Nigeria news : Atiku blows hot as Senate introduces hate speech bill

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the hate speech bill sponsored by Senator Sabi Abdullahi as an ‘abuse of the legislative process that will violate Nigerians’ constitutionally guaranteed right to Freedom of Speech.

DAILY POST had reported that Senator Sabi Abdullahi representing Niger North Senatorial district on Tuesday sponsored a private bill to tackle hate speeches and other social media related content, considered antagonistic to the interest of Nigerian society.

The lawmaker, who was Senate Spokesman in the 8th Senate and now Deputy Chief Whip, wants the National Assembly to establish a Commission with administrative structures to deal with hate speeches in Nigeria.

The bill titled: “National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speeches (Est., etc) bill, 2019 (SB. 154)” passed its first reading on Tuesday.

Reacting, a statement by Atiku’s Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, on Tuesday warned against the passage of the bill.

He urged the Senate to focus on issues that matter to Nigerians.

The Statement reads in part, “Atiku Abubakar wishes to sound a note of caution to those now toying with the idea of an Anti Hate Speech Bill, with punishment for supposed Hate Speech to be death by hanging.

“The contemplation of such laws is in itself not just hate speech, but an abuse of the legislative process that will violate Nigerians’ constitutionally guaranteed right to Freedom of Speech.

“Atiku urges those behind this Bill to awake to the fact that Nigeria’s democracy has survived its longest incarnation because those who governed this great nation between 1999 and 2015 never toyed with this most fundamental of freedoms.

“It is prudent to build upon the tolerance inherited from those years and not shrink the democratic space to satisfy personal and group interests. Freedom of Speech was not just bestowed to Nigerians by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)

“ It is also a divine right given to all men by their Creator. History is littered with the very negative unintended consequences that result when this God-given right is obstructed by those who seek to intimidate the people rather than accommodate them. We should be reminded that history does not repeat itself. Rather, men repeat history. And often, to disastrous consequences.

“Nigeria presently has too many pressing concerns. We are now the world headquarters for extreme poverty as well as the global epicenter of out-of-school children. Our economy is smaller than it was in 2015, while our population is one of the world’s fastest-growing. We have retrogressed in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, from the position we held four years ago, and our Human Development Indexes are abysmally low. It, therefore, begs the question: should we not rather make laws to tackle these pressing domestic challenges, instead of this Bill, which many citizens consider obnoxious?

“Again, Atiku cautions that we must prioritize our challenges ahead of the whims and caprices of those who do not like to hear the inconvenient truth. Stop this folly and focus on issues that matter to Nigerians.”