A professor of Applied Rhetorics at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Professor Peter Esuh, has criticized the rate at which Nigerians disparage their leaders, stating that such attitudes are misrepresenting the country’s image in the global community. Addressing journalists in his office in Uyo on Monday, Esuh lamented that most Nigerians use social media to denigrate their leaders, without knowing that such media outlets are within the purview of the global community. The lecturer, who is also the Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies of the university, emphasized the need for a traditional medium of communication to protect the country. He said, “I have been watching all these media houses, international media houses, I know what mainstream media could do and I also know what traditional media could do. I have found that the rate at which we disparage our leaders in contemporary Nigerian society is so alarming that it has affected our image internationally. “Most of our people don’t know that social media are global media, we just think that when we type something on Twitter, it’s only seen here and once we go on Facebook, it is only seen here. These are all global media.” He frowned at the way influencers, bloggers and TV commentators handled the invitation extended to the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, lamenting that no investigation and balancing was done before reporting the situation. He expressed regrets that no journalist was able to find out from the anti-graft agency’s website before reporting the news of the former governor’s arrest, adding that such speaks volumes about the callousness of Nigerian society. He enthused, “The other day, even mainstream media carried the news of Udom Emmanuel’s arrest and they have not bordered to show the distinction between invitation and arrest. “How many journalists in Nigeria, including mainstream journalists have taken time to visit the EFCC’s website? When you get to the website, you will see the news of the day – who has been arrested, who is in court and the number of court cases and all that. “And then people quickly went to say that the former governor of Akwa Ibom State was arrested by the EFCC, when the man was in his house, when you go to EFCC website there was no such arrest. This speaks volumes of the callousness of our society and I think, it is time to begin to put things in perspective.” Esuh also criticized the way Nigerians reacted to the allegation of sexual harassment against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, emphasising that what constitutes harassment is a persistent persecution over a long period. He said, “Why are Nigerians calling for the Senate President to step down? Step down for what? For upholding the rules of the Senate? Are we no longer a country where rules matter? If he did not uphold the rules wouldn’t it be the same Nigerians who will say this man does not know what he is doing at the Senate? “I want to ask Nigerians a question can we differentiate between what we can sexual harassment and sexual advancement? The matter is in court, but I just want us to know that when we use the word sexual harassment, we are talking about persistent persecution; it must be persistent, so I want us to begin to look at these things from this perspective.”