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The former minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed has narrated how a false report of $1.9 billion paid into his bank account nearly cost him his marriage of 40 years.
Mohammed recounted the experience on Thursday at a programme tagged “A Day with Alhaji Lai Mohammed” organised by the Mass Communication Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye in collaboration with Nigeria Union of Journalists and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Ogun State.
The 72-year-old made his presentation on the topic: “Redefining the Role of Spokesman: My Enduring Engagement/Romance with the Practice of Public Relations.”
Mohammed said, “The menace of fake news is a menace that must tackled by all of us; this is something that nearly cost me my marriage of about 40 years. While we were in government, there was fake news that I had $1.9bn in my bank account and unfortunately, many people believed this falsehood, including my wife.
“One day, my wife woke me up in the middle of the night and spoke in Yoruba, She called me: ‘Daddy,’ and I said, ‘Yes, what is it?’ She said, ‘We all know that death can come at any time; we may say it wouldn’t be this early but it may be, but whatever happens, it will be good if you make me one of the signatories to your bank account to prepare for any eventuality. Even my friends and many other people are already begging me for money after seeing the report of so much money in your account.’”
The former minister noted that he had to explain to his wife that the allocation for the ministry he headed was N5bn annually, making a total of N40bn for the years he spent in government.
He added that false news has “destroyed many marriages” and forced many to take their own lives “because fake news were published about them on social media.”
During ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration which Mohammed was part of, Twitter (now X) was suspended for some time in Nigeria for allegedly interfering in local matters.