Twitter Bows To Pressure, Deletes Buhari’s Controversial Tweet On Threats Issued To Rebellious Nigerians

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) on Wednesday bowed to pressures from some Nigerians condemning the controversial tweet by President Mohammad Buhari and subsequently deleted it. In the tweet from President Buhari, he vowed to treat Nigerians “misbehaving” in “the language they understand”.

It was published yesterday on how Buhari threatened zero tolerance on rebels who he said are destroying national assets and instigating civil war in the country.

But most Nigerians have taken exceptions to the threat admonishing the president for issuing such a threat to Nigerians when Boko Haram and other criminal elements are having field days.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party had on Tuesday, in its immediate reaction, criticized Buhari for leaving Nigerians at the mercy of bandits and abductors and rather issuing threats to Nigerians that are not happy with governance. In fact the party urged tweeter to act immediately by sanctioning him, claiming that former president Donald Trump did not write as much offensive statement like this before he was sanctioned last year.
Buhari made the remarks via his Twitter page on Tuesday, however, Twitter deleted the message on Wednesday, in an apparent response to widespread condemnation of the tweet by Nigerians home and abroad.

The Social media network claimed PMB’s tweet was deleted because the post violated its rules.

Part of Buhari’s tweet:
“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.

“I have assured INEC that we will make available to them everything they need to operate efficiently, so that no one will say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We will meet all of INEC’s demands.

“In the area of security, we have changed the Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General, and we are demanding that they rise fully to the challenges confronting us. There must be zero tolerance for all those those bent on destroying our country by promoting crime and insurrection!

“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.”