How did we end up with a government that frees terrorists, but wants to hang the masses? — Olayinka

The Buhari administration has said no amount of uproar will stop it from implementing its decision to regulate activities of Nigerians on social media platforms particularly facebook and Twitter. That sounds very much like a tyrannical government!



While the Federal Government is hell-bent at fighting what it considers as 'hate speech', Nigerians are still at a loss to what the presidency considers as a hate speech. Protesting on the streets against government? Opposing views?? Eh?

According to the Hate Speech Bill current on the floor of the Senate, "a person who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provided, distributes and/or directs the performance of any material, written and or visual which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior commits an offence if such person intends thereby to stir up ethnic hatred, or having regard to all the circumstances, ethnic hatred is likely to be stirred up against any person or person from such an ethnic group in Nigeria.


“Any person who commits an offence under this section shall be liable to life imprisonment and where the act causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by hanging”.

The words "death by hanging" as mentioned in the proposed bill as quoted above, is where the fuss is coming from. Critics and rights groups in the country, see this as a calculated move at muting critics of the Buhari government, eliminate freedom of speech, and tightening its grip on power.



Facebook user, Ismail Olayinka, wonders why the Federal Government isn't pushing bills that'll benefit the masses, but is determined to do whatever it takes to hang the masses for crying out their displeasure against decades of bad governance in the country.


He said, "There's no bill to hang looters,

"There's no bill to hang corrupt senators padding the budget,

"There's no bill to hang bandits who killed Nigerians for money,




"There's no bill to hang Boko Haram terrorists massacring our people,

"There's no bill to hang party thieves called party leaders who sell offices to highest bidders,

"There's no bill to hang state governors who loot their state dry and end up in the Senate to retire,


"There's no bill to end poverty, inequality, insecurity or create jobs,

"...but they have a bill to sentence anyone they hate to death by hanging for hate speech on Facebook, Twitter."

The above comment better describes the kind of leadership we have in the country. It is extremely difficult to live under such leadership and not find a reason to cry out.


How can a government which pardons terrorists who destroyed lives and properties, find it satisfying to want to hang Nigerians whose lives are constantly in danger due to the inability of the very same government to guarantee their well-being?