You are guilty of hate crime, law professor tells Fani-Kayode

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode said he owed nobody an apology for describing Fulani herdsmen as tsetse flies and murderers.

He was responding to tweets by Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, who accused the ex-minister of hate crime, promising to lodge a complaint to the Nigerian Police Force.

Odinkalu, who disclosed his intention on Twitter on Wednesday, lashed at Fani-Koyode. He said it was not proper for Nigerians to be asked to quite a particular section of the country. He said Fani-Kayode should not have resorted to calling an entire race names for an offence committed by a few people.  

“Chief Falae’s abduction is a crime, but to make that basis of a campaign against a race as Femi Fani-Kayode did is hate speech. It is hate speech to leave individual responsibility and describe a race as tsetse fly, locust and leeches,” Odinkalu tweeted

He added that it was “unlawful to advocate for mass removal of Nigerians from parts of their own country.” This, he said, should not have come from a former minister and lawyer.

But Fani-Kayode, who recently changed his name on social media to Olufemi Olu-Kayode, responded to NHRC chairman. He tweeted, “It is those gutless cowards that seek to play down the murder of others that are guilty of hate crimes and not those that call a spade a spade.”

He added, “No regrets for describing murderous Fulani herdsmen as tsetse flies. Actually, they are worse. Like Satan, they come to kill, steal and destroy.

“Those that say that we must remain silent when aliens invade our land, rape our women and kill our people shall fail. We will resist evil. I support the call by the Afenifere that all Fulani herdsmen should be banned from the South-West. We do not want these killers in our midst.”

In the widely-circulated article, the ex-minister justified the call on by a section of the South-West that the cattle rearers should leave the region.

The call followed an allegation that the herdsmen were responsible for the recent kidnap of a chieftain of the Afenifere, Chief Olu Falae.      

“These herdsmen have become the pests of our nation. They are like the East African tsetse fly: wherever they go they suck blood out of their hosts and, like the locust, they destroy everything in their path. They are like leeches: they indulge in a parasitic mode of nutrition and they suck the blood of the carcass until their victim is left for dead.

“Like the Arab Janjaweed, they are only known for the most hideous of things. This includes terror, intimidation, theft, murder, rape, abduction, mutilation, violation of the rights of others, destruction of the land and crops of farmers and destruction of property.

“Anyone that doubts this should ask the people of the north central zone what they have been suffering in the hands of these vagabonds and vagrants for the last 50 years. This is especially so in Plateau, Benue, Niger, Kwara, Nassarawa, Taraba and Adamawa states.

“Yet, up until 20 years ago this was essentially a northern problem and it did not affect the south. Sadly that has changed. It has now become a national plague that knows no boundaries and whose poison threatens to consume us all.

“In the last few years, the herdsmen have attacked, ravaged and pillaged many rural communities south of the River Niger and they have slaughtered and raped thousands of innocent people in the South-South, the South-East and the South-Western zones of our country,” Fani-Kayode wrote.

Boko Haram: Nigerians battle ready

 

Photographs showing a group of men, who some online reports described as members of the Boko Haram, flooded the Internet on Tuesday.

Four of the photographs, originally published by a popular Nigerian online portal, showed a mixed crowd praying in an open field.

In another photograph, a close-up shot, about four men are busy slaughtering a cow while two others in army camouflage watch.

Those featured in the photographs are mostly young men and a few children whose ages range between three and five years. Only two female, who appear shy, can be seen in the photographs.

Several hundreds of people may have been captured in the photographs, which showed them observing prayer sessions and taking different positions at different occasions.  The open field where the ceremony took place is in the middle of a thick forest.

Not many of them displayed their guns or other weapons. For instance, a supposed leader of one of the prayer sessions kneels down with a rifle lying on the ground beside him. The gun is labelled 723 with a white marker. The butchers also keep rifles close by as they slaughter the cow.

The original report said the photographs were screenshots from a video made by the insurgents while celebrating last week’s Eid-el-Kabir with their families in an undisclosed location.

Online reports are already suggesting that the images could be part of the sect’s efforts to counter assurances by the Nigerian army that they (the insurgents) had suffered severe defeat in recent weeks.

But, unlike the previous videos, audios and images released by the terrorists, the report has set many members of the online community against online channels that broke the news. According to them, Nigerians have had enough of Boko Haram propaganda, and it is time to play down its antics.

With improvements in digital technology, photographs can now be manipulated to tell a story. There have been instances where fictitious videos and photographs were doctored for the purpose of misleading the public.

For this reason, one Ramatu, who commented via Disqus, an online debate platform, called on Nigerians to be wary of reports that are full of biased conclusions.

