The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Kashere (FUK), Gombe State, Prof. Umar Pate, has tasked young people to be digitally conscious and have media literacy skills to guide them on how to handle and utilise digital devices.

Mr Pate made the call while presenting a paper at the 29th and 30th combined convocation of the Modibbo Adama University (MAU) Yola, Adamawa State, on Friday.

The paper was titled, “Building Trust Amidst Conflict: Communication, Leadership and the Promise of Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria.”

He warned against the circulation of fake news, hate speech and sensationalism in society to mitigate violence and other vices.

The VC stated, “We should not be tools in the hands of our devices, rather we should use them as tools to solve our communication issues positively. The devices can be disruptive, time and resource demanding, alienating and very addictive.

“Therefore, let us be guided for the devices to be positively used for peace building and peaceful co-existence instead of keeping them as tools for  destroying our communities and nation.”

Mr Pate said that building trust amidst conflict cannot be accidental or instantaneous in a diverse setting like Nigeria.

According to him, it has to be a conscious national policy based on choices shaped daily by how people communicate, lead, and treat one another.

He said, “For journalists and communicators, this responsibility demands conflict-sensitive reporting, rigorous fact-checking in an age of disinformation, the rejection of hate speech and sensationalism. And a deliberate commitment to amplifying the voices of peace-builders-not only the purveyors of violence.” (NAN)