News

Opinion: Hate Speech Redefined by Tola Adeniyi

Published

8 years ago

April 3, 2018

Editor

By Tola Adeniyi

I wouldn’t know where the bogus concept of hate speech came from or who brought up the idea to the floor of the National Assembly but I know for certain what purpose it was meant to serve. Having messed up the sensibilities and sensitivities of the Nigerian citizenry by incessant and unrelenting butchering of Nigerians in a fashion bordering on ethnic cleansing across the country the handlers of the cabal that is hell bent on conquering and subduing all the ethnic nationalities and re-colonize Nigeria in their own image believe the Nigerian masses should have their mouths permanently padlocked so that nobody should ever say a word about the gory atrocities being daily perpetrated.

The only objective the so-called Hate speech legislation being remotely sponsored by the Presidency is to further strengthen the growing dictatorship and cruel tyranny of the Buhari administration. The Military Constitution which was forced down our throats by the Abdul Salami Abubakar Junta already has built-in mechanisms for unprecedented dictatorship and over centralization of the government at the centre which will now go for the kill in the hands of an unrepentant dictator of power hungry Buhari.

What does Hate Speech really connote? Is to direct Nigerians to live in self denial? Is it meant to teach Nigerians to call a spade by another name? Is it to call a blackboard white when actually it is visibly black? This kind of arm twisting will not work in Nigeria of 193 million highly informed and incorrigibly vocal citizens. Nigerians may have been traumatized to the marrow, impoverished to the bones, and seriously humiliated and oppressed by the negligible minority wielding excessive power over them; they are not ever likely give up their freedom of expression. Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Africa’s greatest music machine who sang ‘the padlock of my mouth is not in your hand’ would turn in his grave if he found that his kinsmen and women in Nigeria ever yielded to a draconian legislation that would turn them into slaves in their own land.

Let’s face it. How do you describe a gang of Stone Age barbarians who plundered your farmland, destroyed your crops, fed your tubers of yam and cassava to animals, raped your wives and daughters, massacred innocent babies and shot your husbands to death? The simple word for such animals in human skin is Terrorists! It does not matter if such marauding drug-addicted lunatics are your next door neighbours or aliens from the moon or from the pit of hell fire.

There is no other word for nepotism but nepotism. And as said in popular advertisement, ‘if it is not Panadol, it is not panadol.’ Simplicita! My English teachers from Reverend S T Sheyin in the Secondary School, to Agbaje the father of Barrister Bamidele Agbaje at the HSC, to my Professors of English at the University of Ibadan the likes of Professors Whitehall, Izevbaye, Ogunba and the greatest of them Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo did not tell me there was another word for a rotten egg if the egg was rotten. No amount of deodorant or perfume can cover the stench of a fart from decaying anus.

The Naira chewing members of the National Assembly who may be contemplating approval for the Hate Speech agenda know in their hearts that majority of them are dead rotten by the mere size of their undisguised irresponsibility and greed.

President Muhammadu Aleko Buhari cannot cover up his proven ineptitude, gratuitous nepotism, gross insensitivity, his alliance with the third most deadly terrorist group in the world, his nonchalant attitude to serious national challenges, his confessed ignorance of what goes on in government under his watch and the charges of monumental corruption in his government by a so-called Hate Speech contrivance.

This Buhari government has failed woefully. And what it is now doing is akin to what a thoroughly beaten boxer seeking cover and protection from the Referee does. If you are beaten, you are beaten. Just raise up your hands in submission and quit the stage. The hate Speech escape route is not going to fly.

There are so many laws in the land to adjudicate on matters bordering on slander and even libel. Anybody or any organization that feels slandered should go to court. Even if the government or any of its organs and operatives feels slandered, such agencies should seek redress in court. Nigerians are not prepared to tolerate any Decree 4 of 1984 being brought back through the back door. Nigerians no longer have sacrificial lambs like Tunde Thompson, Emeka Irabor or Diete Spiff’s Amachree! That era is long gone with the unsmiling generals Buhari and Idiagbon.

