Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, emphasized the need for social media regulation, considering it a societal menace.
Speaking at the public presentation of the book “Nigerian Public Discourse: The Interplay of Empirical Evidence and Hyperbole” by former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in Lagos, Gbajabiamila, representing Tinubu, emphasized the need for social media regulation.
According to a statement from Tunde Alao, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Media), Office of the Lagos State Deputy Governor, this information was disclosed on Thursday.
“The social media has become a societal menace and must be regulated. As many people do not understand that once the send button is hit, there is a potential to reach millions of people around the world which is capable of causing a great danger not just in the society but even unintended consequences to the individuals that are receiving information which may include security of life,” the statement quoted Gbajabiamila as saying.
At the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu was represented by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat. It was mentioned in the statement that Tinubu reiterated his administration’s dedication to evidence-based discourse and data-centric decision-making, emphasizing the crucial role of accurate data in shaping and executing policies.
“As citizens become more interested in governance, it is the government’s obligation to ensure that engagement with citizens springs with shared agreement on what the truth is, what is real and what is not,” Gbajabiamila said.
The president commended the author for putting in book form his thoughts and experience garnered both as a governor and member of the federal executive council.
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Speaking at the event, Hamzat noted that accurate data would help in finding lasting solutions to myriads of challenges facing the nation adding that “for a developing country like us, part of the problem we have is that we don’t have data, which is very crucial for policy formulation for national development.”
While stressing the importance of data, he noted that “deterministic data is essential even in our daily lives, even on issues such as building – buildings require correct data to know the threats.”
Fashola, in his remarks, revealed that the book is a culmination of his 21 years of experience as a public office holder, exploring a spectrum of public issues..
“My joy is that the conversation has just started, and by and large, we will get good and positive results in our quests for national development”, Fashola was quoted as saying.
In October 2023, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, “to reject the recently reintroduced social media regulation bill.”
SERAP pointed out that the passage of the bill “would unduly restrict the rights to freedom of expression and privacy,” urging Tinubu’s administration to cease its attempts to compel technological firms, including Google and YouTube, to curtail these “fundamental human rights.”