Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has suffered backlashes over his call on the federal government to regulate social media in the country.
Chronicle NG reports that 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.
He noted that social media has “helped us spread so much immorality that premarital, extramarital, and underage sexual relationships are no longer taboo. They are now mainstream.”
Arguing that “social media is fueling social degeneration and degradation in our society,” the self-acclaimed “table shaker” urged the federal government “to regulate social media usage for those whose NIN-SIM usage shows they are eighteen and below.”
Reacting to the former presidential aide’s statement, an X user, Chinas Oluchi, noted that the ‘table shaker’ should be regulated for allegedly spewing from both sides of the mouth.
“You, Reno Omokri, need to be regulated if a grown man like you comes to social media and praises someone today or tomorrow and insults the same person. You are among those making wrong use of social media, Oluchi stated.
Calling the social media influencer “senseless,” Kingsley Akhibi states, “Mr. Reno Omokri Your behavior on social media is worse than that of the younger Nigerians. I will support the regulations of social media so that senseless people like you can be put to rest.”
For an X handle identified as Techjobs, it says, “You will be the first to be restricted because of the lies you spew daily.”
“Is that why you are using social media to hunt and disturb someone else? You need to be caged. You have a spiritual problem,” Zuminwa states.
Calling the call for the regulation of social media in the country “stupid,” CladSos, in a statement on X, noted that the regulation of social media in the country will negate the principles of democracy and freedom of speech.
CladSos states, “This is stupid. Regulation of social media is a propaganda word for mass censorship and destruction of democracy and freedom of speech.”