And imagine the audacity of the proponents of the Hate Speech nonsense! They are seeking death penalty for offenders of Hate speech and yet they are blind to the taunting, touting and menacing AK47 marauders who are killing Nigerians with notorious glee. What the heck some people think Nigeria is? If some people are comfortable living in the Stone Age, do they think every other person belongs in the Stone Age?

Yes. Nigeria needs death penalty for a tribe of people: those who have stolen our patrimony. Let a more serious minded nationalistic government emerge that would give Nigerian looters the Chinese and South Korean treatment. Nigerians would welcome a national as opposed to a village leader who would Rawlingsitize and sanitize the bleeding country. Nigerians are not opposed to death penalty. Death penalty still obtains in some states even in the United States. Let all those terrorizing fellow Nigerians with guns and machetes be lined up and given public execution.

Death Penalty should not be for a harmless farmer who calls a thief a thief, or who calls the rapist of his daughter a rapist. If a Yoruba man goes to Sokoto to rape the wife of a Sultan he should be described for what and who he is. Such a person is a Yoruba rapist! He cannot be anonymous and should not be allowed to hide under anonymity. The Ijaw self determination groups do not hide their identity. And when they blow up pipelines they own up and the Press describes them by their identity. If the Fulani terrorist militia men are killing people in Taraba, they deserve to be described as Fulani terrorists. That is not hate. It is simple use of words.

A non-performing government cannot legislate against criticisms. If you are bad, you are bad. You cannot force people to create a new word for your badness. Bad is bad. If you are a murderer you are a murderer. If you are Igbo, you are Igbo. This is the universal Age of Aquarius. The world no longer tolerates sweeping matters under the carpet. This is why the Creator gave this Age the Computer and the Internet. This is why the creator allowed the Google, Face book, Instagram, Whatsapp and other forms of instant messaging and information dissemination to happen.

Come to think of it? How do you enforce the so-called Hate speech nonsense in a global village which the world has turned into? How does anybody prevent pseudo names and anonymous writings and postings? Are we asking for another radio Kudirat? How do you stop an Australia-based critic from posting commentaries on Nigeria? Did the proponents of Hate Speech ever go to school? Are they aware of the Age we live in? And these are people making laws for the country!!!

Perish the thought on hate Speech, or find a new definition.

By Chief Tola Adeniyi, former Chairman/Managing Director of Daily Times Conglomerate.

Related Topics:Buhari hate speech senate Tola Adeniyi

Up Next

Crises: Buhari Orders Assessment of Damage in Benue, Others

Don't Miss

Obasanjo’s Attack: Presidency Keeps Mum

Click to comment

News

‘ADC Membership Hits 500,000 after INEC Derecognition of Leadership’

Published

2 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Eric

The African Democratic Congress has recorded a surge in new members following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to delist Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the party.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, revealed in a statement on his X account on Sunday that the party’s membership “had grown from over 40,000 registrations on April 2 to more than 500,000 new Nigerians joining between April 1 and today.”

INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the delisting on April 1, citing a court order that directed the commission to maintain the status quo pending a suit challenging the legality of Mark’s leadership.

The commission removed Mark and Aregbesola from its portal and said it would not recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe, who had approached the court seeking to be declared national chairman.

Haruna explained that INEC had received conflicting legal demands from opposing camps, including a cautionary letter from Suleiman Usman SAN & Co. advising against recognising Gombe, and a counter-letter from Summit Law Chambers requesting enforcement of the Court of Appeal judgment affirming Gombe’s position.

Reacting to the development, Abdullahi and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Ini Ememobong, insisted the development was “a calculated attempt to undermine democratic structures,” and urged supporters to mobilise in defence of democratic principles.

News

Yusuf Tuggar Resigns As Foreign Affairs Minister

Published

7 days ago

March 30, 2026

Eric

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has resigned.

Tuggar’s resignation was confirmed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, on Monday.

The minister’s action followed the directive of President Bola Tinubu to all political appointees in his administration who intend to contest elective positions in the 2027 elections to resign from their posts on or before March 31.

