Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has slammed social media giant, Twitter, for deleting an upsetting tweet released by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday night.
While speaking with the press on Wednesday, Mohammed accused Twitter of displaying double standards on issues concerning Nigeria’s domestic issues, adding that the company’s mission in Nigeria is very suspicious.
According to the Minister, while the social media giant had conveniently ignored inciting tweets by the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and also supporting #ENDSARS protesters, it found President Buhari’s tweets offensive.
The President, in series of tweets on Tuesday, via his verified Twitter handle, @MBuhari, had tweeted “many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
After several Nigerians reported the tweet and demanded it be taken down, Twitter deleted the tweet, stating, “this Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.
Reacting to Twitter’s action, Mohammed said “Twitter may have its own rules; it’s not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world feels very bad and concern about a situation, he is free to express such views. Now, we should stop comparing apples with oranges. If an organisation is proscribed, it is different from any other which is not proscribed.
“Two, any organisation that gives directives to its members, to attack police stations, to kill policemen, to attack correctional centres, to kill warders, and you are now saying that Mr. President does not have the right to express his dismay and anger about that? We are the ones guilty of double standards.
“I don’t see anywhere in the world where an organisation, a person will stay somewhere outside Nigeria, and will direct his members to attack the symbols of authority, the police, the military, especially when that organisation has been proscribed. By whatever name, you can’t justify giving orders to kill policemen or to kill anybody you do not agree with,” he said.
