The Presidency and Nigerians React to President Buhari Tweet Being Deleted by Twitter
The Presidency and Nigerians React to President Buhari's Tweet Being Deleted by Twitter
President Muhammadu Buhari's tweet has been deleted after it allegedly threatened genocide against' misbehaving' youths in the South-East.
On Tuesday, the president shared a Twitter thread discussing recent attacks on critical national infrastructure, most notably those on the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) facilities in the southeast.
However, the tweet's content outraged some Nigerians on social media. It is significant that it occurred immediately following the region's one-day sit-at-home commemoration of the Biafran war.
Several Nigerians condemned the tweets as genocidal and reported them as a violation of Twitter policy hours after they were posted.
However, this afternoon, we noticed that the social media giants had deleted the alleged tweet. According to The Gazette, the tweet was removed in response to an inquiry that detailed how the tweet was essentially identical to one posted by the Chinese Embassy in Washington in January and labeled as dehumanizing the Uighur ethnic group.
‘Twitter rules not universal’- Presidency reacts
The presidency has since responded by deleting President Buhari's tweet, claiming that it has grown increasingly suspicious of Twitter's motives in the country. According to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, Twitter is guilty of double standards, insisting that the Jack Dorsey-led company has not been fair to Nigeria.
“While Twitter may have its own set of rules, they are not universal. If Mr President, wherever he is in the world, feels strongly about a situation, he is free to express those feelings. Now is the time to stop making apples-to-oranges comparisons. If an organization is prohibited, it is distinct from others that are not,” Mr Mohammed explained.
He continued by criticizing Twitter for failing to delete the tweets of Biafran secessionist and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, for all of his Twitter directives that have resulted in violence in the South East.
“Any organization that directs its members to attack police stations, to murder police officers, to attack correctional facilities, to murder warders, and you are now claiming that Mr. President lacks the right to express his outrage and outrage over that? We are the ones who are guilty of hypocrisy.”
Nigerians React
Nigerians have taken to social media in response to the president's tweet being deleted.
Reno Omokri, a popular pastor, has urged Twitter to go above and beyond in banning the Nigerian president's account. He emphasized former President Trump's Twitter suspension following the Capitol riots. According to Reno, the president is guilty of threatening to re-enact a war that resulted in the death of one million Biafrans.
He is not alone in this sentiment, as a sizable number of users have expressed their approval of the ban. Inuagbor Abbas, a Lagos-based business owner, praised Jack for deleting the tweet. Threats to the public, she asserts, should not be tolerated regardless of position.
Despite the fact that the president's tweet has been deleted, some users believe he has already made his point. According to Eziokwu b Nd, "you can delete a tweet, but can you delete someone's ideology?" What Buhari's team has posted on their website is their ideology. You can delete the post, but that will not stop him from pursuing the goal. He has already deployed military forces to the east in preparation for the mission. There is a difference between the internet and reality.”
However, some are concerned about the president's reaction to Twitter's actions. Mike Ikenwa says, "#Buhari may shut down the Internet before he leaves office; this is not the type of Nigeria he wants – the type where we can't match his statements on the street but can take them down online." "No."
According to another user, AIM, "If Twitter had established a headquarters in Nigeria, at precisely 3:47pm Nigerian time, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Garba Shehu, Femi Adesina, and Rauf Aregbesola will storm Twitter HQ in Abuja to either fine them or shut it down."
“Because Twitter deleted Buhari's tweet, you can't fault Jack for choosing Ghana as Africa's headquarters over Nigeria; at the very least, they can operate freely without external government pressure” – @chifez4u
Apart from the tweet being deleted, reports indicate that the president may be locked out of his account for 24 hours or face a temporary suspension as a result of the offensive tweet.
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