The Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, says the pursuit of selfish gain, ineffective and the weakness of our institutions in fact-checking and probing integrity of information exchanges in the nation’s ecosystem both online and offline, are critical factors propelling hate speech, misinformation and other vices in the country.
He noted this during a two-day Training of Trainers on Combating Hate Speech Online and Offline organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and the Building Blocks for Peace Foundation (BBFORPEACE) which was held in Abuja with theme, ‘’Together for Peace: Combatting Hate Speech Online and Offline’’.
He said this development has over time aggravated tensions, fuelled mistrust in the polity, propelled polarization among citizens and fostered wider socio-cultural and religious changes such as radicalization, cyber-bullying, false and incendiary narratives and the proliferation of extremist ideologies.
According to him, the consequences of hate speech and misinformation include the widespread loss of lives, disruption of social life, destruction of properties, displacement of a huge number of Nigerians, diminished trust in government and hindrance to socio-economic development.
Ochogwu charged Nigerian youths to join hands and intensify efforts to address the surge of hate narratives across Nigeria.
The training which brought together over 20 young participants from across the six Area Councils within the Federal Capital Territory is supported by the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF) coordinated by LEAP Africa.
Dr. Joseph emphasized the importance of youth empowerment and the positive deployment of technology to shape the Nigeria that we all desire and want.
Also, the Executive Director of Building Blocks for Peace Foundation, Mr. Rafiu Lawal highlighted the importance of the meeting, noting that hate speech and harmful narratives including rumour, disinformation, fake news and ethnicphobia have had significant and far-reaching effects on many societies and Nigeria is no exception.
According to Mr. Lawal, the proliferation of hate speech and harmful narratives now poses a critical threat to Nigeria’s social fabric, intergroup relationships, and overall unity, peace, stability and development of the nation. He therefore calls on all stakeholders to work together to address this menace.
During the training, young people were engaged on various topics, including conflict management and peacebuilding, social media as a tool for advocacy, dialogue, and political participation, Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act 2024, Transforming Narratives through Story Telling among others.
Mr. Lawal noted that participants from the training will be supported technically and financially to implement small scale initiative in all the Area Councils in Abuja.
The Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF) Grants and MERL Specialist,Mr. Kamaldeen Afolabi highlighted the need to continue to build youth capacity, providing opportunities for our youth in order to facilitate good governance for peacebuilding.