Peace Education, Self-Discipline and Personal Integrity: Antidotes to Hate-Speech and Vacillating Democracy in Nigeria for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Hate-speech has been heating up the polity in Nigeria, and has heightened insecurity and polarization of the citizens along ethnic, tribal and religious divides, with a vacillating democracy, thus hindering sustainable development. This paper is an attempt at finding solutions to hate-speech in Nigeria, to stabilize democracy, and engender sustainable development, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Using the method of conceptual, textual and critical analysis, the paper discusses hate-speech, its causes, and its effects on Nigerian democracy and sustainable development. Reasons for hate-speech and how it can be curtailed or totally eliminated are also discussed. The findings show that hate-speech is a big setback to Nigerian democracy. It is also found that four major reasons are responsible for its continued spread. These are: absence of strong peace education; absence of clear delineation of utterances that constitute hate speech in Nigeria, with a legal framework; selective justice, where some citizens are treated as untouchables and above the law; and lack of self-discipline and personal integrity on the part of the hate-speech makers. In the light of the findings, the paper concludes that hate-speech is a venom with lethargic effects on Nigerian democracy and sustainable development, and should be decisively dealt with. As antidotes to hate-speech, the paper advocates strong peace education; enactment of law which clearly states utterances that constitute hate speech in Nigeria, with appropriate sanctions for offenders; and equal treatment of all citizens under the law. It is also advocated that citizens, especially the highly placed in the society, should make it a point of duty, in conscience and for social order, to cultivate the practice of self-discipline and personal integrity, as this will even be more beneficial to the self and the society than acting under fear of law.