Knowledge is now the most powerful asset in crisis management, but today crisis travels faster than truth.
Zig Diaries | Innovation & Security
Date: Monday 24 November 2025
Time: 14:00 WAT
Location: 📍Abuja, Nigeria
This was the central warning issued by the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Dr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, while delivering the keynote paper at the National Symposium on Digital Innovations in Crisis Communication in Abuja.
The symposium with the theme Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Transform Crisis Communication was organised by the Centre for Crisis Communication and held at the National Defence College.
According to Dr Abdullahi, times have changed dramatically. Twenty five years ago crisis moved at the pace of physical interaction or the next morning newspaper. Today it spreads at the speed of a click.
"False news now moves six times faster than the truth and penetrates deeper because lies are often novel and shocking", he noted, citing research from the MIT media lab.
He cautioned that misinformation and disinformation now occur at a velocity that makes it difficult to distinguish real content from artificial fabrications. The DG stressed that technology itself is not the problem, rather its misuse.
"Bad actors weaponise digital platforms during elections, economic shocks and social movements, pushing harmful narratives before institutions can respond" , he explained.
Dr Abdullahi provided examples ranging from the 2013 incident involving a hacked AP news account that triggered trading losses of over 140 billion US dollars within minutes, to digital mobilisation during movements such as Black Lives Matter, Arab Spring and EndSARS. He said the pattern is evolving and Africa is not exempt.
He further warned that big technology companies now wield unaccountable influence, possessing the power to shape what citizens watch, believe, buy and even think.
"The CEOs of major tech platforms today are arguably more powerful than presidents of sovereign nations", he argued.
Highlighting the paradoxes that now challenge crisis management, he identified tensions between privacy and insecurity, free speech and hate speech, and truth and falsity. The DG said society may be reaching what he termed the end of reality, where AI generated videos, images and content are almost indistinguishable from the real.
He noted that after the 2016 United States election, global acceptance emerged on the need to regulate social media and artificial intelligence. However, he explained that no existing historical or legal framework is sufficient because the world has never faced this precise challenge before.
Dr. Abdullahi referenced Nigeria’s response following the temporary suspension of Twitter, noting that the government developed a Code of Practice for online platforms to ensure accountability, content moderation, tax compliance and protection of minority voices. He said the Nigerian Data Protection Commission was subsequently established and government is now working on an online harm protection bill that will create a legal framework for online safety.
He disclosed that in the past year alone, through Nigeria’s engagement with major platforms, over 28 million accounts were deactivated and nearly 59 million harmful content pieces were removed. However, he described the figures as alarming, especially with LinkedIn being used for impersonation and social engineering despite its professional orientation.
The NITDA DG called for the creation of a neutral centre led by organisations such as the Centre for Crisis Communication to balance government actions, protect democratic values and prevent misuse of technology by state or non state actors. He emphasised the need for local fact checkers, AI powered early detection tools and faster takedown protocols to counter harmful content before it causes real life damage.
He concluded by urging stakeholders to co design and co create solutions because no single institution can contain digital threats alone.
"We must work together to protect our democracy and ensure nobody has unaccountable power over others", he stated.
🏷️ Tags: NITDA, crisis communication, misinformation, digital technology, national security, AI regulation, Centre for Crisis Communication, Abuja symposium
#ZigDiariesInnovation #DigitalSecurity #CrisisManagement
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