The Nigerian government on Thursday admonished the media to stop denigrating the person of President Muhammadu Buhari on their platforms.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the admonition when he paid advocacy visit to the Abuja office of the “Peoples Daily’’ newspaper to drum support for national campaign against fake news.

Mr Mohammed, who was reacting to a recent editorial published by a National dailies, said while the press was free to criticise the president and the administration, such criticism must not be to smear the person of the president.

“There was an editorial in an otherwise respected national daily a few days ago that without any scintilla evidence, they denigrated the person of Mr President.

“Make no mistake about this, the media is free to criticise any President but not to denigrate anybody.

“If you have the facts, please come out. How can anybody say Mr President favoured one group than any other?

“The President of a country, irrespective of the party or tribe which he comes from, is the symbol of the country.

“When you denigrate him, you are denigrating yourself. We therefore want to appeal to the media organisations to desist from this.

“Some of them are consumed by hatred and bitterness that they throw cautions to the winds. This is not healthy either for the media or for the country,’’ he said.

The minister stressed that fake news was beyond publishing what was not true.

“When you hide under editorial to pursue agenda which are driven largely by sentiment, emotion, vengeance and bitterness, it does not augur well for the country,’’ he said.

Mr Mohammed said the issue of herdsmen and farmers clash in Nigeria was largely being driven by fake news.

The minister reiterated that the clash had little or nothing to do with ethnicity and religion; rather a fall out of demography, climate change and in some cases, criminality.

He urged the media to be vigorous and circumspect in looking at the issue before arriving at erroneous conclusion.

In defending the position, the minister explained:

“If you remember in 1960 the country population was 45 million today we are 190 million hence the struggle for scarce resources.

“Lake Chad used to occupy 25,000sq km in 1963, today, the same lake has shrunk to 2500 sq km yet 35 million live from Central African Republic, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria depend on the lake.

“The Lake is the natural source for their fishing, irrigation farming and water supply.

“This is the tension we are seeing. It has nothing to do with religion or ethnicity.

The minister also gave the example of Zamfara State where he said the country had lost more lives to cattle rustling than those killed in Benue, Plateau, Taraba States.

He said both the rustlers and the owners of the cattle in the Zamfara were Fulanis and Muslims.

“How do we input religious and ethnic motives into this? It is the duty of the media to look at this and interrogate it very seriously.

“It is a pity that the purveyors of fake news have not relented. They are perfecting their strategy to de-market this administration and it is so sad that some main stream media have joined in this,’’ he said.

Mr Mohammed also gave the recent fake report that 48 soldiers were killed as a result of Boko Haram insurgent activities.

He said even when the military had denied it vigorously, the media houses, including a respected international media organisation that published the story had not come out with any proof.

“When lives are lost, the military has the obligation to inform the family of the deceased so they cannot cover up.

“We should give respect to the gallant men and women in uniform who are daily sacrificing their lives for us to sleep. When you file this kind of report they are demoralised,’’ he said.

The minister said the rise in the phenomenon of fake news was because it was difficult by naysayers to fault the Buhari’s administration on performance.

“Whether on issues of security, infrastructure, fighting corruption, agriculture or social investment programes, we challenged anybody to a debate.

“We will tell them exactly what we have done,’’ he said.

Mr Mohammed said fake news was a global issue and each country had different approach to combating it including the UK that was contemplating legislating punitive fines on fake social media reports.

He however reiterated the position of the federal government not to coerce or censor but appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of the media.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Peoples Daily, Hameed Bello, thanked the minister for the visit and gave the assurance of the medium to keep fighting against the menace of fake news.

https://lailasnews.com/stop-disrespecting-buhari-nigerian-government-warns-media/

lalasticlala

See talk......

But when all of us including the media was insulting President Jonathan you were all happy and said it is freedom of speech and expression.

Meanwhile, the dullard is holding the newspaper in the picture below up side down. He doesn't even know what is written in it. He just read the cartoon drawings and dump it for Femi Adeshina to read and interpret for him.

OLODO!!!

You mean we should not call the dullard lifeless again? Hell No

So we cannot give constructive criticism to the government again?? America Trump always get insulted on daily basis but it doesn't distract him from sending missile to Pakistan. This speech alone has contradicted freedom of speech and expression.

[s]

SalamRushdie:
You mean we should not call the dullard lifeless again? Hell No

JudasNaCarrot:
See talk

SalamRushdie:
You mean we should not call the dullard lifeless again? Hell No

[/s]
Sai Baba till 2023

[s]

amaniro:
So we cannot give constructive criticism to the government again?? America Trump always get insulted on daily basis but it doesn't distract him from sending missile to Pakistan. This speech alone has contradicted freedom of speech and expression.

[/s]

Karma hasn't started its second phase and una don begin complain, haba.

A once sitting governor referred to a once Nigeria's President as a mad man with matches at a gas station yet he walked free so why the fuss Oga Liar Mohammed?

milemimi93:


Sai Baba till 2023

" Adamu" that is the road to Daura.

