Fake news nearly ruined my marriage – Lai Mohammed

Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has recounted how fake news stating that $1.9bn was paid into his account almost destroyed his marriage of 40 years.

 Mohammed, a Minister during the Buhari-led administration, shared this while speaking at a programme organised by the Mass Communication Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye on Thursday, July 18. 

In his words;

“The menace of fake news is a menace that must be tackled by all of us. This is something that nearly cost me my marriage of about 40 years. While we were in government, there was fake news that I had $1.9bn in my bank account and unfortunately, many people believed this falsehood, including my wife.

One day, my wife woke me up in the middle of the night and spoke in Yoruba, She called me: ‘Daddy,” and I said, ‘Yes, what is it?’ She said, ‘We all know that death can come at any time; we may say it wouldn’t be this early but it may be, but whatever happens, it will be good if you make me one of the signatories to your bank account to prepare for any eventuality. Even my friends and many other people are already begging me for money after seeing the report of so much money in your account.’”

The former minister said he had to take his time to explain to his wife that the report was entirely fake news and that the allocation for his ministry in a year was N5bn, making a total of N40bn for the years he spent in government.

He said he had wondered how someone somewhere cooked up such a story that a whooping sum of money was in his bank.

“This is why I strongly believe that this menace of fake news should be curbed. You won’t know the weight of it until it is about you. It has destroyed many marriages, many people have even committed suicide because fake news were published about them on social media.” he said