She picked holes in the report and photographs, saying it was high time the government began to question bloggers and online media operators over exaggerated reports on sensitive issues.       

Ramatu said, “This is rather unprofessional. Where is the ‘open field’ located? Maiduguri, Kano, Kaduna, Abuja, Lagos, Enugu or Port Harcourt? So they are ‘openly carrying rifles’? What does that tell anybody? What do you expect – that terrorists in their hideout somewhere pretending to be pious and at prayer would not ‘pray’ in an ‘open field’ and ‘carry rifles’?

“I am disappointed at whoever posted this story. What is the story here? Why not say you are the official journal of Boko Haram, helping them to put out their propaganda? Honestly, this is almost criminal and seditious in that they help to spread fear when Nigerian soldiers are paying in blood to maintain peace.”

 Ramatu’s sentiment was echoed on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms where the photographs of the suspected insurgents were circulated.  

 But, amid criticism from a section of the Internet community, bloggers, whose primary goal is attracting traffic, have continued to feast on the photographs. As typical of citizen journalists, they also claim that the shots are taken from a new video released by the sect, although nobody has seen the video till date.

However, some social media activists said that the videos cast doubt on the soldiers’ claim that they are winning the battle. A tweeter wondered why how the insurgents stills managed to gather so many members if they were, indeed, being killed.

In its usual style, the Nigerian Armed Forces as of Tuesday evening had not responded to the reports on “video screenshots”, at least not through its social media platforms.

Communication experts had warned that the military would continue to lose the online propaganda war unless it became more proactive.      

Sanusi gets #ChildNotBride as 'wedding gift'

Source: Premium Times

#ChildNotBride, a hashtag dedicated to fighting anti-child marriage cause, broke the Internet on Sunday, as Internet users protested the decision of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, to marry an 18-year-old Sa’adatu Barkindo-Musdafa.

Many Internet users consider the bride as too young for the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. 

Sa’adatu is the daughter of the Lamido of Adamawa, Muhammadu Barkindo-Musdafa. A report by an online media said the marriage between Sanusi and the young lady was contracted in Kano State secretly on Friday.

But some Internet users, who were not comfortable with the age disparity between the couple, took to Twitter to protest the marriage.

#ChildNotBride came to limelight two years ago when it was used to draw the attention of the international community to a new bill aimed at legalising child marriage in Nigeria.

The bill, which stirred up controversy on the Internet, was brought before the National Assembly. The hashtag, back then, trended widely on Blackberry, Twitter and Facebook. Female rights activists and other members of the civil society joined the campaign against child marriage, keying into the hashtag to air their views. 

  

Perhaps, the most popular hashtag used in Nigeria before the creation of #BringBackOurGirls, #ChildNotBride received fresh verve at the weekend following Sanusi’s choice of a new wife.

The hashtag started trending on Twitter on Saturday. But as of Sunday evening, it had gone viral on Instagram, Facebook and even WhatsApp.

Users, however, were dividend on the appropriateness of the hashtag, with some arguing that it was abused in the case of Sanusi’s youngest wife.

They argued that she was no longer a minor; hence, a platform created to protect child brides should not have been used for her.

Due to the divided opinions, counter hashtags, such as #GoAndMarry, #BrideNotChild and #CrushNotHusband, were created in defence of the emir.

Interestingly, #GoAndMarry, going by its wide endorsement, topped the Nigeria’s Twitter trending list on Sunday. The hashtag was promoted by those who argued that Sa’datu had taken the right decision.

 

As of Sunday, a number of social media activists had started embedding #ChildNotBride on their profiles – exactly the same strategy that popularised #BringBackOurGirls – the most widely accepted local hashtag used for a Nigerian cause.

The buzz created around the #ChildNotBride hashtag, as of Sunday evening, had yet to abate, suggesting that it may continue to trend in coming days.

Tweeting on the issue, one Nnaemeka Ezeribe said attaining adulthood –18 years – did not imply that a girl was mature for marriage.

According to Ezeribe, an 18-year-old is only an adult legally but not old enough to handle challenges that come with marriage.

Ezeribe added, “Even if she must marry, it should be within her age bracket and not getting married to somebody who is old enough to be her father. That is unfair.”

However, canvassing support for Sanusi, another tweeter, Mukhtar Dotun, said the reason the law permitted 18-year-olds to obtain driver’s licences or voter cards was because they were mature enough to take crucial life decisions. Such decisions, he said, included marriage.

Dotun asked, “If you consider an 18-year-old too young to marry, what age would you suggest to be the minimum marriageable age? Since the law allows an 18-year-old, to obtain a driver’s licence and a voter card, on what assumptions are people making their claims.”

