- Shettima said he feels emotional when lies about him are shared on social media
- To him, Nigerians are suffocating the truth on social media by spreading a variety of fake information.
Kashim Shettima, the All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate has claimed that social media is where the truth goes to die in Nigeria
that prominent Nigerian politicians are behind a string of false reports about him on social media.
Social media, according to the former governor of Borno, is where the nation’s “truth goes to die.” The Borno Indigenes Forum hosted a reception in Shettima’s honor on Sunday in Abuja.
According to the vice presidential candidate, Nigerians are suffocating the truth on social media platforms by spreading a variety of false information.
“I would’ve veered off to a place of hate if I had allowed the bigotries I encountered to define me. Even as a two-time governor and, now, senator, I’m just as vulnerable to bigotry as every Nigerian,” Shettima said.
“If you intend to see where the truth goes to die in Nigeria, then don’t look too far away from the electronic exchanges on social media. Most of the falsehoods dispensed are, unfortunately, carefully-coordinated attacks by agents of those running for the highest office in the country.
“My venturing into politics has taken me to the bank of this river of hatred between and among groups in the country. Sometimes, you come across the energy devoted to promoting their improbable fiction that you begin to wonder if their redemption is possible—if they would ever agree to submit to superior facts. But we have to thank the exceptional citizens and journalists volunteering to fact-check the imaginary stories.”
Shettima claimed that whenever images of his interactions with locals are posted on social media with a different story from the truth, he becomes emotional.
“As a governor, for instance, I engaged with various groups in Borno State to learn from their experiences or as a courtesy required from a leader whenever I came across them. Some of such encounters were with vigilante groups helping us in the war against Boko Haram or with Fulani herdsmen within our jurisdiction.
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“So, whenever photos from such meetings are shared to make certain allusions, I was unsure of whether to laugh or cry for the nation. Their allusions are a product of the usual unchecked ethnic profiling, and that’s a risky political strategy for a country already too divided.
“But we can’t afford to give up. We can’t afford to take their bait. The day we embark on responding to profiling any group with similar color of hate, we are halfway to the end of this union.
“This is the chaos they seek. But we are far too sophisticated to see any Nigerian as an enemy just because of their ethnicity, religion, or region. We will weaponize neither our ethnic nor regional identity to oppose any individual, whether their agenda is printed on a billboard or intended to be a secret campaign.
“The darkest irony in our politics today is the sponsorship of hate campaigns by front-line political candidates against an opposing group in the very country they are asking to govern.
“I expect you to be the voice of reason in teaching conflict profiteers in our midst about the enduring bond we share. We would’ve been long overrun if we had paid mind to any politician who invests in divisions, the ones who’ve seen and experienced the devastation of violence firsthand.”
