Why I support Buhari’s move to make hate speech a crime - Doyin Okupe
- Doyin Okupe has expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s move to promulgate a law against hate speech
- While stating that former president Goodluck Jonathan was probably the most abused president in Nigeria’s history, Okupe stated that there is an absolute need for sanity because what goes on in the social media is pathetic
- According to Okupe, hate speech should not be allowed to go on, as he stated that people should not be exposed to all sorts of unreasonable assault just because they are public servants
President Muhammadu Buhari’s move to promulgate a law against hate speech, has received public support from Doyin Okupe, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
The former presidential aide made his comments while speaking as a panelist at the Vanguard Conference Hall on Hate Speech, on Monday, September 25.
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Legit.ng notes that while answering a question about whether the promulgation of a law against hate speech was justified, Okupe stressed that people in government needed to be protected from hate speech, as most of the things being shared on social media are pathetic.
He further revealed that Jonathan was perhaps the most abused president in the nation’s history.
He stated: “I was the one who raised that issue, and I still say that Jonathan, as one person and as a leader of a country is perhaps, the most abused in terms of hate speech in the history of this country.
“Now, your question is extremely very pertinent. If somebody has gone through it and nothing happened, do we now have a justification to want to stop it? Yes, we do.
“I will support this administration with the idea that this type of thing should not be allowed to be visited.
“The current president is also taking a share of his own hate speech, but we must stop it somewhere. There is no need to allow this thing to fester on more than it has gone so far.
“I agree that there is a justification for the law and that we need to look into the situation properly and a proper law should be enacted that can control what we say and how we say them, especially on the social media.
“There is absolute need for sanity because what goes on in the social media is pathetic, it is unthinkable. When I see a young man of 24 years old saying that Wole Soyinka is a fool, that may not be exactly hate speech, but it is intolerable.
“Today, I am not in government but there are people in government; but being in government should not expose you to all sorts of assault simply because you are Minister of Information, President or Vice President. It should not make you be a target for unreasonable assault and attack.
“You cannot protect or defend yourself, and there are no sanctions for those who do those things.
“Therefore, for me, I will support this administration in this idea of trying to find a law to create sanity in the social media and also to prevent reckless statements that can incite or dehumanize people for no other reason except that they are in government offices.”
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, threw his weight behind the move by the federal government to make the propagation of hate speech/fake news a crime.
The Sultan lamented that the propagation of hate speech had reached fever pitch, and supported the recent statement made by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, that “none will be allowed to get away with making speeches that can cause sedition or that can cause violence."
According to the monarch, hate speech should be designated as a terrorism offence.
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Source: Legit.ng
