Former Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, now Minister of Transport spoke on “The Role Of Social Media In The Socio-Economic And Political Development Of Nigeria” at the CKN News Annual Lecture held at Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos recently.

“Social media can destroy this country, true or false? Just look at Biafra; and that’s why Nnamdi Kanu can say all he is saying and still get a forum. Most politicians pay young men to post all sorts on social media. I was governor for eight years, for about seven years people used to say ‘this man is arrogant’, how did they suddenly say this man is corrupt?”

“PDP used to say ‘Amaechi is our response to Fashola’. So when did they suddenly say ‘Oh, he didn’t do anything. And I say to people, because somebody just went to pay AIT money and, on social media too, there’s no rule. AIT came to put some things on their television, then social media came to write nonsense. The first time they attacked us we came out with document. But they (social media users) don’t verify.”

“When they said that I owned $43 million Ikoyi money… I made just a one-page reply: ‘I don’t even own a house in Lagos’. I thought people would have said, ‘Ah, eight years as governor, he should be a very rich thief, so he should be able to get a property in Lagos and use it as a form of investment’. Nobody! Many people started celebrating, ‘It’s Amaechi’s money, it’s Amaechi’s money’. But people who know me know (that) if I have money, you will know.”

“When people meet me and I am not able to spend, it is just basically because I don’t have money… The important thing is, money doesn’t govern me. But social media twist it the other way; so the problem with social media (users) is that they misinform…they don’t verify their information, they have no rules. Only decent ones.”

“Nigerians say I am stubborn, am I stubborn. Let me tell you why you are wrong: once you are a principled man, then you are stubborn. Nigeria doesn’t have any word called principle. It just shows that we need to go back to our value system, so that we can put a place where we can add principle… where they can give you money and you look at the man and tell the man, ‘keep the money’.”

“The removal of President Jonathan was a bigger threat than Biafra. Nigeria was inching towards the civil war. So, forget the talk about secession; Nigeria cannot breakup.”