Please gather all the lazy youths supporting me in Nairaland to get prepared because you will lead them to escort me back to Daura after the election in 2019......Ka ji kwo!

They must be very mad. All of them, from Buhari down to the lowest appointee/beneficiary of this stupid government.

Let me do this very fast. Can I just call him the lifeless one and immediately move on with my life?

It's like Lai is high..... I bet they didn't disrespect people from last administration?

Karma is sweet.

The truth is always bitter but is better, he deserves what he is getting on social media, the lifeless president has not done anything good to improve our economic, he kept us in hunger, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, killings and crime, then you expect us to keep mute, NEVER.

JudasNaCarrot:
" Adamu" that is the road to Daura.

Please gather all the lazy youths supporting me in Naraland to get prepared because you will lead them to escort me back to Daura after the election in 2019.

I will remind you of this post next year.

isaacojih:
The truth is always bitter but is better, he deserves what he is getting on social media, the lifeless president has not done anything good to improve our economic, he kept us in hunger, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, killings and crime, then you expect us to keep mute, NEVER.

You mind the useless & lifeless president

[s]

hucienda:
When you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.

MajorJeffery:
Karma hasn't started its second phase and una don begin complain, haba.

A once sitting governor referred to a once Nigeria's President as a mad man with matches at a gas station yet he walked free so why the fuss Oga Liar Mohammed?

Hedonini:
They must be very mad. All of them, from Buhari down to the lowest appointee/beneficiary of this stupid government.

Hedonini:
They must be very mad. All of them, from Buhari down to the lowest appointee/beneficiary of this stupid government.

SolutionMee:


Let me do this very fast. Can I just call him the lifeless one and immediately move on with my life?

isaacojih:
The truth is always bitter but is better, he deserves what he is getting on social media, the lifeless president has not done anything good to improve our economic, he kept us in hunger, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, killings and crime, then you expect us to keep mute, NEVER.

gurunlocker:
It's like Lai is high..... I bet they didn't disrespect people from last administration?

Racoon post=70965434:
You mind the useless & lifeless president

Karma is sweet.

isaacojih:
The truth is always bitter but is better, he deserves what he is getting on social media, the lifeless president has not done anything good to improve our economic, he kept us in hunger, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, killings and crime, then you expect us to keep mute, NEVER.

StillX10:
someone who has disrespected himself already?

[s]

hucienda:
When you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.

MajorJeffery:
Karma hasn't started its second phase and una don begin complain, haba.

A once sitting governor referred to a once Nigeria's President as a mad man with matches at a gas station yet he walked free so why the fuss Oga Liar Mohammed?

Hedonini:
They must be very mad. All of them, from Buhari down to the lowest appointee/beneficiary of this stupid government.

Hedonini:
They must be very mad. All of them, from Buhari down to the lowest appointee/beneficiary of this stupid government.

SolutionMee:


Let me do this very fast. Can I just call him the lifeless one and immediately move on with my life?

isaacojih:
The truth is always bitter but is better, he deserves what he is getting on social media, the lifeless president has not done anything good to improve our economic, he kept us in hunger, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, killings and crime, then you expect us to keep mute, NEVER.

gurunlocker:
It's like Lai is high..... I bet they didn't disrespect people from last administration?

Racoon post=70965434:
You mind the useless & lifeless president

Karma is sweet.

isaacojih:
The truth is always bitter but is better, he deserves what he is getting on social media, the lifeless president has not done anything good to improve our economic, he kept us in hunger, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, killings and crime, then you expect us to keep mute, NEVER.

[/s]

someone who has disrespected himself already?

Una Papa!!

Someone remind me who referred to a president as Ogogo drunkard.

What you won't take, don't ever do it to someone else.

But seriously Nigerians should begin to respect that exalted seat.

Lemme just call him lifeless one more time...but wait, that's his name na

What goes around comes around.

What do they mean by disrespect sef?

Abegi...we are in a democracy. Deal with it!


When they were doing their own to the previous governments, they did not caution themselves.

Bla bla bla

First of all, tell the super stupid, utterly incompetent mor-onic semi illiterate lifeless cowhari to stop disrespecting Nigerians everytime he sets foot outside of this country. If he wants our respect, he's going to have to start earning it. Respect is a two way street. You have to give it if you want it in return. Threatening to punish people for disrespect will only have the reverse effect: The more he threatens and demands for respect, the less of it he will get.

Okay

Buhary is super clueless- Lie Mohamed.


Btw: the useless party while in opposition layed the foundation, and we MUST continue to build on it.

Buhary is a terrorist.

After disrespecting dae youth on a big screen

Is it the same Buhari that called Nigerians criminals?

Buhari is a dead cow.

I don't think anyone insults Buhari up to half of what Nairaland residents does

Lol. Funny people.

Buhari should first of all stop disrespecting and embarrassing Nigerians.

I urge Buhari to develop thick skin over the lies and Propaganda targeted at him. It won't stop anytime soon. It is sponsored by PDP and IPOB, who are Pained that Baba is doing well in steering the wheels of leadership in Nigeria. It also Pained them that, Nigerians are ready to re-elect Buhari come 2019.