The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lekan Otufodunrin

  • Who is fooling who?

    Most politicians are notorious for making false promises and claims. To get elected, they usually make promises which they cannot fulfil. They promise their supporters and voters heaven on earth even when it is very clear that they do not have the capacity to be true to their words.

    When they fail to live up to their promises, they are not usually honest enough to admit their failure. They make false claims and brag about what they claim to have achieved to justify asking for another term or seeking another position.

    They can be very disingenuous in their desperate bid to hang on to power like we are currently witnessing in the race for 2015.

    Even when it is apparent that not much transformation has taken place in the lives of Nigerians across the country, some incumbent political office holders have come up with laughable claims of not only being endorsed by their supporters, but financial contributions to buy/purchase nomination forms.

    Last Thursday, President Goodluck Jonathan joined the list of aspirants who reportedly enjoy so much support that their supporters decided to contribute money for them to buy forms.

    According to his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Reuben Abati, over N98million was contributed by a cross section of Nigerians for President Jonathan to buy the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) N22m Presidential nomination form.

    Before President Jonathan, Akwa Ibom State Governor,  Godswill Akpabio, now seeking Senatorial seat after two terms as Governor;  Senate President, David Mark who has served three terms as Senator; and Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima have made similar claims of having their nomination forms paid for.

    Before now, supporters have always been known to contribute to campaign funds, but this new wave of claims of supporters buying forms is vintage Nigerian politicians who can be trusted to do anything to  back their claims of being the ‘people’s candidate’.

    If only the Presidential aspirant of the All Progressive Congress (APC), General Mohammed Buhari knew better, like other politicians, he would have sought the financial support of his supporters to pay for his nomination form to test their loyalty instead of getting a loan to pay for his form as he claimed.

    President Jonathan and others can deceive themselves about the contributions to pay for their forms, but only those who don’t know the ways of politicians will believe them. This false claim, like many others is to give the false impression of how popular their candidature is.

    If indeed some supporters paid for the forms, it must have been from what they have benefited from the aspirants or what they hope to get. The incumbent aspirants have more than enough to pay for their forms and should have spared us the joke about the financial contributions.

    Apart from the financial support claim/Aside the claim of financial support, aspirants should also stop claiming that they are contesting based on the call by their ‘people’. If they don’t have enough personal conviction to run or don’t have the capacity for any office, they should not (contest).

    Nigerians are tired of having (reluctant)? candidates who don’t have any clear agenda about what to do to improve on the level of governance in the country. What we need are candidates with clear vision of how to genuinely transform the country and reverse the decline in virtually every sector in the country.

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  • Jonathan again?

    Barring any change, President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to formally declare his intention to contest a second term on November 11.

    The announcement last Friday by the Chairman of the Presidential Declaration  Committee, Dr. Haliru Bello, has been long-awaited.

    President Jonathan’s interest to remain in Aso Rock had never been in doubt. The question has always been when would he make the  declaration? He probably would have done so before now but for the abduction of the Chibok girls which has remained a major albatross for his administration.

    To have embarked on any open political campaign when over 200 girls are still being  held by the Boko Haram terrorists would have been considered insensitive. It is therefore understandable why President Jonathan waited this long while his supporters, under various guises, are having a field day drumming up support for him and making him look like a reluctant candidate who should be persuaded to remain in office.

    Unlike other presidential aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) who still have to contest for the ticket of their party in case the proposed consensus agreement fails, Jonathan has been adopted as the sole candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    As it is, the 2015 presidential election promises to be an epic battle between Jonathan and whoever is fielded by the APC.

    Based on the performance of   Jonathan’s government which has been generally scored low on various indicators,  I am one of those who believe that  it is time for Nigerians to vote for a change. We deserve more than the kind of lack lustre leadership we have endured under President Jonathan.

    Another four years under President Jonathan who does not seem to have a solution to the high level insecurity, economic decline, decay of infrastructure, unemployment, endless strikes and many other issues will not augur well for the country.  We are sliding on  all fronts and it is time to reverse the precarious situation we have found ourselves by voting for another leader who has what it takes to tackle the challenges confronting the country.

    The opposition definitely needs a formidable candidate to beat President Jonathan,  who, among other factors, has the advantage of being an incumbent with lots of resources to deploy for the presidential election.

