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| PHOTO: A Nigerian woman being consoled after the explosions because she could not find her children. |
We Nigerians need to be armed with knowledge and correct information, we need to be enlightened so that we do not fall prey to all sorts of falsehood. If you have forgotten, let me remind you of what happened 12 years ago in Lagos on Sunday, 27th of January, 2002. There were explosions from a Nigerian Army ammunition dump filled with high-calibre bombs that were poorly-stored and ill-maintained. Following the series of blasts and fire, confusion ensued and Nigerians were running helter-skelter. In the melee, over 1,600 people died, most of them running into the concealed Oke Afa Canal, many of them were children scampering for safety. As Nigerians, we need to take information dissemination seriously because as you can see, it is a matter of life and death.
Wrong information can kill because that day, many were saying a civil war had started, terrorists have attacked and all kinds of stories were just flying around, leading to more confusion, which killed more people than the bombs. For those who are the official channels of information, they should take their work more seriously, they should maintain good presence online (and on all platforms) and engage the people and communicate with them. As Nigerians, all we can do on our own is to report any information we have. If you feel there is no channel, send the information to me (omooduarere@gmail.com) and your anonymity will be guaranteed. This is our nation and we need to salvage it together. When we unite & watch out for one another, we will achieve great things. No one will do that for us and we should not compound our problems by authoring confusion. Knowledge is power, let's empower ourselves. Thank you.
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Image Credits: Online Nigeria.
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