Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has called on the President Bola Tonubu-led federal government to regulate social media in the country.
Omokri made the call in a statement published on his verified X page on Sunday.
Omokri, who noted that young Nigerians “do not have the discipline to use social media responsibly,” stated that “Nigeria is a significant consumer of Internet pornography.”
Omokri also called for the regulation of online gambling, noting that Nigerian “youths are addicted to online betting.”
According to Omokri, “Social media is fueling social degeneration and degradation in our society,” therefore, he called on all and sundry to “fight back with a moral revolution.”
Omokri, who applauded the United States of America for successfully placing a ban on the use of TikTok, urged Nigeria to take a leaf from the pages of the Americans by regulating social media usage for Nigerians under the age of 18.
Omokri’s statement reads, “Nigeria needs to regulate social media. As a country, we cannot shy away from that. Young Nigerians, by and large, do not have the discipline to use social media responsibly, and that is because we, their elders, have not been responsible in our use of the media and I refer to the broad spectrum.
“Nigeria is a significant consumer of Internet pornography, and our youths are addicted to online betting.
“If you go to the App Store or Google Play Store, you will see millions of apps developed by Asian and Nordic kids. Very few, if any, are by Black African kids. Yet, our children consume a disproportionate amount of the filth that social media has to offer.
“TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook have helped us spread so much immorality that premarital, extramarital, and underage sexual relationships are no longer taboo. They are now mainstream.
“Annually, more children are born in just one local government in Lagos than in the entire nation of Belgium. Many of them are single mothers. Belgium has a population of approximately 12 million people. That local government has less than half that number.
“Social media is fueling social degeneration and degradation in our society, and we must fight back with a moral revolution.
“The government ought to regulate social media usage for those whose NIN-SIM usage shows they are eighteen and below.
“Parentally, we need social enlightenment programs on TV and radio to encourage parents to return to the cultural values that have kept our society in the past: the Omoluabi ethos in the Southwest, age-grade societies in the Southeast, and madrassa education in the North.
“In Asia and Nordic Europe, social media spreads STEM knowledge as a culture. In Nigeria, it is spreading immorality like a vulture. If we do not intervene now, we will increase the damage done to our youth to almost irreparable levels.
“America has seen the future, and that is why Democrats and Republicans have temporarily put aside their differences to kick TikTok out of America. But in Nigeria, TikTok is kicking our sense of decency out of our country.”