    It is up to the APC aspirants not to allow President Jonathan to  fulfill his ambition by putting the interest of the party before their personal ambition. The election of the party’s candidate must be as rancou-free as possible.

    Those who fail to get the party’s nomination must rally round the winner with all available resources if  the ‘transformation to nowhere’  government of President Jonathan is to become history.

  • Waiting for Chibok girls

    Following the ceasefire agreement by the federal government and the representatives of the Boko Haram insurgents, there are indications that the over 200 abducted Chibok girls may be released soon.

    Their release, possibly in the new week,  is said to be part of the outcome of negotiations to end the insurgency in the North East part of the country which has left many dead and properties destroyed.

    This is not the first time that speculations will be rife about the release of the girls whose abduction has generated worldwide interest and concern.

    Recently, some of the girls were reportedly released and driven into the Army Barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State capital in a bus but it turned out that the report,  said to have earlier been confirmed by the Defence Headquarters was false.

    Not even the leader of the Bringbackourgirls campaign, former Education Minister, Dr Oby Ezekwesili could resist the speculation that she twitted  about it hoping that the girls will regain their freedom after months of incarceration in unimaginable circumstances.

    Hopefully the girls reported release this time around will not be yet another shattered hope,  but a possible end of the abduction saga which will for years  continue to haunt us as a nation considering the negative image the unfortunate incident has earned us.

    The girls according to the insurgents are said to be “well and alive” contrary to reports that they have been physically abused. If indeed the girls have not been viciously assaulted as reported, the emotional trauma they have been subjected to must be harrowing.

    For over six months, the young girls have been denied the comfort of their homes and care of their parents and have been held hostage for no justifiable reason.

    They are definitely not returning the same way they were taken away, but we will be too glad to have them back after the long wait that has forced their parents to declare them dead in accordance with the tradition of the Chibok community.

    It is sad that the Boko Haram terrorists resorted to abducting the innocent girls to advance whatever cause they claim to be fighting for and refused to release them despite the global outrage that greeted their action.

    Their action stands condemned and they will someday pay dearly for the crime and the agony they have subjected Nigerians to with the girls’ abduction.

    There are claims that the possible release of the girls at this time is a political ploy by the federal government to enhance the electoral chances of President Goodluck Jonathan for re- election. Whatever it is, what is important is that the girls regain their freedom and we are able to put the ugly incident behind us.

    The federal government has no choice but to ensure the release of the girls to redeem whatever is left of its image  and should be commended if it is able to pull this negotiation through and not allow similar incidents to reoccur.

    Not many approve of negotiation with terrorists but in the circumstance the federal government has found itself, any compromise to ensure the release of the girls will be worth considering.

    We can only hope that the government will not allow itself to be outwitted by the terrorists who are known not to usually honour ceasefire agreements like the one reportedly reached with them. The government need to be sure that that the terrorists are sincere about this truce after all the avoidable havoc they have wrecked and will not soon strike when we least expect.

    We can afford to give the terrorists  the benefit of doubt knowing that they have recorded some casualties in the battle against the military but we must be on the alert. They cannot be completely trusted.

    The ceasefire for the battered Boko Haram group may well be a case of he who fights and run away, living to fight another day.

  • Linda Ikeji: matters arising

    Linda Ikeji: matters arising

    My understanding of plagiarism is when you take someone’s work and republish it verbatim as your own work. I don’t do that. But if I have ever done that in the past then I apologize. It was an oversight. I admit that I have used photos without giving credit. I apologize. That will never happen again. You learn every day. And I have learnt from this.

    The above quotation is by Linda Ikeji, publisher of lindaikeji.blogspot.com responding to the re-opening of her blog by Google.

    I am a fan of Linda Ikeji, Nigeria’s undisputed leading blogger, not necessary her blog, for one particular reason. The young lady has made a huge success of a task many journalists and others have dismissed as idle indulgence.

    While many traditional journalists are still pontificating about who is the real professional or not, Linda and her clan of digital natives have perfected the act of redefining publishing in a new media age.

    I appreciate the concerns about the excesses and violations by many bloggers and online writers but the truth is that information dissemination can never be the same again. Journalists used to be called gatekeepers but there are no more gates for information in newsrooms with mobile phones and social media now available for citizens.

