Opinion
by Chukwudi George Ozalla
When the false story broke that former Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, had died in London, it spread with a speed that showed how reckless people have become with information. It was one of those rumours that arrive without warning, carrying shock, confusion and unnecessary anxiety. When I learnt of it, I did what any responsible person should do. I picked up my phone and called one or two people who would know the true situation. Within minutes, it became clear that the story had no foundation. Yet it had already travelled far, even landing on the page of a respected professional media platform I belong to.
This is the level of viciousness our society has normalised. The first instinct of many is not to verify but to forward. Someone, somewhere, deliberately crafted or initiated that rumour about Obiano’s death. Such a person carries a burden that is both moral and spiritual. Announcing another man’s death falsely is not ordinary mischief. It is one of the darkest acts any human being should descend to. It is callous. It is rooted in the same spirit that delights in fear, disruption and emotional injury. There is nothing humorous or harmless about telling the world that a living man is dead.
People forget that families read these things. Associates read them. Communities read them. Even political opponents have limits. News of death is not something to experiment with. It shakes the mind. It destabilises. It puts people under tension and forces loved ones into frantic phone calls. I saw how quickly people began sharing the rumour, using familiar tones of certainty, the type that often accompanies unverified stories. A few simply wanted to be first to break something without caring whether the information had any grounding.
There is also the cultural dimension. In Igbo tradition, death is not spoken of carelessly. Words carry weight. Life responds to utterance. When news of someone’s death is invented and circulated, it is an attempt to drag that person’s spirit into a place they have not reached. The elders call it ufo ndu, the prolonged extension of life that follows when a person is prematurely killed in rumours. It is widely believed that the one who announces a false death attracts the consequences of that action. The prayer is simple. May the victim outlive the author of such wickedness. In this case, Chief Willie Obiano will outlive whoever pushed this story into the public space.
Even beyond culture, there is a civic duty that comes with information and media literacy. Anyone who handles news, even informally through WhatsApp, Facebook groups or private broadcast lists, carries the responsibility of restraint. Not everything heard should be shared. Not everything forwarded should be trusted. A society that allows death rumours to circulate freely has abandoned empathy. Before sending out any message announcing the death of anyone, public figure or not, pause. Confirm. Pause again and reconfirm. Think of the family. Think of how you would feel if your own name was dragged into a premature obituary.
The most painful part is that the rumour did not only come from idle corners. Even credible professional spaces picked it up without due verification. One would expect a media platform with seasoned practitioners to make a simple call or hold back until confirmation arrived. That failure reflects a wider problem in today’s information environment. Speed has overshadowed truth. People strive to be first, not accurate, and in that rush, human decency is often dropped.
False news of death leaves its mark. It unsettles the person involved and creates unnecessary speculation about motives and intentions. In political cycles, such stories can even be weaponised. It is important to confront these dangers clearly and firmly.
The person who initiated the rumour about Chief Obiano acted with clear malice. A responsible society must call out such behaviour without hesitation. Let people show restraint. Let people respect the dignity of life. Chief Willie Obiano is alive, and in the spirit of ufo ndu, his days have only been lengthened. He will live far longer than whoever tried to bury him with falsehood.
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NEWSCOUNT.
