by Emmanuel Okubenji

The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mike Omeri, has said that the Federal Government has no plan to restrict the use of social media.

Speaking in Abuja earlier today, Omeri said that the social media was a lifestyle adopted by people, governments, youths and personalities, adding that it was just the use to which it was put to that should be checked.

“There is no plan at the moment to restrict the use of social media, but what the agency is doing is to encourage people to do the right thing, NOA cannot control the lifestyle of individual; that will become too excessive,” Omeri said.

He added that the agency would soon unveil a strategy for the use of social media, adding that a situation where it was being use for criminal activities was undesirable.

“The NOA at its level now in addition to sensitizing Nigerian in allowing themselves to become susceptible to criminal and other deviant behaviour on social media, is planning to engage media practitioners to discuss its role in the social development of the country through the use of social media,” he said.

Omeri said that the agency would partner with media houses to come up with effective strategy that would ensure Nigerians did not fall victim of the negative side of social media.

“We will ensure that our people do not fall victim of what should otherwise be a source of news information and entertainment,” he said.

According to him, the best thing to do now is to sensitize the people to do the right thing by deploying the social media for good purposes like education, and some social purposes that are not danger prone.

Perhaps the most famous victim of improper use of social media was Cynthia Okusogwu, a post graduate student of Nasarawa State University who travelled to Lagos to meet with friends she met on Facebook, but ended up being raped and murdered.