All That Comes With Social Media

At the opening of the 2017 press week of the Delta State Council of the Nigerian Union Of Journalists, speakers discussed social media and all that comes with it.

Emmanuel Uduaghan, immediate past governor of the state who was the chairman of the occasion was pleased with the opportunity to speak his mind about the theme of the program-“Journalists,Social Media, and Good Governance” which he admitted once being a victim of the menace of social media.

In his opening remarks, which set the tone for the lecture delivered by renowned professor of constitutional law and former Edo State governor, Oserheimen Osunbor, Uduaghan described the social media as a leveler because everyone has access to it, and so provides the forum for everybody to air anything in his mind – the good, the bad and the ugly. “But the result of that is that the ugly seem to be overtaking the bad and the good. So, we have a lot more ugly posts in the social media than posts that are acceptable”, Uduaghan opined. He said while it has the advantage of immediacy, “that speed has its disadvantage because once a wrong information goes into the social media, it’s very difficult to retrieve it”, adding that even when you are able to retrieve it, or correct it, sometimes, not more than 10 percent of the people who read the first message will agree with the corrected message, while 90 percent will still be going on with the wrong message.

Uduaghan was particularity concerned about the situation in Delta State where he allerrged that blackmail has been made a big profession. Getting emotional, Uduaghan said “I am a man of peace; I have managed the state for eight years and I ensured that there was peace in Delta State, and I will not be part of anything that would bring insecurity to Delta State. And if I perceive that my action might bring insecurity to Delta State, I will also say it to the government. I think I have discussed this with the SSG before and advised him, but I have not seen the result of that advise. That is why I am saying it publicly”.