Lai Muhammed speaks on fake news, proposed loan for NTA, amnesty intl’s allegation and more

By publisher

SPIKE IN FAKE NEWS AND DISINFORMATION

There has been a spike in the dissemination of fake news and the use

of disinformation in recent times

This is not accidental: Fake news, disinformation and hate speech have

become the weapons of choice to create tension in the polity and

destabilize the country. And those behind it, the naysayers, are not

about to relent.

For some people, the 2019 elections are not over. They are stuck in

the pre-election mode. And they must continue to use these weapons to

put Nigeria on edge.

We have security challenges and we are tackling them head on. There is

no question about that. But the challenges are being aggravated by

fake news and disinformation, in particular. Those behind this

campaign of fake news and disinformation have also deployed new

tactics, top of which is the recycling of old news items and videos.

A good example is the video of the over 400 young men suspected to be

Boko Haram members who were

intercepted in Abia state in 2014. About two weeks ago, the video came

back into circulation, creating panic in the polity. Their intention

is simple: to create tension and panic in the country.

Other recent instances of fake news:

– that President Muhammadu Buhari will be travelling to the UK for 20

days before proceeding to Saudi Arabia and Austria

– that the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, was

attacked at the Rigasa train station in Kaduna

– that the Nigerian Air Force killed 250 Boko Haram insurgents.

– that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy is planning

to unveil some new ‘communication regulations’ aimed at recording all

calls, monitoring Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook, etc

– Even private individuals have also been victims of this scourge

We will continue to appeal to Nigerians to be circumspect in believing

or circulating these fake news, as we did when we launched our

national campaign against fake news in 2018.

We are also pushing ahead with our plan to sanitize the social media,

working with stakeholders.

By March 2nd 2020, we will inaugurate the stakeholders committee that

will deliberate and recommend the way forward.

We are also planning a major international conference that will bring

together the tech companies, media practitioners, policy makes and

others as part of efforts to tackle this growing canker-worm

Last week, I met with representatives of Google and Facebook for the

same purpose.

The situation is dire, and no nation that values its peace, security

and stability will allow an irresponsible use of the social media.

INSECURITY

As I said earlier, the country is facing security challenges, and the

challenges are being tackled headlong.

However, there have been some red herrings in recent times, including

those calling for the resignation of Mr. President or the sack of the

security chiefs.

I just want to say that the government, which has provided and

continues to provide the military and the security agencies with the

wherewithal, believes in their ability to tackle insecurity. These

challenges will be successfully tackled. I will however advise all

commentators, especially political and religious leaders, to be very

careful at this time not to aggravate the situation with incendiary

comments, comments that cash in on our religious, ethnic and political

fault lines to further divide us. The kind of comments that have been

attributed to some leaders, especially religious leaders, are

incendiary and reckless. Leaders should be part of solutions to

problems, rather than aggravating situations.

To those asking Mr. President to resign, I wish to say this: Mr

President will not resign. He has the overwhelming mandate of

Nigerians to preside over the affairs of the country till the

expiration of his tenure in May 2023.

DISRUPTION OF INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TO THE MURTALA MOHAMMED

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN LAGOS

In recent times, some international flights billed for the Murtala

Mohammed International Airport in Lagos have diverted to other

airports within and outside the country due to adverse weather

conditions at the airport.

This has led to a debate on the state of the navigational aids at the airport.

First, let me apologize to all our citizens and other travellers who

have had to endure inconveniences resulting from the diversion of

their flights. This is highly regretted.

I will also like to quickly take us through what caused the problem.

In its commitment to passenger safety and security, the Federal

Government has recently taken the decision to upgrade the navigational

facilities at some major airports across the country. Consequently,

the navigational aids at airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port

Harcourt, Asaba, etc. were all marked for an upgrade from Category II

Instrument Landing System (CAT II ILS) to top-of-the-class CAT III

ILS. In the first phase, the CAT III ILS was procured and installed in

Lagos and Abuja. In addition, the government procured a calibration

aircraft instead of renting one each time for $500,000. Both Abuja and

Lagos airports were calibrated. The CAT III ILS is working perfectly

here in Abuja. But after calibration, some incorrect readings were

noticed in the CAT III ILS at the MMA. Just as it was about to be

re-calibrated, the weather situation in Lagos changed for the worse,

hence the disruption of international flights into Lagos.

Some airlines opted to divert their flights to Kotoka International

Airport in Accra, Ghana, which, by the way, does not even have a CAT

III ILS but where the weather was not as adverse as that in Lagos.

