The Presidency has accused popular influencer Tunde Ednut of spreading false information about Nigeria’s security situation.
The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, disagreed with a submission by Ednut that Nigeria is not safe.
The social media influencer had taken to his Instagram page to warn Nigerians against night movement, stating that the country is not safe. He added that claims by politicians that Nigeria is safe are nothing but lies.
However, reacting in a post via his 𝕏 account on Sunday, the presidential media aide accused Ednut of spreading fake news about the security situation in Nigeria.
Olusegun accused Ednut of posting a video from another country just to support his claim that Nigeria is not safe. The presidency cautioned that such acts are not patriotic but rather reek of desperation to get clicks and traffic to his social media page.
“Nigeria’s security apparatus is in no way close to perfection but the need to consistently chase clout while leveraging on the gullibility of an audience who rely on your page for information about the happenings around them has reduced Tunde Ednut to a misinformation monster that now needs to be checked.
“How desperate can one be to post a video from South Africa in a bid to prove to his audience that “Nigeria is not safe” when tomorrow, you will still tell the same audience that South Africa is safer than Nigeria?
“Acts like this are in no way close to the patriotism or good governance advocacy that you tend to promote, rather it reeks of desperation and need for clicks using negativity that quickly resonates with the majority of your audience,” the presidency submitted.
While noting that the fight against insecurity is an ongoing effort, the presidency highlighted some of the major achievements already recorded in the security sector, including the arrest of several high-profile terrorist leaders, the degradation of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) following the arrest of Simon Ekpa, as well as improved security on the nation’s highway.
“While no one is saying Nigeria is Eldorado as far as insecurity is concerned, we must lay bare the facts here to let Nigerians know that we are better than where we were coming from.
“Hundreds of top bandit leaders have been eliminated over the past two years while thousands of their members have been sent to their creator via the improved coordination between the military forces as now headed by NSA Ribadu.
“The dangerous Abuja-Kaduna highway has become a safer road, and no major insecurity report has been made over the past few months.
“The IPOB menace in the Southeast still exists but has reduced significantly following the arrest of commander Simon Ekpa.
“Again, this is not to say all is well but we are not where we used to be and using videos from South Africa to justify your claims of insecurity suggests that you are short of the negative content you so much desire for Nigeria to appease your sponsors,” the presidency added.
It concluded by urging Ednut and others to cease from spreading false and inciting messages, all in a bid to chase social media clout.
“Tunde Ednut needs to do better, and the truth must be pointed to him accordingly. This is all shades of wrong!” the statement concluded.
