Kashim Shettima, vice-presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), says a series of fake stories on social media
against him are coordinated and sponsored by top Nigerian politicians.
The former Borno governor described social media as the
place where “truth goes to die” in the country.
Shettima spoke on Sunday in Abuja during a reception in his
honour by the Borno Indigenes Forum.
The vice-presidential candidate said the social media spaces
playing a host of fake stories have also served as platforms where the truth is
being murdered in Nigeria.
“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 said he feels emotional whenever pictures of his
engagements with locals are shared on social media with another narrative
different from the truth.
“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.
“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
colour 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 weaponise 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.”
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