By Nkem Chidi
Following the conclusion of the general elections and in looking forward to the three off-cycle state elections later in 2023, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Thursday, explained the need for stock taking and to mobilise concerted efforts to strengthen the media in countering hate speech as a major precursor to achieving peaceful elections and social cohesions.
Sequel to this reality, it commenced the move to counter hate speech for a saner and progressive society.
To achieve this noble objective, the executive secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, organized a –two- day roundtable jointly organised by the Commission and the United Nations in Nigeria in pursuance of their unique mandates to promote and protect human and in recognition of the constitutional roles of the media in shaping national values and advancing the political, social, economic and cultural objectives enshrined in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Speaking at the event which is designed to develop policy directive on countering hate speech and to mitigate its effect on the polity, thanked the partners and the UN system and the media and charged the participants to take the issues seriously and find practical ways to counter the rising menace of hate speech.
He explained that the National Human Rights Commission has the mandate to promote and protect human rights of every person in Nigeria in line with the human rights provisions under the constitution, enactments of the National and State Assemblies and treaties and conventions acceded to by Nigeria.
‘’The Commission is deeply invested in the issue of hate speech under discussion today, especially in the context of Nigeria’s political, ethnic and religious diversities and heterogeneities.
‘’Hate speech is intricately related to human rights, either in its form or outcome. From the purveyor, it is about right to freedom of expression, opinion, speech or belief. To the recipient, it is a violation of the rights to dignity of human person and the freedom from discrimination based on religious belief, political, ethnic, gender, cultural or other affiliations, amongst many other human rights.
‘’Hate speeches promote discrimination, divisions, incites violence, all of which impedes voters’ participation and access in the elections.
‘’In the build up to the elections, we witnessed heavy traffic in the spread of hate speeches across many media platforms, often leaving Nigerians and voters deeply divided and maligned. The National Human Rights Commission in exercise of its mandate launched the “Mobilising Voters for Election (MOVE)” Project which has a broad mandate to promote access, participation and accountability in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
‘’There is no gainsaying the impact hate speeches had in promoting violence, suppression and other forms of human rights violation before, during and after the elections.
In his opening remarks, the UN Resident and humanitarian coordinator, Mr Matthias Schmale noted that the technological advancement that threw up social media is sadly being used to advance the evil of hate speech and called for the use of same technology to counter it.
There were paper presentations and technical sessions by the stakeholders and participants all geared towards working out a policy direction for Nigeria to counter hate speech and tackle its evils.
