Acting president Yemi Osinbajo has said hate speeches does not equal freedom of expression.

He spoke on Wednesday at a national security seminar on ‘Unity in Diversity’ organized by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Abuja.

According to him, it is the biggest mistake that can be done by any society.

“We must control and insist that people don’t make utterances that are capable of disrupting the peace,” he said.

He said every major crisis in history was presided by hate speeches, noting that genocides have been caused by hate speeches.

He said, “We must do something about it.”

He also decried many false narratives used by agitators for breaking up the country either along regional lines or ethnic grounds.

He said one of the major false narrative is the argument that countries formed the way ours was formed are bound to fail.

He pointed out that another false narrative is that one particular ethnic group or religious group is more responsible for Nigeria’s problems than the other or superior than the other.

This he said is false because when issues of corruption are examined, it would be found that all ethnic groups are involved the in pilfering of public funds.

He also decried that corruption is possibly the worst evil that has befallen the country.

He said, “There is no other single reason why this country is set back, it is what accounts for where we are today economically.”

Azeez