
“The government incites the spread of rumours by only giving out information that it favours”
Posting a video of this nature and attributing it to current events without verifying it is telling. I have to wonder – why would no one stop for a moment, and realize that since no pictures of the girls have been published, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain whether or not the girl in the video being stoned is one of the kidnapped girls?Some people lack education, and some like the limelight: for Nigeria’s middle-class “elite”, one’s Twitter status is considered a sign of popularity and power, so some would do anything to get more followers.The government incites this type of behavior by only giving out information that it favours and selects. [Editor’s Note: the authorities have been widely criticised for giving out very little information on their search and rescue efforts, as well as for announcing early on that 100 schoolgirls had been rescued, before backtracking on the statement]. However, I think this should be an incentive for all Nigerians to verify any information given to them, whether it is from the government or any other source. The government has failed us, yes, but we cannot fail ourselves.