It’s a pure scandal the amount of fake and recycled videos currently in circulation in Nigeria, obviously calculated to accentuate the spate of insecurity in the country. Most of the terrifying videos appear to have been created by some characters for both political and commercial reasons and willingly shared by some concerned but ignorant folks.
This seemingly reckless trend has gone into overdrive since the unfortunate but long-foretold invasion and abduction of some pupils, including toddlers, from the Oriire Local Government in the Ogbomoso area of Oyo State and the mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in the Askira Uba LG of Borno State about three weeks ago. Shortly after, a deluge of fake, old and manipulated videos and photographs of other non-existing violence, arrests, and other attempted abductions has surfaced daily, said to have been shot in Ikorodu, Ajah, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun, other remotest areas and even in the kidnappers’ dens in Oyo National Park, Sambisa Forest, and Niger State boundary communities, among others.
Unfortunately, most of our kinsmen hardly know that the major fuel of terrorism is publicity, while propaganda keeps the engine running. The lunatics behind these hell-inspired vices employ these tools, ordinarily reserved for conventional warfare, to drive fear into the hearts of the people and paint the picture of having the upper hand, especially in this era of social media.
