Nation
Fake News, Capable Of Destroying Nation – Cleric
The Missionary in charge of Badagry Circuit, Ahmadiyyat Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria, Mr Uthman Rabiu, says fake news is capable of destroying a nation.
Rabiu said this at the 45th Annual Virtual National ITJEMA (Convention) 2021 organised by Ahmadiyyat Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria in Lagos.
The theme of the convention was, “Building A Violence Free Society: Role of an Ahmadi Muslim.”
According to him, the potential danger of fake news or misinformation cannot be underestimated; it is capable of igniting crisis that can destroy the entire nation.
“In this modern time, information is passed through either print or electronic medium such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
“Some of the information are so inimical to the peace and corperate unity of a nation, so one must, therefore, endeavour to investigate the authenticity and usefulness of information received before sharing,” he said.
He added that whatever information received by Ahmadi Muslims should be considered very well, particularly the source of the information and how authentic it is.
“Even if you know the source and its authenticity, ask yourself, is it useful or what purpose will it serve for you to celebrate it?
“Many of us, whatever we see in any platform, we must forward it without having a second thought about such information, we even send it to platforms where it is not useful,” he said.
The missionary said fake news was contributing to the challenges that already existed in the country.
“As a result of these fake information, the government is fighting back with so many regulations and amendments on existing laws and enacting new ones.
“But it is the responsibility of government to make sure that any information that can cause problem or add fuel to the existing raging inferno that is consuming the entire nation is controlled,” he said.
Rabiu said the Islamic law or “Hadith” in the Holy Qur’an maintained and upheld the right to freedom of expression, but restrained it when disturbing peace and harmony.
AlhajiAzeezAlatoye, the Amir, Ahmadiyyat Muslim Jama’at of Nigeria, said the leader of the Muslim sect gave members three new rules with which to maintain a peaceful society.
Alatoye said the first rule was that there should not be physical combat with anybody, either from husband to wife or vice versa.
“There should be no verbal attack among members of the sect or other Muslims according to the teaching of Qur’an.
“Lastly, if there is any issue that cannot be resolved between members starting from wife and husband, it should be reported at the local circuit, if local cannot resolve it, they should send it to national circuit for settlement.
“All these strategies are to eliminate violence, because domestic violence is real but it should not be in our system.
“We the Ahmadi must distinguish ourselves if we are able to achieve this, then we will replicate it to others,” he said.
The Chairman, Planning Committee of the 45 Annual Virtual National ITJEMA Convention, Badagry Circuit, Alhaji Abdul-WaheedOjo urged Ahmadi Muslims to be law abiding citizens of the country.
Ojo urged other Muslims to accept Ahmadi sect as one family.
NAN reports Ahmadi Muslims from Ajido community, Imekecommunity,Ibereko, Aradagun and Badagry were at the centre to grace the virtual conversation.
Strategic regulators and other stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the pace, quality and magnitude of work carried out by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Ogoniland, in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
In their separate speeches at the 2025 4th quarter key regulators / asset owners meeting held in Port Harcourt, the strategic stakeholders commended HYPREP for the significant milestones achieved with excellent efficiency and transparency, demonstrating capacity and commitment to sustaining collaboration with development partners for the overall success of the Project.
The regulators particularly lauded HYPREP for the landmark success in the implementation of the land and shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, provision of reticulated potable water, the various sustainable livelihood programmes, donation of ambulances to health facilities in Ogoni, the construction of Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, as well as the ongoing Ogoni Power Project, adding that their independent field reports have shown proofs of HYPREP driving even beyond its mandates.
The goodwill messages were made by representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Centre for Environment and Human Rights Development (CEHRD), Society for Women and Youths Affairs (SWAYA), Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN), Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), and Federal Ministry of Environment. Others are the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, the Rivers State Ministry of Health, the National Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Rivers State Ministry of Power, the Rivers State University, the Rivers State Ministry of Water and Rural Development, and Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited.
Following the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit’s presentation on the status of HYPREP projects, participants offered feedback on areas of concern. They reassured HYPREP and the people of Ogoni of their continued support for the Project’s success. They also suggested that the quarterly review meeting be sustained as it enables them to report, evaluate and proffer solutions to areas of concern.
