What My Wife Did after Reading Online that I Had $1.3bn in Foreign Account, Lai Mohammed Apeaks

• Former Nigerian minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has revealed how fake news circulated on social media threatened his marriage
• Mohammed recounted an incident where his wife confronted him at 3am over false allegations of operating a foreign account containing $1.3 billion
• Addressing the broader implications, Mohammed emphasised the need for media platforms to combat fake news effectively

Legit.ng journalist Nurudeen Lawal has 8 years of experience covering political campaigns and elections

Lagos, Nigeria - The former minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has recounted how fake news peddled on social media threatened his 40-year-old marriage.

Mohammed spoke in Lagos at an event to commemorate the 90th birthday anniversary of Professor Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel laureate for literature.

The ex-minister also recalled that the menace of fake news was one of his challenges in office as minister, Vanguard reported.

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How fake news threatened my marriage - Lai Mohammed

Sharing how social media threatened his marriage, Mohammed said his wife read online that he was operating a foreign account which contains 1.3 billion dollars.

He said sometime in 2018, his wife woke him up at about 3am and asked him if he was fully awake as there were some serious issues to discuss.

The former minister said the accusation his wife levelled against him was a "bombshell", The Cable also reported.

“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," Mohammed quoted his wife as saying.

He said he could not believe that his wife could take, hook, line, and sinker, the fake story in circulation crediting humongous sums of money in overseas accounts to government functionaries/ministers under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

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

The Kwara-born politician said he had to explain why it's mathematically impossible for him to have such an amount of money even if he managed to divert the funds allocated to his ministry.

“I explained to her that there is no year my capital budget exceeded N5 billion, which, 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 would take at least 104 years to save the sum of 1.3 billion dollars being peddled that I stole,” he said.

Lai Mohammed's wife responds

Responding to his explanation, Mohammed said his wife insisted that the whole world believed the story and that her friends had, as a result, besieged her with all kinds of requests.

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“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!" the minister said.

Fake news: What media must do - Lai Mohammed

Mohammed noted that fake news has far-reaching consequences, adding that the menace has become exponential through the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Noting that even the media is at risk of losing its credibility because of the proliferation of fake news on social media, the former minister advised media platforms to take decisive action to combat the scourge of misinformation.

He added that social media platforms and other intermediaries responsible for amplifying disinformation and misinformation should be held responsible.

Lai Mohammed bags international appointment

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Mohammed was appointed as the special advisor to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili.

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His appointment was confirmed at the opening session of the 66th UNWTO Commission for Africa (CAF) in Mauritius.

Expressing his gratitude in his acceptance speech, Lai Mohammed said he was honoured for the trust and privilege bestowed on him by Pololikashvili.

Source: Legit.ng