    When the news broke last week about almighty Google shutting down Linda’s blog for alleged plagiarism, the reactions of her critics was that she got what she deserved, having been accused in the past of publishing  unattributed reports from other sources.

    Linda’s apology at the beginning of this piece should suffice for those insist that she is guilty as charged, even when she claims that the shutting down of her has nothing to do will plagiarism but  a breakdown of communication between her and a friend who has been involved in the development of her blog in the past who now felt ignored.

    To be sure, Linda is not the only one guilty of plagiarism of one kind or the other in the country. Virtually every medium including the traditional media have used materials from other sources without proper attribution.

    Violation of copyrights has become so common in the country that someone noted that copyright in Nigeria means to copy rightly.

    Notwithstanding that there are so many culprits doesn’t make it right. It is wrong for anyone to pass on another person’s job as his or hers. Materials from other sources must not only be properly attributed, but necessary permission should be sought.

    I recently wrote a story about the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A Adeboye saying that he was not interested in living up to 100 which was published on The Nation Newspaper website www.staging.thenationonlineng.net.

    Many blogs and websites including Linda’s republished the story with the exact quotes in my story without acknowledging The Nation as their source.

    Publications republishing exclusive reports of another publication without permission, however long it takes to be authorised to do so, are guilty of ‘ reaping from where they did not sow’.

    There is need to begin to name and shame publications indulging in unrestrained plagiarism and copyright violations to encourage more original contents instead of repetition of the same ‘exclusive’ reports across websites and blogs.

  • Oyo: Quintessential Journalist

    October 6, 2006 of every year usually reminds me of a very sad event that is hard for me to forget.

    The killing of Omololu Falobi, Founding Executive Director of Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) by unknown gunmen on his way home from work in Lagos still leaves me numb somehow.

    An excellent young journalist and foremost crusader against a deadly disease ravaging the world was suddenly cut down in his prime, leaving many, including myself wondering why such people should not have lived longer to continue their good works.

    However, Omololu’s short life was for me a confirmation of the fact that life is not about how long but how well. He made so much impact using journalism to campaign for the general good of all and will be remembered for his commitment, passion and excellent approach to his various media related   endeavours.

    The good work he started has continued to blossom, thanks to the visionary leadership he provided his staff who have sustained his legacy.  May his soul continue to rest in peace.

    Last Thursday, yet another outstanding journalist, Dame Oluremi Oyo, former Special Adviser (Media) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was also a member, of the Board of Trustees of his JAAIDS died.

    In Oyo, the Nigerian media lost a woman who as President Goodluck Jonathan aptly described her was a trail blazer and an accomplished professional. Her record of achievements in journalism should serve as an encouragement to women in professions who easily succumb to the believe that their gender is a limiting factor against male colleagues.

    Oyo is not only the first and only woman to be named a presidential media aide in the country; she holds similar records as Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

    In all the above positions and many others, she distinguished herself and will always be remembered for her contributions to the development of the media in the country. She was a very passionate journalist who was always concerned about best practices and career development through trainings.

    As I write this piece, I can still hear her firm voice and frank views on media issues we discussed the few occasions we met. I remember inviting her for a media training  in 2000 where she spoke about the need for journalists to learn about using new technologies  long before now when access was still limited.

    Such was her love for journalism that she identified with it notwithstanding the positions she attained and fought for the rights journalists in whatever way she could. I know how much personal interest Oyo took in mentoring many female and male Journalists who will ever be grateful for what she did for them.

    Like in Falobi’s case , I am consoled by Oyo’s death based on a quote that good people will die, but their good work shall live forever.

  • Oyedepo: The secret of a man

    One of the most profound quotations by the President of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, popularly known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, which I have held on to dearly since becoming his disciple in 1994 is that “the secret of a man is in his story.

    “If you don’t know the story of a man, you can’t know his secret,” he says once in a while whenever he speaks about the secret of his success in ministry and other endeavours.

    “ You need to know how my heart pants after God to know my secret. We do nothing in this ministry except as directed by the Lord.”

    Last Wednesday at the midweek service of the Church in Lagos, Bishop Oyedepo reiterated the importance of obedience to divine direction which he emphasised has been responsible for the various accomplishments credited to him.

