By Shuaibu Usman Muhammad
The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), on Tuesday, called on Nigerians to identify and verify their news contents in order to squarely address the rising spate of fake news which threatens the nation’s reputation.
The reputation building organization said the menace of fake news, disinformation and misinformation if left unchecked will have a substantially adverse consequence on the citizenry and their economy.
Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, Vice President of the NIPR, who led other national officials of the Institute to Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, made this known while briefing newsmen on the rumoured collapse of the newly commissioned Lafia flyover and underpass named after President Bola Tinubu recently.
Few days ago, it was reported (not Nasarawa Newsline) that the 16-billion Naira worth newly-built road infrastructure by the Governor Abdullahi Sule administration had collapsed, triggering trepidation and stirring disinformation in the state and beyond.
Addressing the press after the inspection of the facility, Dandaura clarified speculations on the collapsed sections of the flyover, adding that the structure is safe, fit and motorable.
Dandaura said the misleading information had no iota of truth, urging stakeholders to contribute in promoting good narrative about government and the society.
The professor of development communication condemned the actions of “merchants of falsehood”, stressing that doing so endangers the nation’s reputation locally and globally.
The Vice President challenged organizations to support the integrity initiative of the NIPR to reposition the nation towards sustainable development, calling for the promotion of verifiable, accurate and responsible journalism.
Speaking, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu (Vice President, Education Advisory Board), Muhammad Kudu Abubakar, veteran broadcaster and Francis Duru, a Nigerian filmmaker/actor encouraged Nigerians to acquire more skills in media and information literacy.
They stressed the need for adherence to freedom of the press and freedom of expression, insisting that acts of fake news are fatally menacing to the collective survival of the nation.
They explained that the misrepresentation has portrayed the nation’s engineering sector in a badlight, calling on citizens to see it as a civic responsibility to verify information and to present them as truth.
Also commenting, Nasarawa State Chapter Chairman of the NIPR, Joseph Attah maintained that misinformation is of global concern, describing it as dangerous, evil and damaging.
Attah commended the national officials for sighting the site, verifying the information and sending the right information to the world, noting that no structure built in Nasarawa has collapsed as wrongly and deliberately rumored around to cause public discontent.
He charged members of the public to discourage the spread of fake news by discountenancing unverified news items.