Fact Check: Did Governor Wike asked poor Nigerians to stock up Garri?

When the Buhari administration proposed the wobbling Social Media Bill in a bid to curb the spread of misinformation, Nigerians unanimously oppose the move for the single reason that the Buhari administration cannot be trusted to act in fairness.

But do fake and misinformative contents exist?

Let's answer the question using the recently posted information by one George Udom, from Akwa Ibom State. You do not have to dig deep through his Facebook page to realize he's a full blown Buharist.


In his recent post, he shared a screenshot from a Twitter account @realGovWike, with the post, "Beginning from tomorrow, ALL markets in Rivers State will be closed.

I advise you to stock up food in your house.

If you don't have money to stock up food, buy a basin of garri and 1 packet of sugar.

Drink it gradually until the markets are reopened.
#StayAtHomeAndStaySafe"

Beginning from tomorrow, ALL markets in Rivers State will be closed.

I advise you to stock up food in your house.

If you don't have money to stock up food, buy a basin of garri and 1 packet of sugar.

Drink it gradually until the markets are reopened.#StayAtHomeAndStaySafe

— Governor E.N. Wike (@realGovWike) March 27, 2020

He argued that all hell would have been let loose had the statement was made by President Muhammadu Buhari himself.


He said, "If it was Buhari that said this, those infertile wailers would have been crying like prostitute that mistakenly missed her Mesuration."


With over 150,000 facebook followers, many whom are APC loyalists, you'd expect the information to circulate like wildfire.

But did the Rivers State Gov really made the statement?

First off, the Twitter account in question, has a very low following of just 380 people, and a clear notice saying 'This is a parody (not real) account.' In plain terms, the accord is imitative as stated by the user, and not an official account of Governor Nyesom Wike.

Why then did Mr Udom shared the information?

As a Buharist, it's clear what he aims to achieve considering Gov Wike is of the PDP, a party the Buhari administration has repeatedly accused of being responsible for the nation's economic woes and underdevelopment.



The spread of misinformation is not unique to Nigeria, since President Donald Trump of the United States has been known to call out mainstream medias for misrepresentation of facts in a bid to achieve cynical objectives.

The bulk of the responsibility therefore, lies with the masses who should be able to do a bit of extra work to verify whatever information they see both online and offline.

Verdict?

The information shared by Mr Udom suggesting Governor Wike of Rivers State, asked poor citizens to stock up Garri, is untrue, and aimed at misinforming the masses who have been clamoring for palliatives from the Federal Government as they continue to stay home over COVID-19 pandemic.

The real Twitter account of the Rivers State's governor is @NyesomWlKE not @realGovWike