    “I would have missed God’s plan for my life if I had been stubborn to heavenly vision for me. Following God can sometimes appear to be madness in the eyes of the world, but I am happy to be mad to follow God’s plan for my life.

    “I am what I am by the grace of God and nothing else. You will see the futility of strength, plans, capacity when you are off God’s plan. It takes natural meekness to walk in God’s plan. I thank God for giving me the grace to obey his commandments at every stage of my life and ministry,” Bishop Oyedepo stated.

    I testify that Bishop Oyedepo who turned 60 yesterday is indeed a man of God whose story is that of having abiding faith and trust in the Lord to do exceeding and abundantly beyond human comprehension.

    Unlike many others who have been distracted by various factors from fulfilling their vision, Bishop Oyedepo has remained focused on his calling and left no one in doubt about his commitment to fulfilling the mandate he received to “liberate the world from every oppression of the devil.”

    Coupled with Bishop Oyedepo’s unwavering faith in God’s vision for his life through practice of various biblical principles is his excellent approach to whatever he does, he doesn’t believe in half measures and, notwithstanding being a preacher, he says prayer can’t replace planning.

    Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, was right when he stated in his congratulatory message that Oyedepo has exceptional ability to organise, motivate and mobilise Christians for God’s service and for the good of mankind.

    Not only has his ministry impacted positively on the spiritual and moral lives of members of his church and others globally, his contribution to the improvement of the standard of education in the country is a good example of how churches can contribute to the overall development of the society.

    His story of emerging from a humble background and becoming a world class preacher is a confirmation of that verse from the book of Proverbs in the Bible that “seeth thou a man diligent in his business, he will stand before kings and not mean men.”

    Happy birthday, Prophet of our generation and servant of the Lord Almighty.

    Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone, from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed internet service with Etisalat easy net, available at all our experience centres.

  • Journalists on ‘marble’

    Journalists on ‘marble’

    IN 1997, Motoring Editor of the defunct Daily Times Newspaper, Olaniyi Ogundare died in Paris in an autocrash while test driving a new product of Peugeot Automobile.

    On the first anniversary of his death, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited (PAN) published a remembrance advert in which the management paid tributes to the Ogundare.

    “In your professional duties, you were transparently honest, open-minded, trust worthy, appreciative and upright. Although you are gone, the legacy of your goodwill and credibility lingers on for which we are proud.” PAN stated.

    In a piece I wrote titled The Victory in Death published in the newsletter of Journalists for Christ in 1998, I noted that the question journalists mourning Ogundare should ask themselves is whether a good testimony like the one written about the late Motoring Editor could be written about them by their employers, colleagues and those they report if they die on duty?

    Penultimate Sunday, I was reminded of the above  article following tributes pouring in on the sudden death of the Vice Chairman of the The Sun Newspapers Pastor Dimgba Igwe who was killed by a hit and run driver while jogging around his residence.

    The tributes speak volumes of the kind of journalist, the ace writer, publisher, author, biographer and pastor was and will be remembered as.

    The key words I found  in the tributes which is worthy of emulation for every journalist includes consummate professional, distinguished editor and columnist, quiet and diligent worker, reformer, writer with fecund imagination, cerebral and fearless Journalist and renowned media administrator.

    Others are, trail blazer, worthy role model,  thoroughbred journalist, sensitive to national

    cohesion and development, refined journalist, God fearing, passionate and painstaking and  journalist with the Midas touch.

    President Goodluck Jonathan aptly sums up the whole essence of Igwe’s personal and professional accomplishments.

    “ Dimgba Igwe put his God-given abilities to the best possible use in a very purposeful life that was wholly devoted to the defence of truth and the public interest, as well as the promotion of the highest standards of his chosen profession of journalism.”

    Last Thursday, I was the Chairman at the third memorial lecture in honour of a young lady, Ngozi Agbo, nee Nwozor  who left her imprint on the sands of journalism through editing the Campus Life pages in The Nation.

    Members of the University of Lagos Press Club which organised the event never met the deceased but  said what they have read, heard  and seen about the Campus Life convinced them that Ngozi is a journalist that should forever be celebrated for the good work she did in raising a new generation of campus journalists nationwide.

    “You stood in the gap to ensure that our generation is not hopeless by choosing to spend the bulk your time in making us stars in a distressed generation. You opened our eyes to possibilities of a better Nigeria and gave us opportunities to learn and interact with one another through CAMPUSLIFE avenue.