Many travellers bound for Nigeria became stranded. Again, this is much

regretted. Of course, the same flights could have diverted to Abuja,

which has a perfectly-functioning CAT III ILS and where flights to

Lagos are regular. But they instead chose to fly to Accra.

Some commentators have alleged that perhaps the CAT III ILS was not

bought or installed in Lagos and Abuja. This is not true. The

equipment was indeed procured and installed in both airports. But for

the hitch I referred to earlier, there would have been no disruptions

at the MMA. Accusation of ineptitude against aviation officials is

misplaced. Otherwise, the Abuja CAT III ILS would not have been

working perfectly now

May I also inform you all that a number of airports around the world,

even in the advance world, don’t even have CAT III ILS. This is

because they feel that because adverse weather is only for a short

period in a year, they don’t feel that the kind of huge cost that is

required to acquire it is justified. Even the Kotoka International

Airport that most flights were diverted to does not have CAT III ILS.

NOTE: When the CAT III ILS in Lagos ran into a hitch, the CAT II ILS

at the runway 18R (international runway) remained the only option. But

with CAT II ILS, pilots can only land their planes with a minimum

visibility of 800 metres, compared to zero visibility for CAT III ILS.

The weather phenomenon that reduced visibility at the International

wing of the MMA is not unique to Nigeria. As some flights were being

diverted from the Lagos airport, over 200 flights were either being

diverted or cancelled at Heathrow in London

I am happy to announce that the two runways at the airport in Lagos have now been calibrated for CAT III ILS and NOTAM sent out

$500 MILLION LOAN

In an era of social media, the real news is usually sacrificed on the

altar of sensationalism and disinformation.

That’s how I will describe the hysteria, in a section of the media,

over the reportage of the $500 million loan being sought from China.

It is wrong to report that the loan is being sought for the NTA alone.

Indeed, the loan is for three major projects

To construct a headquarters complex and transmission network for

INTEGRATED TELEVISION SERVICES (ITS), the FG-owned signal distributor

that is a major component of the country’s Digital Switch Over (DSO)

To build an ultra-modern Media City in Ikorodu that will have the

following facilities

– Indoor/Outdoor shooting area

-Animation Production Facility

– Digital Media Training Centre

– World Class Cinema

– Four-Star Hotel

– An Amusement Park

– Amphitheater

(b) Acquisition of digital movie production equipment for rental as

well as power system

(the first is in Egypt) that will train Nigerian broadcasters and film

makers in the production of high quality media content programmes and

make Nigeria a hub for digital movie production in Sub-Saharan Africa

(3) Digitization of NTA Stations

(a) Digitization of all NTA stations

– Headquarters

– 12 Zonal Stations

– 36 State Capital NTA Stations

– 76 Community Station

(b) Upgrade, purchase and installation of relevant digital TV

broadcasting equipment compatible with DSO products and accessories

that are necessary for the production and broadcast of digital

programme contents, in addition to provision of power system and

manpower training

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S ACCUSATION THAT THE MILITARY BURNT SOME

VILLAGES AND FORCEFULLY DISPLACED THE RESIDENTS

I am aware that the Defence Headquarters has responded appropriately

to this accusation

The military denied razing down villages and detaining locals

unlawfully; that it does not employ arson as an operational tactic;

and that looting and burning of villages is the style of Boko Haram

Terrorists

I will like to add that in carrying out their duties, Amnesty

International should not cast themselves in the league of Boko Haram

and ISWAP terrorists. They should stop the growing practice of

constantly attacking the military and casting them as the bad guys,

when all they are doing is putting their lives on the line to fight

terrorists who have no respect for the sanctity of life, who willfully

go after women and children, who attack houses of worship without

respect or allegiance to any religion. Amnesty International should

stop providing succour for terrorists by attributing their atrocities

to our troops. Our soldiers, who are defending the country, are guided

by extant rules of engagement and operational codes of conduct. They

should not be made to look like the aggressors here.

I am aware that the Federal Government has always taken seriously any

allegation of rights violation by soldiers or other security forces.

Investigations have been carried out and culprits, if any, punished.

And it is a continuous process.

Sent from my iPhone

> On 20 Feb 2020, at 12:54 PM, Joseph Mutah <[email protected]> wrote:

>> TALKING POINTS FOR THE HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE,

>> ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE IN ABUJA ON THURSDAY,

>> 20 MAY 2020

>> SPIKE IN FAKE NEWS AND DISINFORMATION

>> There has been a spike in the dissemination of fake news and the use

>> of disinformation in recent times

>> This is not accidental: Fake news, disinformation and hate speech have

>> become the weapons of choice to create tension in the polity and

>> destabilize the country. And those behind it, the naysayers, are not

>> about to relent.

