Fake news on $1.3bn threatened my marriage – Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has recounted the ordeal he had with his wife when fake news circulated that he had a foreign account with 1.3 billion dollars.

He said his 40-year-old marriage was almost destroyed as it took him several hours at midnight to explain to her that the report was untrue.

Lai Mohammed made the disclosure while speaking at an event held in commemorating Prof. Wole Soyinka’s 90th birthday in Lagos.

The text of Mohammed’s presentation was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.

He described one of the significant challenges he encountered during his tenure as minister: the rampant spread of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.

He said, “Permit me to share publicly with you today for the first time, how social media threatened the foundation of my 40-year-old marriage.

“It was sometime in 2018 when I came to Lagos from Abuja for an official assignment.

“As usual, I retire to bed about midnight, but at about 3 am., my wife gently roused me from my slumber.

“At first, I panicked, fearing that there had been a security breach, but my wife’s mien belied that possibility, for she was calm and composed.”

“Solemnly, my wife asked me if I was fully awake as there were some serious issues to discuss.

“I could not fathom what was that urgent or serious to warrant being woken up at this time of the night.
“My mind immediately did a kaleidoscope of my rascalities and escapades in the last few months”.

According to him, the accusation from his wife was “a bombshell” and was narrated to him in Yoruba language.

He narrated; “Daddy, death can come knocking at any moment, please let me also, as your wife, be a signatory to your overseas account in Ali Financial which contains 1.3 billion dollars.”

“I spent the next two hours or so, sweating to convince my wife that there was no iota of truth in the allegation.

“I had to fetch a calculator and reproduce the Federal Appropriation Act for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the middle of the night and explain to her why it is simply preposterous for me to have 1.3 billion dollars in a foreign account.

“I explained to her that there is no year my capital budget exceeded N5 billion, which then, at about N400 to a dollar, was just 12.5 million dollars.

“I explained that, even if I managed to divert every kobo of it to my personal account, it will take at least, 104 years to save the sum of 1.3 billion dollars being peddled that I stole,” he said.

He added, “My wife insisted that the whole world believed the story and that her friends had, as a result, besieged her with all kinds of requests.

“She said every effort on her part to deny the existence of this foreign account only succeeded in depicting her in the minds of her friends as a selfish, greedy and uncaring friend.

“Is my wife truly convinced of my innocence? The answer is in the wind!. “
Mohammed reiterated that social media remained the platforms of choice for the purveyors of fake news, anti-state groups, anarchists, secessionists, terrorists and bandits.”

About Correspondent

Check Also

Delta NUJ Calls for Action on Flooding, Insecurity

By Chuks Peter, DELTA The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Warri Correspondents’ Chapel, has urged …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *