Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has recounted how fake news almost ruined his 40-year-old marriage.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the former minister, under ex-president Muhammadu Buhari, made this known on Thursday in Ogun State while speaking at an event tagged: “A Day with Alhaji Lai Mohammed” organized by the Mass Communication Department of Olabisi Onabanjo University.
According to him, after the fake report about a purported $1.9bn allegedly paid into his bank account, his wife woke him up at midnight, demanding that she should be one of the signatories of his bank account to prepare for any eventuality.
He added that even his friends and many other people were begging for money after seeing the fake report.
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Lai said: “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.”
