HOW TO CURB HATE SPEECH IN NIGERIA
By Adams Moshood Ayobami

Every action has its consequence, so does hate speech.

Hate speech, a phrase which Wiktionary Dictionary defines as a speech that attacks or disparages a person or group of persons on the basis of originality, race, nationality, ethnicity, colour, gender or disability. This definition being large in scope, defers according to tongues and tribes. An expression can be interpreted to be an offence in one language and completely means something else in another language.

Hate speech affects the Victim's mental health and this is often met by reprisal from the aggrieved parties which if not checked on time, could lead to further chaos.

The World as a whole, has had & is having a slice of the cake, where hate speech has caused & is still causing political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions. It influenced the Second World War (1939 -1945); lead to 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included the genocide of the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in war. Genocide in Rwanda (7th April to mid July 1994); where causalities were between 500,000 to 1,000,000. And Civil war in Nigeria (6 July 1967-15 January 1970); which cost Nigeria a great deal in terms of lives, money and infrastructure. The Nigeria Civil war left a huge scar in the beautiful narrative of our dear country. No nation plunged by hate speech can rise up to its full potential.

Albert Einstein asserted and I quote ‘’Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding’’. We must put our differences aside, be it: religion, political ideology, culture or ethnicity and join hands together to move the nation forward.

Nigeria is considered to be an emerging global power, as of 2015, is the world's 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity. Promising as it is, if not effectively curbed, hate speech has the power to put the country into ruin. Every country that has taken up democracy is benefitting from it one way or another. We must beat swords into plowshares, embrace peace and stability so as to enjoy the full dividend of democracy.

There have been many instances of people complaining about being treated with disdain due to their religious beliefs, ethnicity, political affiliation or culture. This must be checkmate by making them have a good sense of belonging; where every Nigerian has the right to live and carry out his/her interests anywhere in Nigeria without any interference.

Politicians must be made to stop using religion and ethnicity as cloaks to carry out their evil agendas. Religious leaders cannot afford to be partisan, it's dangerous; they have huge influence over their followers. They must join hands in preaching against violence in order to enhance peaceful coexistence.

Educational programs must be incorporated into school syllabus, advocating against hate speech and violence, so as to paint them as evils they truly are.

Nigerian Judiciary system must be strengthened, since the law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people. There are already provisions in our criminal code which if well utilized, can go a long way in maiming hate speech. Section 42 deals with the publication of false news with the intent to cause fear and alarm to the public. Section 86 deals with threatening violence. Section 88(a) deals with prohibiting breach of peace by offensive publication. Any culprit caught must be made to face the full wrath of the law regardless of that person's ethnicity, political party, religion or societal status.

Late Nigerian musician and activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti in one of his collections titled ‘’Fela Fela Fela”, released in 1969, said ‘’ War is not the answer, it has never been the answer and it will never be. Let's live in peace. Let's eat together like we used to eat. Let’s plan together like we used to plan. Let’s sing together like we used to sing. Let’s dance together like we used to dance. United we stand, divided we fall.’’

In summary, hate speech, if not checked, has so much to damage and nothing to give back as gain except reflection of mistakes made.

As long as people feel oppressed and victimized, you would always have hate speech.

Well,people especially Nigerians don't just hate without reasons. The leaders have been failing Nigerians far way back.

Very big rubbish

Hate speech you said? Spit

This imposter below is lifeless. I didn't say it first. Blame Trump for hate speech