Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has warned that the Anti-Hate Speech Bill before the National Assembly is likely to bring about negative consequences.
This is as he said it would curtail freedom of speech as guaranteed by the law of Nigeria.
Atiku made the remark in a statement issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe.
He warned that rather than expend energy on the anti-hate speech bill, the National Assembly should legislate on issues that could improve the situation in the country in general.
The statement reads in part: “History is littered with the very negative unintended consequences that result when this God-given right is obstructed by those who seek to intimidate the people rather than accommodate them.
“We should be reminded that history does not repeat itself. Rather, men repeat history, and often to disastrous consequences.
“Nigeria presently has too many pressing concerns. We are now the world headquarters of extreme poverty as well as the global epicentre of out-of-school children.
“Our economy is smaller than it was in 2015, while our population is one of the world’s fastest growing.
“We have retrogressed in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, from the position we held four years ago, and our Human Development Indexes are abysmally low.
“It, therefore, begs the question: should we not rather make laws to tackle these pressing domestic challenges, instead of this bill, which many citizens consider obnoxious?”