    “With songs of praises to God, we remember you with streams of joy flowing in our hearts because we are the evidence that you once graced this surface earth and we will continue to be the change agents that you taught us to be,” Philip Okorodudu a graduate of the Delta State University wrote in the tribute published in the UNILAG Gong launched at the memorial lecture.

    What kind of person will you be remembered as? The option is yours.

  • Stranded in Jamaica

    For sometime now, I have been in touch with a Nigerian who along with some others are stranded in Jamaica due to their inability to renew their Nigerian passport.

    In his last mail Eromonsele Akhidenor wrote: I am writing to let you know that I am seriously relying on you to speak out on our behalf as I have observed that we might wait endlessly here and no one will ever rescue us.

    I have decided to reproduce one of his mails for the urgent attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Immigration Service. I will be glad if necessary action is taken to rescue Akhidenor and other Nigerians waiting to be rescued.

    “ I left Nigeria in 2010 in a bid to obtain a graduate(Masters and PHD )degrees to further enhance my capability to be useful to my community and my country I chose the Caribbean because of a personal choice I made.

    “ I have completed my Master’s Program in Integrated Urban and Rural Environmental Management under Natural Resource Management Streams with good grades (My school can be contacted to verify my academic grades as I emerged as one of the best students).

    At this point, I am stranded in Jamaica and have turned a destitute due to the non-renewal of the present e-passport at the Nigeria High Commission Kingston Jamaica.

    “My problem started by the Month of May 2013 when my Nigerian passport was about to expire,4 months before its expiration date I proceeded to the Nigeria High commission here in Kingston Jamaica to get it renewed

    only to be told that I cannot renew my passport at the High Commission in Jamaica.

    I was told that I will have to go back to Nigeria to renew the said passport, because they do not have the new machine and personnel to do so here in Jamaica. That was the first surprise of my life.

    “At another occasion I went back to explain my position to the Embassy officials about my inability to travel back to Nigeria, because this was at the heart of my final Master’s research project which was sponsored by the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica and this was a topic where I looked at Hazard Mapping and Risk Assessment in five communities within the buffer zone of one of Jamaica’s renowned protected area, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park.

    This was a rare opportunity granted a foreigner and I did not intend to let it pass by me. It was then that the Administrative Attache one Mr Rufus Adeniyi gave me two options.

    “ He told me, I could go to the Nigerian High Commission in New York or alternatively, I should write down my name and wait for the Nigerian Immigration Officials from the United States. He stated that, they usually come to the embassy to renew passports once in a year. In order to be on the safe side I took both options. I then immediately contacted the United States of America Embassy here in Kingston.

    The Embassy of the United States of America told me that there is a six month validity period rules which must be adhered to by citizens of some selected countries which included Nigeria and that automatically disqualified me to travel to the United States hence I chose the second option.

    “I went back to the embassy I was given a notebook to write down my name and my phone number. I did not only put down my phone number I also included my wife’s phone number just to be sure they are able to contact me. I waited and kept in constant contact with the embassy only to be told on the 31st of October when I contacted the High Commission, that the Nigerian Immigration officials came and they stayed for two days and that since it was a short notice the embassy could not contact every one of us.

    “The Nigerian community in the Caribbean are professionals and law abiding citizens whose life and destiny should not be toiled with by the inefficient way our officials especially those from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Immigration Service handle their assigned duty.”

  • Much ado about Ebola

    With five persons dead, including a medical doctor and two nurses and many under observation in the country, there is no doubt that the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease  deserves all the attention given to it.

    Until recently when the Liberian Patrick Sawyer decided to export his virus to Nigeria, not many Nigerians knew much about the disease that killed hundreds, beyond occasional mention in the media in the country.

    That has since changed with Ebola becoming the most talked about issue and everyone taking measures to avoid contacting the disease.

    Although President Goodluck Jonathan can be accused of being un-presidential for calling Sawyer  ‘a madman’, his anger is understood considering that the Liberian should have surrendered himself for treatment in his country instead of causing us the untold anguish that has followed the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria.

    The Liberian government owes us apologies, which unfortunately cannot mitigate the damage done, for not taking necessary measures to prevent Sawyer from travelling to Nigeria.