Also tweeting via @dhunnurayn, Abdulkabeer Ishola said those who were castigating the couple were simply being mischievous.

According to him, #ChildNotBride is most suitable as Sanusi’s wife is no longer a minor.

State House searching for relevance, new life

                  

The Presidency may have quietly reactivated its moribund portal to serve the digital, convenient communication purpose for which it was opened.

But the revitalisation process appears slow, at least, for now. While it has started using it for press statements, its design, resolution and general features has continued to ignore key needs of the Internet consumers.

In terms of functionality, especially, the site is perhaps many steps behind even many of the not-too-exciting states-operated domains.

Designed in green and white, the digital space is not exactly what anybody could describe as an appealing portal.

Understandably, the developer may have be constrained by the country’s national colour –while and green. But many visitors would certainly have issues with are the resolution and, more importantly, the content.

A federal government’s portal should be able to hold the attention of a visitor for, at least, five minutes. But statehouse.gov.ng may not for want of attractive content.

The online documents are compressed into five folders – the administration, government, government in action, news, gallery and contact. As traditional as the classifications are, some are, still, lacking in content.

For instance, a folder labelled “government in action”, which, perhaps, should take visitors through on-going key programmes of the government, is not accessible.

When clicked on Friday, the server responded, “You may not be able to visit this page because of: an out-of-date bookmark/favourite, a search engine that has an out-of-date listing for this site, mistyped address, you have no access to this page or the requested resource was not found.”

Modern sites have taken media section to a whole new height, giving visitors an opportunity to explore live feeds, view streaming conversations coming from other visitors and get instant feedbacks, even if such are automated.

But the best the media section of the Aso Rock Villa’s portal gets is a contact email address and a fixed telephone line that was not active on Thursday.

But the good news is that official press releases originating from the Presidency are now promptly posted on the site unlike before when it was rarely updated.

On Tuesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, went to the site to inform the nation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s mission to New York, the United States – a journey that commenced on Thursday.

“President Buhari will leave Nigeria for New York on Thursday (yesterday) for a series of meetings and interactions with notable world leaders within and on the sidelines of the main events of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“President Buhari who will be accompanied by the governors of Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger states, the National Security Adviser and the permanent secretaries in the federal ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Health, Industry, Trade and Investment. He will deliver Nigeria's statement on Monday,”

9 signs that your child is experiencing cyber bullying

We caught up with Chuck Chesler, Founder of KwickLook and asked him to share with us signs that help you to know if your child might be a victim of cyber bullying.

You know exactly what they’re up to. That look of shame on their face confirms it — they’re looking at something inappropriate. You get them to give you their phone, but what you find is a horribly embarrassing picture of them on Instagram. It has a lot of likes and a LOT of mean comments from kids in your child’s class (you didn’t know kids that age knew those words yet). You find out your child has a nickname, too, and it’s not a nice one. The other kids seem to know it well.

Cyber bullying warning signs

Cyber bullying doesn’t come with the same bruises, tears, and teacher notes that schoolyard bullying does. It’s a much more insidious and hard-to-spot. In fact, many of the signs of cyber bullying seem benign, attributable to something else, or even positive. For example, if your child has a lot of new Facebook friends this week, your first instinct might be, “Somebody’s popular!” — when actually those new “friends” are kids who want the opportunity to spread abuse on your child’s wall.

If your child suddenly starts spending more or less time on their phone or computer, it’s worth a conversation

Here are signs that your child might be experiencing cyber bullying:

9. Sudden variations in device use

If your child suddenly starts spending more or less time on their phone or computer, it’s worth a conversation. A child’s interest naturally waxes and wanes, through, which underscores our main point: you have to pay attention to your child to know the context for these signs.

8. Deleting accounts

When social media turns sour, many teens opt to delete their account. Consider this a serious sign — they’ve admitted they don’t have the resources to fight back against the bullies and just want to escape it. The abuse is bad enough for them to give up all their connections.

7. Asking how to block others

When was the last time your child or teen came to you for help? Needless to say, if they’re asking for Mom or Dad’s assistance with something social-media related, it means they’ve exhausted their friends — and Google — as options. Find out why your child is asking.

6.Strong shifts after social media

Seeing your child visibly changed after they go on social media is a good indication they’re drawing a lot of emotions from their online activities. Pay attention to how they seem when they close their laptop or put their phone away. That will tell you a lot about what their experience is like.