>> For some people, the 2019 elections are not over. They are stuck in

>> the pre-election mode. And they must continue to use these weapons to

>> put Nigeria on edge.

>> We have security challenges and we are tackling them head on. There is

>> no question about that. But the challenges are being aggravated by

>> fake news and disinformation, in particular. Those behind this

>> campaign of fake news and disinformation have also deployed new

>> tactics, top of which is the recycling of old news items and videos.

>> A good example is the video of the over 400 young men suspected to be

>> Boko Haram members who were

>> intercepted in Abia state in 2014. About two weeks ago, the video came

>> back into circulation, creating panic in the polity. Their intention

>> is simple: to create tension and panic in the country.

>> Other recent instances of fake news:

>> – that President Muhammadu Buhari will be travelling to the UK for 20

>> days before proceeding to Saudi Arabia and Austria

>> – that the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, was

>> attacked at the Rigasa train station in Kaduna

>> – that the Nigerian Air Force killed 250 Boko Haram insurgents.

>> – that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy is planning

>> to unveil some new ‘communication regulations’ aimed at recording all

>> calls, monitoring Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook, etc

>> – Even private individuals have also been victims of this scourge

>> We will continue to appeal to Nigerians to be circumspect in believing

>> or circulating these fake news, as we did when we launched our

>> national campaign against fake news in 2018.

>> We are also pushing ahead with our plan to sanitize the social media,

>> working with stakeholders.

>> By March 2nd 2020, we will inaugurate the stakeholders committee that

>> will deliberate and recommend the way forward.

>> We are also planning a major international conference that will bring

>> together the tech companies, media practitioners, policy makes and

>> others as part of efforts to tackle this growing canker-worm

>> Last week, I met with representatives of Google and Facebook for the

>> same purpose.

>> The situation is dire, and no nation that values its peace, security

>> and stability will allow an irresponsible use of the social media.

>> INSECURITY

>> As I said earlier, the country is facing security challenges, and the

>> challenges are being tackled headlong.

>> However, there have been some red herrings in recent times, including

>> those calling for the resignation of Mr. President or the sack of the

>> security chiefs.

>> I just want to say that the government, which has provided and

>> continues to provide the military and the security agencies with the

>> wherewithal, believes in their ability to tackle insecurity. These

>> challenges will be successfully tackled. I will however advise all

>> commentators, especially political and religious leaders, to be very

>> careful at this time not to aggravate the situation with incendiary

>> comments, comments that cash in on our religious, ethnic and political

>> fault lines to further divide us. The kind of comments that have been

>> attributed to some leaders, especially religious leaders, are

>> incendiary and reckless. Leaders should be part of solutions to

>> problems, rather than aggravating situations.

>> To those asking Mr. President to resign, I wish to say this: Mr

>> President will not resign. He has the overwhelming mandate of

>> Nigerians to preside over the affairs of the country till the

>> expiration of his tenure in May 2023.

>> DISRUPTION OF INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TO THE MURTALA MOHAMMED

>> INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN LAGOS

>> In recent times, some international flights billed for the Murtala

>> Mohammed International Airport in Lagos have diverted to other

>> airports within and outside the country due to adverse weather

>> conditions at the airport.

>> This has led to a debate on the state of the navigational aids at the airport.

>> First, let me apologize to all our citizens and other travellers who

>> have had to endure inconveniences resulting from the diversion of

>> their flights. This is highly regretted.

>> I will also like to quickly take us through what caused the problem.

>> In its commitment to passenger safety and security, the Federal

>> Government has recently taken the decision to upgrade the navigational

>> facilities at some major airports across the country. Consequently,

>> the navigational aids at airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port

>> Harcourt, Asaba, etc. were all marked for an upgrade from Category II

>> Instrument Landing System (CAT II ILS) to top-of-the-class CAT III

>> ILS. In the first phase, the CAT III ILS was procured and installed in

>> Lagos and Abuja. In addition, the government procured a calibration

>> aircraft instead of renting one each time for $500,000. Both Abuja and

>> Lagos airports were calibrated. The CAT III ILS is working perfectly

>> here in Abuja. But after calibration, some incorrect readings were

>> noticed in the CAT III ILS at the MMA. Just as it was about to be

>> re-calibrated, the weather situation in Lagos changed for the worse,

>> hence the disruption of international flights into Lagos.

>> Some airlines opted to divert their flights to Kotoka International

>> Airport in Accra, Ghana, which, by the way, does not even have a CAT

>> III ILS but where the weather was not as adverse as that in Lagos.