    The federal and state governments, particularly Lagos, have risen up to the occasion and deserve commendation for stemming the tide of the outbreak so far.

    While nothing may be too much to be done to stop the spread of the disease, there is need to avoid undue panic which seems to underline some of the reactions to the outbreak.

    It is worrisome that suddenly every sickness may now be mistaken for Ebola. Some sick persons have been denied treatment or abandoned on the suspicion that they may be Ebola patients.

    There is a growing stigmatisation of the disease, that Nigerians are now subjected to humiliating medical check ups for Ebola on international trips simply because they are from Nigeria.

    For a disease that has been ravaging some African countries before Sawyer came calling, it is not justifiable that the collective reactions have been that similar to an epidemic situation.

    Some of the hygienic precautions now being enforced should not have been Ebola-induced if not because we have been careless about our health. Before the Ebola crisis, there has always been the need for regular hand-washing which has not been taken seriously.

    Ebola is not the only disease that can be contracted  due to not washing of hands. This explains why October 15 has annually been observed as Global Handwashing Day (GHD) to motivate and mobilise people to wash their hands with soap. The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention.

    For those who have always thought that the Hand Washing  Day was one of those United Nation’s Days regarded as unnecessary, they now know better that prevention by every means is better than cure.

    Hand sanitisers have always been in use by those who could afford them or where they are provided. It should not have taken the outbreak of Ebola for some organisations  now enforcing the use of hand sanitisers to do so.

    It should be noted that there is an amount of sanitiser that has to be used and brands to guarantee bacteria and virus-free hands.

    It’s good that Ebola has reminded us of health measures that should be part of our regular lifestyles. Hopefully we would not abandon them when Ebola is over.

  • What you should know about social media

    What should youths and other users know about social media which has become a major source of sharing and getting information?

    This was the question I was asked to speak on at a lecture last Tuesday to mark the International Youth Day.

    This question is very relevant considering how addicted many youths have become to social media. While there is nothing wrong in using the platforms, there are concerns that they are being misused and many are not maximising their full potential.

    Here are ten things to know about the social media.

    Social media are not only meant for idle social interaction like picture sharing and endless chats but  should, more than ever, be used as learning tools to enhance knowledge and source information.

    There is nothing wrong in being a young person – who you are, by catching some bit of fun when necessary and hanging out with your friends online, but don’t be obsessed with it.

    The social media offers you an opportunity to be a global citizen and make contacts locally, nationally and internationally. It is up to you to determine how you want to utilise this opportunity. You have a choice to determine who you want to interact with.

    •Social media skill is a work skill that you can fully acquire and become an expert in rendering paid-for services. Increasing deep knowledge of social media use is becoming a requirement for fresh graduates in many industries and it is an added advantage for employment by some companies.

    You have to be careful about what you share on social media. Share, if you must, but avoid over sharing which has become the pastime of young people. You have to realise that you are permanently documenting your life story and how you want to be perceived each time you do anything on the social media.

    It is necessary to spend quality time online instead of moving from one social account to the other and clicking all manner of links. The internet platform is like a shopping mall where you can spend the whole day window shopping if you don’t know what you want to buy and decide how long you want to spend there.

    Your online preferences should be things that matter to you and can enhance your life and whatever you are doing at any particular time. Search for useful websites on your areas of studies and interests and bookmark them on your computer.

    You don’t need to be on all social media. While it is necessary to be online compliant in the present age and have social media accounts, you don’t have to have too many social media accounts.

    You can easily get overwhelmed with checking and responding to messages on the platforms. Don’t hesitate to delete or be dormant on accounts that are giving you nightmares.

    There are many fraudsters online and you have to be careful how you respond to your mails and those you interact with. Some of the accounts online are fake and with false identities and claims.

    Don’t accept every friend request you get on Facebook without checking who they truly are.

    Don’t be gullible and fall for offers, invitations and messages you cannot double check.

    Your user name matters. The user name you use on social media is also important. As much as possible, use your real names instead of some funny ones that are not too suitable for official purposes.

    Don’t abuse the use of social media through postings that offend public sensibilities. Yes, the online platforms are still largely not regulated, but you need to mind what you share and write on the various platforms. What you share speaks a lot about who you are.