'Change begins with me' campaign: FG accuses Economist magazine of racism, prejudice

The Federal Government has accused 'The Economist' magazine of racism, prejudice and denigration of Nigeria's genuine effort at national re-orientation.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the accusation in a statement he issued on Wednesday in Abuja.

The statement is in response to a publication by the weekly magazine on 'Change Begins With Me' campaign.

The minister said: 'Our attention has been drawn to a story by The Economist, datelined Lagos and featured in the paper's print edition of Sept. 24, 2016

entitled: 'Nigeria's war against indiscipline, Behave or be whipped''.

Contrary to the newspaper's self-professed belief in 'plain language', the article in question, from the headline to the body, is a master-piece of embellishment or dressed-up language'.

'It is loaded with innuendos and decidedly pejorative at best and downright racist at worst.''

The minister faulted the conclusion in the publication that President Muhammadu Buhari wanted to 'tame' Nigerians with the 'Change Begins With Me' Campaign.

'For those who are the owners of the English language, the use of that word is unpardonable.

'The verb 'tame' suggests that Nigerians are some kind of wild animals that must be domesticated, and the usage reveals the mindset of the authors of the article.

'It is a deliberate put-down of a whole people under the guise of criticising a government policy,'' he said.

Mohammed said the author was wrong in insinuating that some 150,000 volunteers were being trained as enforcers of the 'Change Begins With Me' Campaign.