President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that social media has become a societal menace and must be regulated, The Herald report.
Gbajabiamila said this while representing Tinubu at the public presentation of a book, “Nigerian Public Discourse: The Interplay of Empirical Evidence and Hyperbole” written by the a Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in Lagos
He said, “The social media has become a societal menace and must be regulated. As many people do not understand that once the send button is hit, there is a potential to reach millions of people around the world which is capable of causing a great danger not just in the society but even unintended consequences to the individuals that are receiving information which may include security of life”.
While stressing the importance of accurate information in policy formulation and national development, the President however berated the menace of the social media in the dissemination of fake and wrong information which has almost torn the country apart, stressing for the need to regularize the framework of news dissemination on social media to avoid mis-information in the country.
He emphasized the importance of data in policy formulation for the growth of the country, stating that no developing country can succeed without adequate and well-informed data.
He said that his administration has an obligation to engage in evidence-based discussion and data-reliant decision-making, hence the need for accurate data that will be used for better policy formulation and execution.
He said that the country is currently living through one of the most challenging periods in modern history, stressing that the world is changing all around and amidst the global trauma, the country is confronted by different policies and decisions that must be made to ensure that the generations, now and future are in an appropriate prospect.