5. Decreased self-esteem

Comments like “life feels meaningless,” “I feel depressed,” and “people suck” are strong indicators that your child is having difficulty with their peers online. “Tell me what’s up” is a good response to any of those annunciations. Sometimes that dip in self-worth will be evident in their posture, tone, or something else less obvious. Always be watching.

4. Change in physical habits

Less eating, less sleeping, more reason for you to be concerned that your child is being cyber bullied. If they’re nervous or jumpy when using their phones or computers: more to the point.

Your child’s social media experience is a multitude of relationships and emotions

3. Avoidance

One-word answers are the biggest red flag of all. Your child’s social media experience is a multitude of relationships and emotions. If they sum up their social media day as “good” or “fine,” press further. At best, you’ll get more details on what’s fine or good in your child’s life. At worst, they’ll reveal that life online is not good and fine — and from there, you can step in.

Normally, you’re the one to send your child to their room. If their social media use makes them shut-off and mum, that’s your permission to invade their privacy. They’re implicitly asking you to get involved.

2. Many new contacts

Like we mentioned earlier, a lot of new friends doesn’t mean “a lot of new friends.” It’s worth mentioning the sudden surge of connections to your child and seeing what’s behind it. If they’re “not sure,” that’s a cue to probe deeper.

-safesmartsocial.com

MI dares Fani-Kayode

The artiste described Fani-Kayode as a joker, saying he should have prayed for the safe return of the elder statesman instead of threatening the government. 

 

“You, Mr FFK, are a joker. Instead of being prayerful and hopeful for a statesman’s life, you are making threats against our government (sic),” he tweeted.

 

Responding to other tweeters who suggested that it was not wrong of the politician to have demanded an action from the government, MI insisted that threat was not a proper way to go about the matter.

The response has stirred an online controversy on the issue, with the Internet users taking parallel positions on Fani-Kayode’s comment.

Tweeting through ‏@Tomyboiz, a tweeter who identified himself as Opposition Figure, said there was nothing wrong about Fani-Kayode’s demand.

But another tweeter accused Fani-Kayode of politicising what was supposed to be handled with precaution, saying MI was right when he advised him to pray rather threatening the government.

Falae, who is also the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, was reportedly kidnapped at his farm in Akure, Ondo State, on Monday.

The Director of Administration and Publicity Secretary of the SDP in the state, Mr. Remi Olayiwola, broke the news.

He said, “It was confirmed that Baba went to his farm as usual in Ilado. The gunmen went to his farm where they attacked and kidnapped him. The abductors have contacted Chief Falae’s wife, and they are demanding the sum of N100 million before they would release him.” 

Oteh splashes a billion Naira on a single book

The -appointed Vice President (Treasury) of the World Bank, Arunma Oteh, on Tuesday, has bought 200,000 copies of A-Z of Persona Finance, a book authored by Nimi Akinkugbe of Money Matters.

According to her, a copy of the book will serve as one of her reference materials as she resumes her new job on Monday.

She made the purchase today in Lagos at the presentation of the new book. With the book going for N5,000 per copy, Oteh will be coughing our N1bn to clear the bill.

She announced a purchase of 200,000 copies of the book, copies she promised to give to young Nigerian graduates, who she said direly required lessons in personal asset management.

Oteh, a former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said this at the public presentation of A-Z of Personal Finance, said financial literacy was key to the country’s transformation and economic breakthrough.

“Everybody that knows me knows that I am passionate about financial literacy and education. One of the things that will transform our nation is building financially responsible citizens,” she said.

Oteh said financially literate citizens would contribute to the attainment of the sustainable infrastructural development goal of the country. She said government alone could not raise the amount required for infrastructural transformation, which was put at $3.9 trillion some years ago.

According to her, financial literacy is a life-long skill every parent should continue to teach their children even when they have grown into adulthood.

Describing A-Z of Personal Finance as a great book, Oteh said nobody could teach the topic better than Akinkugbe, who had touched several lives through her training initiatives.  

Akinkugbe said the book is a product of her experiences as a banker. While in banking, she recalled, she said people earned large money just to fall back to poverty few years later as a result of poor knowledge of resource management.

To make Nigerians financially literate, she said, “We should use social media and other means” to create awareness among a large number of people. She said schools should be included in plans to educate young Nigerians on money issues.

“The purpose of the A – Z of Personal Finance is to remove the mystique surrounding savings and investments and to provide readers with information and tips on matters concerning the management of their money throughout their lives.

Soboma Ajumogobia, Akinkugbe’s sibling, said the author picked interest in financial literacy at a very tender age.  

Geoff's Narratives: Saraki appears before tribunal

Geoff's Narratives: Saraki appears before tribunal: The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that he would be at the Code of Conduct Tribunal today. Saraki made this know thro...