>> Many travellers bound for Nigeria became stranded. Again, this is much

>> regretted. Of course, the same flights could have diverted to Abuja,

>> which has a perfectly-functioning CAT III ILS and where flights to

>> Lagos are regular. But they instead chose to fly to Accra.

>> Some commentators have alleged that perhaps the CAT III ILS was not

>> bought or installed in Lagos and Abuja. This is not true. The

>> equipment was indeed procured and installed in both airports. But for

>> the hitch I referred to earlier, there would have been no disruptions

>> at the MMA. Accusation of ineptitude against aviation officials is

>> misplaced. Otherwise, the Abuja CAT III ILS would not have been

>> working perfectly now

>> May I also inform you all that a number of airports around the world,

>> even in the advance world, don’t even have CAT III ILS. This is

>> because they feel that because adverse weather is only for a short

>> period in a year, they don’t feel that the kind of huge cost that is

>> required to acquire it is justified. Even the Kotoka International

>> Airport that most flights were diverted to does not have CAT III ILS.

>> NOTE: When the CAT III ILS in Lagos ran into a hitch, the CAT II ILS

>> at the runway 18R (international runway) remained the only option. But

>> with CAT II ILS, pilots can only land their planes with a minimum

>> visibility of 800 metres, compared to zero visibility for CAT III ILS.

>> The weather phenomenon that reduced visibility at the International

>> wing of the MMA is not unique to Nigeria. As some flights were being

>> diverted from the Lagos airport, over 200 flights were either being

>> diverted or cancelled at Heathrow in London

>> I am happy to announce that the two runways at the airport in Lagos have now been calibrated for CAT III ILS and NOTAM sent out

>> $500 MILLION LOAN

>> In an era of social media, the real news is usually sacrificed on the

>> altar of sensationalism and disinformation.

>> That’s how I will describe the hysteria, in a section of the media,

>> over the reportage of the $500 million loan being sought from China.

>> It is wrong to report that the loan is being sought for the NTA alone.

>> Indeed, the loan is for three major projects

>> 1. To construct a headquarters complex and transmission network for

>> INTEGRATED TELEVISION SERVICES (ITS), the FG-owned signal distributor

>> that is a major component of the country’s Digital Switch Over (DSO)

>> 2. To build an ultra-modern Media City in Ikorodu that will have the

>> following facilities

>> – Indoor/Outdoor shooting area

>> -Animation Production Facility

>> – Digital Media Training Centre

>> – World Class Cinema

>> – Four-Star Hotel

>> – An Amusement Park

>> – Amphitheater

>> (b) Acquisition of digital movie production equipment for rental as

>> well as power system

>> (c) Media City Training Academy, only the second of its type in Africa

>> (the first is in Egypt) that will train Nigerian broadcasters and film

>> makers in the production of high quality media content programmes and

>> make Nigeria a hub for digital movie production in Sub-Saharan Africa

>> (3) Digitization of NTA Stations

>> (a) Digitization of all NTA stations

>> – Headquarters

>> – 12 Zonal Stations

>> – 36 State Capital NTA Stations

>> – 76 Community Station

>> (b) Upgrade, purchase and installation of relevant digital TV

>> broadcasting equipment compatible with DSO products and accessories

>> that are necessary for the production and broadcast of digital

>> programme contents, in addition to provision of power system and

>> manpower training

>> AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S ACCUSATION THAT THE MILITARY BURNT SOME

>> VILLAGES AND FORCEFULLY DISPLACED THE RESIDENTS

>> I am aware that the Defence Headquarters has responded appropriately

>> to this accusation

>> The military denied razing down villages and detaining locals

>> unlawfully; that it does not employ arson as an operational tactic;

>> and that looting and burning of villages is the style of Boko Haram

>> Terrorists

>> I will like to add that in carrying out their duties, Amnesty

>> International should not cast themselves in the league of Boko Haram

>> and ISWAP terrorists. They should stop the growing practice of

>> constantly attacking the military and casting them as the bad guys,

>> when all they are doing is putting their lives on the line to fight

>> terrorists who have no respect for the sanctity of life, who willfully

>> go after women and children, who attack houses of worship without

>> respect or allegiance to any religion. Amnesty International should

>> stop providing succour for terrorists by attributing their atrocities

>> to our troops. Our soldiers, who are defending the country, are guided

>> by extant rules of engagement and operational codes of conduct. They

>> should not be made to look like the aggressors here.

>> I am aware that the Federal Government has always taken seriously any

>> allegation of rights violation by soldiers or other security forces.

>> Investigations have been carried out and culprits, if any, punished.

>> And it is a continuous process.