Also, he condemned the 9th National Assembly for the proposed bill seeking death penalty for convicts of hate speech, urging them to equally propose bill for cemetery to accommodate those their latest hate speech will affect, alleging that there are more to it than meets the eye.
Vatsa, a former Publicity Secretary of APC in the state made this known while addressing selected journalists in Minna, and described the move as not only laughable but a direct invitation for anarchy.
The APC chieftain advised the 9th Assembly to also propose a bill that will apply for lands in the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as did for Ruga to be used as cemetery for hate speech offenders that will be killed.
“I call on Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi to also propose a bill that will ensure we have separate cemetery for offenders so that we can have it as tourist’s sites with inscriptions ‘Hate Speech’ cemetery because the offenders may also include those of us who have benefitted from hate speech.
“What a shame.”
Vatsa wondered why the APC-controlled Senate should ever contemplate such a “draconian and unpopular law,” saying “We rode to power in 2015 through hate speech.
“We (APC) brought hate speech to Nigeria politics and I am one of them.
“As a Publicity Secretary of the APC, I know how we used hate speech to mobilize Nigerians against the then ruling party.
“And it paid off because Nigerians eventually hated the Peoples Democratic Party. Before 2015, Nigerians did not know anything like hate speech.
“In fact, since the return of democracy in 1999, we are just hearing about hate speech. APC as a political party brought hate to politics in form of propaganda.
“The truth must be told: we’re the architect of hate speech and nobody complained about it. We enjoyed it and it worked for us.
“If we think we have failed Nigerians in our change promises, we should be bold enough to tell Nigerians that we are sorry, we couldn’t deliver, but to try to cage them by trying to introduce or recycle Decree 4 of 1984 in the name of hate speech is unacceptable,” he said.
Vatsa further blamed the Senate Deputy Whip, who is from Niger North Senatorial District, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, over the proposed bill for death penalty for hate speech, warning it “might consume all of us.”
He said rather than proposing death penalty for hate speech offenders, it should be death penalty for corrupt leaders in this country because “corruption and injustice gave birth to what is now being called hate speech. If there is justice, equity, fairness and respect for rule of law, there will be no hate speech.
“But when people are being marginalized and denied their right, surely there will be hate speech,” he said, insisting that “You cannot stop people from expressing their freedom of speech.”
“If the Senate is proposing death penalty for hate speech, then what will they do to Boko Haram, armed bandits, kidnappers, oil bunkers and treasury looters both politicians and civil servants?
“All these things are worse than hate speech. There are more pressing issues to Nigerians that the Senate should look into and address instead of wasting their energy on an unpopular bill like this one that will not see the light of the day,” Vatsa said.
He believes that there are more to the proposed hate speech bill, alleging that “If the rumor of President Muhammadu Buhari nursing the ambition of third term is correct, then they need death penalty for hate speech to silence everybody who will want to oppose him.
“But the Senate should know that he who lives in a glass house should not throw stone because they cannot be there forever.
“When they leave the Senate, the law can catch up with them.
“Again, if the money meant for constituency projects are utilized for the purpose it was meant for and the people begin to see dividends of democracy, there will be no need for hate speech.
“If the millions of Nigerian youths can have something to do to earn a living, they will not have time for hate speech.
“If people are allowed to elect their leaders in a free and fair election there will be no hate speech.
“So, something gave birth to hate speech and that is what the Senate should address.”
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