Saraki appears before tribunal

The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that he would be at the Code of Conduct Tribunal today.

Saraki made this know through a statement issued by his media aides on Monday. The statement was posted on his Facebook page.

The Tribunal sat on Monday and Friday without the presence of the Senate President. This led to an arrest order issued by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar. 

He was invited in connection with false assets allegation charges leveled against him.

The statement said the Senate President had stayed away from the tribunal sitting on the ground advice by his legal team.  

“While the Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had stated and maintained that he is ready to submit himself to due process of the law on any issue concerning him, he also believes that he has an inalienable right to resort to the same judiciary for protection when he feels his fundamental rights are about to be infringed upon.

The Senate President is a law abiding citizen and his absence from tribunal was based on legal advice he received from his counsel that it is not necessary for him to appear before the tribunal at this stage since the jurisdiction of the tribunal and the process of initiating the matter are being challenged before the Federal High Court Abuja,” said the statement.

According to the statement, Saraki had taken a U-turn because of his respect for the rule of law. It emphasised that the Senate President still had reservation about the process. 

For North-West, online communication has not begun

el-Rufai

Kaduna and Zamfara state governments have no functional web presence, despite the current digital communication advancement across the world; findings by our correspondent have shown.

But for many of other state governments in the North-West, it is a season of website reconstruction. At least, three state governments in the axis – Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi – are currently reworking their portals.

For instance, on the katsina.gov.ng, the supposed portal of the Katsina State Government, on Sunday, the only message found on the blank space said the site was under construction. Findings, however, show that the notice has remained like this on the site for many weeks now.

With its site currently taken down, there are no alternate platforms such as social media where it relates with the people. On Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and several other platforms where a few state governments have been engaging their residents, there is also no single account traceable to the Katsina State Government.

Sokoto State Government’s sokotostate.gov.ng, as in the case of Kastina, is also undergoing reconstruction. The state government says the site, which is being handled by Aimtech Communications Limited, will be ready in about a week’s time.

Yari

The online profiles of the government of Kaduna, a supposed metropolitan state and Zamfara are, perhaps, the worst in the North-West geopolitical zone.

While Katsina and Sokoto have domain names, though they are being overhauled, search engines consulted on Sunday could not trace those of Kaduna and Zamfara state governments. 

On further search on the web pages, zamfarastate.net and kadunastate.gov.org pumped up with several other web-based results. However, both URL addresses were unavailable as of Sunday.

The status of the Kaduna State Government, especially, contradicts its Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s soaring social media brand.

With 649,000 Twitter followers, el-Rufai is currently the most followed Nigerian politician on the site. The governor surpasses President Muhammadu Buhari’s combined following on @NGRPresident and @MBuhri.

On Facebook as well, e-Rufai’s verified account is active and highly-rated in terms of visibility. On Facebook, he has over 500, 000 fans on the site. His just-unveiled official Twitter page – @GovKaduna – is also gaining relevance by the day; it has over 7,000 users to its credit already.

Yet, the governor’s social performances have yet to motivate his government. It has yet to sign up on the same platforms where the governor is currently a ‘star’.               

Bagudu

The Kebbi State Government is almost in the category of Kaduna and others. But for Kebbi State Government, it is credited with kebbistate.com. The site admin, however, says the content amount to samples of what is to be unveiled soon as Kebbi State’s site.     

“Kebbistate.com is dedicated to the development of Kebbi State. We will, work as a team, make Kebbi State greater. Please check back regularly for updates. We hope to help raise political awareness of what it means to be a Kebbian. After all, we are all in this together.

“Together, we can ensure better life for future generations of Kebbians. Equally, you can inform your computer-literate friends and associates to check the website regularly and email us their names and phone numbers, as we embark on a project to compile names, phone numbers and emails addresses of all our indigenes, who are passionately and actively working for Kebbi State's development,” says the site.

Tambunwal

Like Kebbi, the Jigawa State Government is also making what could be described as a tall social-media promise on its jigawa.state.gov.ng. Quoting telephone lines on the page, the site says the government is relating with citizens of the state through WhatsApp, 2go as well as Facebook.

It also welcomes suggestions on the affairs of the state and its leadership. Such suggestions, it says, could be channelled through its social media platforms and emails.

 Posting through kano.gov.ng, Kano State Government is ahead of counterparts in the region. Apart from the fact that it updates its site regularly, it has a functional social media platform where governance information is also relates.

On Facebook, the state government is followed 3,900 users. But more importantly, both website and Facebook relates well in terms of plugins and posting.