President Muhammadu Buhari, has again cautioned Nigerians abroad against the use of social media to insult and incite from a safe and anonymous distance.
Buhari urged them to always promote Nigeria’s unity.
The President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Thursday, June 30, said the president gave the advice in Lisbon, Portugal, while speaking at a meeting with representatives of Nigerians living in that country, on Wednesday night.
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According to the president, the social media can be a force for good, as well as a force for evil, urging all Nigerian citizens to make use of the social media for the general good of the society.
Buhari addressed the audience;
The world is a global village, and technology has shrunk the world even more.
Although you reside beyond Nigeria’s boundaries, you can engage easily with the country. In fact, we see the impact of that engagement clearly on social media.
This platform has empowered Nigerians in the diaspora and given you great influence. As we have seen, however, social media can be a force for good as well as a force for evil.
Many countries, including our own, have had to take strong measures against some social media platforms to curb their excesses and prevent them from destabilising our societies.
I, therefore, call upon you to use social media responsibly. We all want the best for our country and people, so let us strive to build, unite and prosper our nation and people.
President Buhari expressed delight at the successful involvement of Diaspora in various fields such as agriculture, health care, education, ICT, and the food industry in Nigeria.
He noted that many countries, including Nigeria, had shown that their diaspora could be a veritable engine for growth and development.
While acknowledging the huge contributions the Diaspora had made to Nigeria’s economy, the President said;
In every field of human endeavour, be it the creative industries, sports, health and academia, Nigerians in the diaspora have thrived and leveraged on their skills to raise our country’s profile higher, economically, socially, technologically and culturally.
It is for these reasons that this Government established the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), to facilitate and support your engagement with our country for a win-win outcome in our effort to keep Nigerians united at home and abroad.
You must continue to be our ambassadors-at-large in your comportment, actions and character.
You must excel and be the best in all your endeavours. While here, you must also not forget home as you are the example we want to project to the rest of the world.
