”

He warned Nigerians to be careful so that hate speech doe not lead the country to conflict, stressing that cyberspace provides terrorists with tools, medium and target and they use the tool to recruit their target.

Abdullahi said it is natural for people to complain when facing hardship situation as presently being experienced, but noted that with the understanding of government programmes, hope is inevitable.

He said: “I will always take cognizance of whatever I may receive as feedback from the people as a guide to the appropriate quarters”.Speaking on the theme: ‘The new Language of Technology: The Future of Communication in Africa’, the APC spokesperson described the last electioneering campaign as the most shameful in the history of the country where the two major parties engaged in statements that depicted hatred, hinting of effort to change the trend.

“The two major parties – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and APC are guilty of misused of words in the 2015 elections. At that time, they said things to themselves in an unbelievable manner of hatred as if we were fighting war. This was the first thing I complained about when I became the spokesperson. And I warned the party that we must desist from this trend as a ruling party”.

Abdullahi said ‘hate speech’ as statement of ‘hatred’ must be tackled. “Hate Speech’ is a very pertinent issue that needs to be addressed in our country. We also need to do this such that it will make our upcoming generation to imbibe the culture of the rule of engagement.“The society worry about hate speech in the context of what it can cause. And every conflict or war started with hate speech”.

He suggested education as the best way to engage one another in changing the trend of hate speech and urged Nigerians to guard against hate speech even when they appreciate the fact that “the oxygen of democracy is free speech.”