Group members lambast Minister over attack on Social Media

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NIGERIA: MEMBERS of a social media group, Penpushing, have lambasted the Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for blaming social media‎ over his shortcomings in the nation’s information management.

Mohammed had alleged that the deliberate spread of false information through the Social Media networks had negatively impacted on the government’s drive to keep Nigerians informed of its activities.

The Minister made the remark while speaking at a Colloquium organized by the National Coalition of Apostolic Leaders in Lagos.

According to him, the Social Media often deliberately distorted President Muhammadu Buhari’s government messages.

He said: “Everyday, this group of people deliberately distort our messages while also suffusing the atmosphere with their own version of information.”

Due to this development and for the people to get accurate information about government activities, the government at the centre had decided to take its messages directly to the people, via Town Hall Meetings.

“We are aware that it is not just enough to do something, you must be seen to be doing it,” the Minister said, adding: “In other words, the activities of government are as important as communicating them. That is why this Administration places much premium on communicating with the people.”

But some of those who responded to the Minister’s stand, stated that when government itself was not fully prepared to provide information for the citizens, definitely the people will look for other forms of communication to know about government activities.

“Lai Muhammed is not getting so many things right,” Goke Rauf, a lecturer of Mass Communication at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta said.  “For instance, when a government refuses to talk where citizens need information, all manners of avenues would be explored to get info.”

Rauf further said: “Trust that people, including the opposition, would investigate, search, generate, invent, clone…information.  The minister should stop blaming the social media for his ineptitude‎.”

Another participant, Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, explained that the Minister was attempting to feign ignorance of what should be his roles as the spokesperson for the government.

“From my own point of view, I think Lai Muhammed is trying to feign ignorance of what should be his active roles as government spokesman,” Kayode-Adedeji, who is a journalist, said.

He added: “Yoruba adage say, ‘oun fi ete sile pa lapalapa’ I think there is need to be proactive rather than shifting blame where not necessary.”

In his view, Olayinka Folarin said the Minister was behaving so funny and it sounded like all post-election remnant lies had been exhausted.

“Please let somebody wake this man up to realities and the concept of good governance,” Folarin said.