Politics
Tinubu Slams Anti-democratic OBIDIENTS Over Bullying Of TIME Magazine Journalist
Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, has slammed the supporters of Peter Obi for criticizing Astha Rajvanshi, a staff writer with TIME Magazine.
Rajvanshi had locked her Twitter page after being attacked by OBIDIENTS for writing the piece that included Bola Tinubu among world’s most influential people of 2023.
Tinubu was listed in the category of influential “leaders” alongside US President, Joe Biden.
In the report, TIME stated that Tinubu spent about 20 years preparing to be Nigeria’s president.
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“Winning an election in Africa’s most populous country is no easy feat. But Nigeria’s newly elected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has had nearly two decades to prepare. Called Jagaban, or “leader of the warriors,” by his supporters, the now 71-year-old ran in a presidential election for the first time this March.
“His campaign slogan, “It’s my turn,” was a nod to his role as a longtime political power broker. Tinubu helped restore the country’s democracy in 1999 after fighting military rule and then served two consecutive terms as governor of Lagos,” TIME stated.
In its reaction, the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre, in a lengthy statement, commiserated with Astha over the vile attacks by “partisan trolls.”
The statement further likened the trolls to “the delusional and violent thugs that stormed the US Capitol in a dangerous bid to prevent the peaceful transfer of power” while noting that they have become “implacably embittered about the outcome of the election because their preferred candidate lost.”
It reads in part, “Furthermore, we wish to communicate our awareness and regret of the sad fact that your reporting on the matter has subjected you to various acts of intimidation and abuse from partisan trolls in our country who remain implacably embittered about the outcome of the election because their preferred candidate lost.
“While such is not unheard of in a democracy, as it is expected that losers are naturally disappointed with electoral outcomes, your experience and the totally unwarranted harassment you have faced, which may have led to the recent restrictions made to your social media account(s), prove that these individuals have crossed the boundaries of what could be considered understandable opposition and election-loss grieving.
“Indeed, they have constituted themselves as an illiberal, anti- democratic mob, not unlike the delusional and violent thugs that stormed the US Capitol in a dangerous bid to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Daily, in an organized fashion, these individuals, operating through various but centrally controlled troll accounts, target for abuse and other forms of negative actions anyone perceived as not in support of their defeated candidate. Their goal, like other anti-democratic mobs elsewhere, is to tarnish the credibility of the process and project a biased and inaccurate version of events through insidious manipulations of algorithms and trend charts, in the specific case of Twitter.
“While we deeply sympathize with you over the sad and undeserved experience, please note that these individuals. constitute a tiny minority of Nigerians. Their violent tantrums are unduly amplified by social media platforms such as Twitter in their refusal to accommodate local dynamics in necessary regulation.
“Contrary to the deplorable behavior of this illiberal mob, the vast majority of Nigerians are not only approving of the election and its outcome, they look forward to the official handover of the outgoing president to the next one in an event considered yet another milestone for our maturing democracy. Safe to say that these Nigerians, oft-described as the silent majority who are undoubtedly peaceful, courteous, and tolerant of dissent, also appreciate your journalism and acknowledgement of our President-Elect’s global standing.”
