Aisha Buhari, the First Lady, has added her voice to the ongoing debate on the anti-social media bill, calling for the regulation of the medium in the country.
Mrs Buhari made her position known at the Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs General Assembly and National Executive Council Meeting held at the National Mosque, Abuja, on Friday.
According to the First Lady, countries such as China have, despite their large population, taken measures to control social media, adding that Nigeria should not be an exception.
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Highlighting the purported controversy recently stirred up on the working relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Mrs Buhari said the medium needs to be regulated as some persons deliberately publish mischievous information to create public disaffection in the society.
“On this issue of social media, you cannot just sit in the comfort of your house and tweet that the Vice President has resigned. It is a serious issue. If China can control over 1.3 billion people on social media, I see no reason why Nigeria cannot attempt controlling only 180 million people,” she said.
Mrs Buhari also used the event to dissect the current state of the nation and lamented that the state governors had not done enough to improve the standard of living of Nigerians.
The First Lady noted that some Nigerians do not have access to potable water and other basic amenities, warning that the situation could get worse and the country could be in a dire situation if the condition of living does not improve.
She said: “We should either fasten our seatbelt or do the needful or we will all regret it very soon because, at the rate things are going, things are getting completely out of hand. The VP (Yemi Osinbajo) is here, some ministers are here, they are supposed to do justice to the situation.
“People cannot afford potable water in this country while we have governors. Since this is the highest decision-making body of Islamic affairs, for those that are listening, we should fear God, and we should know that one day, we will return to God and account for our deeds here on earth.”
Present at the event were Osinbajo, Sa’ad Abubakar, NSCIA President and the Sultan of Sokoto, some members of the Federal Executive Council and Islamic clerics.
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