Social Media Bill scary, anti-democracy – Tambuwal – TheNigerialawyer

...Says sponsor’s action poised to undermine nation’s
unity

Governor of Sokoto State Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has expressed his
worry over the Hate Speech Bill before the National Assembly with
death penalty as punishment saying it is scary.

The governor who also added that the action of the sponsor can
undermine the unity of the country, added that the nation’s
democracy cannot thrive or operate well under a dictatorship style
of government.

Tambuwal spoke on Thursday during the ongoing 15th All Nigeria
Editors’ Conference in Sokoto. He urged the broadcast media to
brace up to the challenge of digitization to meet up with global
needs.

Tambuwal also advised the Federal Government to, as matter of
urgency, overhaul the country’s security architecture to checkmate
the rising insurgency and banditry attacks across the country.

He, however said, though the Federal and state governments had
done much in containing the menace, much need to be done.

He charged the media not to be despaired in discharging their
duty in the midst of economic hardship in which media professionals
are also feeling the heat but advised that they should keep faith
for better days ahead.

On his part, the chairman of the event and former Governor of
Ogun State, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, also bemoaned the Hate Speech
Bill, saying ” how I wish Tambuwal is still the speaker of House of
Representatives; the Hate Speech Bill would have not seen the light
of the day.”

He noted that social media are not part of them that were guided
by the code of conduct and ethics for its practice.

He said the council will resist the draconian law stressing that
some of them previously paid a supreme price in instituting
democracy in the country.

“As a chieftain of All Progressives Congress, I will lobby the
National Assembly to kill the bill.”

Earlier, Acting President, Nigeria Guild of Editors Mustapha
Isah, commended the governor for hosting this year’s conference. He
stressed that the governor had demonstrated to be a reliable friend
of the media and the Guild in particular.

Mustapha added that without a robust media our nascent democracy
can neither survive, sustained nor be nurtured.

He explained that truly the media is in serious distress because
of the general down turn in the country’s economy that had
adversely affected the businesses

“We must survive in order to perform our constitutional duty of
holding government to account,” he said.

He urged the council and the public protect free speech as
enshrined in Nigerian constitution.

He further explained that the Hate Speech Bill is targeting the
media, maintaining that the Nigerian Guild of Editor is not in
support of it and will never support fake news and hate speech.