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Land of Tensions: Hunters armed with bows and arrows gathered in Dbado, central Nigeria, in February, pledging to defend farmers in conflict with nomadic pastoralists. By Luis TATO (AFP)
Misinformation may worsen ethnic and religious tensions in Nigeria, say commentators and researchers in the media, as concern grows over domestic security and the fragility of intercommunity relations.
The months and weeks leading up to the last election were characterized by a series of false statements about politicians and their parties, as part of deliberate attempts to shape the story before the election.
The most populous nation in Africa is often characterized as on the edge of the abyss.
Security threats include the Islamists in Boko Haram in the north-east and violence between pastoralists and farmers in the central states of the country.
The latter is above all a battle for water and land, but the people involved have been polarized according to ethnic, sectarian and religious criteria, in a country of more than 250 ethnic groups and where identity is rarely far from area.
Simon Kolawole, former editor of the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay and founder of the online news site The Cable, said that lies made under the cover of news "put the delicate ethno-religious fabric of Nigeria at greater risk".
Hungry for news: Nigerians rallied around a newspaper vendor on Feb. 16 after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the postponement of a week of presidential elections. By STEFAN HEUNIS (AFP) It also impeded the credibility of the media in the country, "he told AFP.
Information Minister Lai Mohammed said disinformation and hate speech "threaten the peace, unity, security and common life of Nigerians".
The fabrication of narratives opposing the country's predominantly Muslim north to a predominantly Christian south was particularly disturbing – a traditional fault line often used by proponents of the restructuring of the current federal system and even its dissolution.
"When you use social media, you have the impression that Nigeria is at war and that Muslims are killing Christians," Mohammed said.
Factories "false news"
Misinformation – deliberate or otherwise – is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria.
In November 1989, the state broadcaster NTA announced the death of Nnamdi Azikwe, the first governor general of the country and president after independence in 1960.
In the morning, most newspapers told the story, but "Zik", as we call it, was very much alive and would live another seven years.
Thirty years later, rumors were circulating that President Muhammadu Buhari had died during one of his long absences from Nigeria in 2017 for medical reasons and that he had been replaced by a Sudan look-alike. called Jubril.
It took almost two days for Azikwe to clarify his health and inform the world that he was still alive – and the false claim was relatively contained.
Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook and other social media were the main vectors of false information in Nigeria. By NICOLAS ASFOURI (AFP / File) Buhari's supposed death, on the other hand, spread like wildfire on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, to such an extent that he had to respond to the demand at a conference of press.
"It's the real me," he told his supporters during a trip to Poland in December 2018.
Buhari, 76, even had to spend time to refute the statement, which is extraordinary, but its continued dissemination reflects the magnitude of the problem – and the task ahead of the media and the media verification organizations. facts.
Fredrick Nwabufo, political badyst and editorialist, said it was "an open secret" that the two main political parties in Nigeria organized "press centers" to disseminate erroneous information during the elections.
He acknowledged that the practice could degenerate into ethnic and religious tensions.
Electoral impact?
The rumor of a look-alike can be attributed to supporters of Biafran, who want a separate state for the Igbo people who dominate southeast Nigeria.
Another claim that the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar was supported by the LGBT community was to discredit him in the religious and socially conservative North.
Separatism: Drawing of the Biafran flag on a wall of the pro-independence region of Umuahaia. By CRISTINA ALDEHUELA (AFP) A recurring complaint against Buhari, who is also a northern Muslim, is that he wants to Islamize all of Nigeria and extend Sharia law across the country.
How far the "false news" has influenced the outcome of the election is for the moment inconclusive. Buhari was re-elected by nearly four million votes.
Sam Ejiwunmi, a PhD student at the University of Lagos looking for this opportunity, said misinformation affected rural areas more than urban centers.
"My fear is mainly related to the impact it has on the credibility of the media, and news organizations are no longer seen as credible guardians of information," he added.
"We should all be worried about how false information, especially during elections, can lead to an increase in hate speech and a change in the voting system.
"Although there is no data to my knowledge to support this badertion for the moment, it is an badumption that will be considered early enough."
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