Participants also commended HYPREP for improved community and stakeholder engagement and for adding to what they saw the previous time. “We commend HYPREP for the quality work done at sites. The progress is phenomenal, because HYPREP is scoring good grades, above average,” Prof. Iyenemi Kakulu from Rivers State University said.
In his speech at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who was represented by Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi, Director of Technical Services, commended the regulators and asset owners for their cooperation with the Project, and for making themselves available for fieldwork and the regular review meetings.
Prof Zabbey reiterated HYPREP’s commitment to best practice in waste management, particularly waste generation and disposal, calling on the Regulators for adequate logistics support, saying HYPREP’s priority is to focus on the core recommendations by UNEP, especially, remediation(soil, shoreline) mangrove restoration, provision of potable water, interventions in public health care services and sustainable livelihood for the people.
The Project Coordinator further highlighted the status of the Project, the successes achieved across all thematic areas, and assured that HYPREP will soon complete most of the ongoing projects and roll out others. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to review the progress of the Ogoni cleanup, ensure quality control, and foster effective collaboration.
Consequently, the quarterly key regulators/asset owners meeting is HYPREP’s strategic stakeholder management model, further underscoring the Project’s commitment to transparency, partnership for development, and accountability, all of which are harbingers of effective project delivery.
Speaking to newsmen, HYPREP Project Support Lead and representative of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, Engr Ehioze Igbinomwanhia, described his involvement with HYPREPas an encouraging and insightful experience, saying, the Project is implementing a wide range of projects across Ogoniland, spanning immediate remediation works as well as livelihood support initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of affected communities.
Engr Igbinomwanhia emphasised that Renaissance Africa Energy remains fully committed to supporting the objectives of the Ogoni cleanup project, noting that the company has a long history of collaboration with HYPREP.
He added that the partnership has been characterised by continuous learning, adaptation and a willingness to respond to observations and recommendations aimed at improving outcomes.
He further emphasised the importance of safety in all project operations, particularly given the challenging terrain and operating conditions in Ogoniland.
He noted that safety is treated as a critical priority and that contractors are continually reminded to maintain high safety standards, stressing that lessons learnt from previous operational challenges like the collapse of the water tank in Gwara Community are being applied to strengthen safety practices and overall performance.
The Rivers state Government has identified six local government areas with the highest burden of maternal and Neonatal mortality in the state.
State Commissioner for Health Dr Adaeze Chidinma Oreh said this in an interview with newsmen at the Maternal and Neonatal Reduction innovation initiative ( Mamii)Rivers state activation workshop and state engagement meeting in Port Harcourt.
The event was organized by The Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with its Rivers state counterpart in Port Harcourt.
Dr Oreh also restated the preparedness of the state government to support current efforts by the federal government towards the reduction of maternal and infant mortalities in the country.
She mentioned the affected Local Government Areas to include, Andoni,Akuku Toru and Ahoada West
The rest according to the Commissioner are, Bonny, Etche and Emohua Local Government Areas.
She said the workshop will enable the team from the federal ministry of health and social welfare to brainstorm with the view to finding solution to the problem.
The Commissioner also gave reasons why the Mamii initiative was the best as far as finding solution to maternal mortality was concerned.
“The uniqueness of the Mamii initiative driven by the federal ministry of health and social welfare was that we used evidence to elicit the reasons for this deaths, so that the solutions will be context specific and tailored to the particular environment where those deaths are occuring
“For us in Rivers state we have six Mamii LGAs , nationally we we have 172 local government areas “the Commissioner said.
Earlier in her opening remarks,Dr Oreh said the state government is prepared to work with the federal ministry of health and social welfare to check the rate of maternal mortality in the state.
She commended The Minister of Health and Social welfare Professor Ali Muhammad Pategi for driving the Mamii initiative across the country and expressed optimism that the programm will see to the end of maternal mortality in the country.
Also speaking the National Coordinator Nigeria health sector Renewal Initiative Dr Adam Ahmed said Rivers state is the last state among Mamii states in the country to host the team.
He said the team will visit the affected Local Government Areas with the view to interacting with the people on how to check the trend.
He expressed the hope that with continuous efforts, maternal mortality will be checked.
Also speaking the permanent secretary Rivers state Ministry of Health Professor Justinah Jumbo said the government is not leaving any stone unturned towards reduction in maternal deaths.
The permanent secretary said Governor Siminalaye Fubara is a health friendly Governor who is desirous in improving the quality of health of Rivers people.
John Bibor