The president had hinged his decision on Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for party primaries ahead of the 2027 polls.

Tuggar’s resignation comes amid the speculation of his interest in contesting the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He is a seasoned diplomat, policymaker, and political figure who was appointed as minister by Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2023.

Born on March 12, 1967, he has built a distinguished career spanning diplomacy, politics, energy, and strategic consulting.

He is widely regarded for his role in shaping Nigeria’s global engagement and advancing its foreign policy priorities.

His political career includes serving as a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, representing the Gamawa Constituency in Bauchi State.

The diplomat later contested the governorship of the state in two election cycles.

From 2017 to 2023, Tuggar served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, where he played a key role in strengthening bilateral relations, enhancing trade cooperation, and promoting Nigeria’s interests in Europe.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuggar led Nigeria’s diplomatic efforts under the Tinubu administration.

Channels Television

News

WAEC Releases Results of CB-WASSCE 2026-First Series for Private Candidates

Published

1 week ago

March 27, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the release of the results of candidates, who participated in the 2026-First Series Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (CB-WASSCE) for private candidates.

The release notice is contained in a statement signed by the Ag. Head, Public Affairs, Moyosola F. Adesina, on behalf of the Head of National Office, and made available to The Boss.

The statement, containing the details of the number of candidates, passes and failures as well as those still undergoing processing, is produced below:

RELEASE OF RESULT OF THE COMPUTER-BASED WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (CB-WASSCE) FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES, 2026-FIRST SERIES

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, wishes to announce to candidates, stakeholders and the general public that the result of the Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2026–First Series, has been released.

The examination took place in Nigeria between Wednesday, January 28, and Saturday, February 14, 2026. The Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Candidates’ Scripts were carried out at THREE (3) Marking Venues in Lagos, Enugu, and Kaduna from Thursday, February 26, to Friday, March 13, 2026. A total of SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHT (608) Examiners participated in the Coordination and Marking Exercise.

TEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE (10,523) candidates, representing an 11.49% increase, when compared with the 2025 entry figure of NINE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT (9,438),enrolled for the examination, while TEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (10,480) candidates sat the examination at ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX (166) centres spread across the country.

Among the candidates that sat the examination, FORTY-THREE (43) candidates, with varying degrees of Special Needs, registered for the examination. Out of this number, ELEVEN (11) were visually impaired, FOUR (4) had impaired hearing and FOUR (4) were Albinos. All these candidates with special needs were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination.

Of the total number of TEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (10,480) candidates that sat the examination, FIVE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND SIX (5,106) were males while FIVE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR (5,374) were females, representing 48.72% and 51.28% respectively.

Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, EIGHT THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN (8,418) candidates, representing 80.32% have their results fully processed and released while TWO THOUSAND AND SIXTY-TWO (2,062) candidates, representing 19.68 % have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors traceable to them.

However, efforts are being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates to get their results fully processed and released, subsequently.
The analysis of the statistics of the candidates’ performance shows that out of the TEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (10,480) candidates that sat the examination:
 FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT (4,598) candidates representing 43.87% obtained credit and above in a minimum of FIVE (5) subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics);
 THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE (3,429) candidates representing 32.72% obtained credit and above in a minimum of FIVE (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics

Of this number, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN (1,847) i.e., 53.86% were male candidates, while ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNRED AND EIGHTY-TWO (1,582), i.e., 46.14% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2024 and 2025 – First Series, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 30.95% and 26.96% respectively. Thus, there is a marginal increase of 5.76% in performance in this regard.

Furthermore, SEVENTY-FIVE (75) Candidates’ results, representing 0.72% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated directly to the affected candidates, thereafter.
Candidates may check their results by visiting www.waecdirect.org to ascertain their status before visiting the Digital Certificate platform (www.waec.org) to access the digital copies of their certificates, which have been released along with the results. Candidates will be required to apply for the printing of the hard copies of their certificates online, through the WAEC Certificate Request Portal (e-Certman). The portal address is https://certrequest.waec.ng/. All candidates who sat the diet are hereby advised to check their results carefully and take necessary actions as required.