Twitter, FG disagree on Buhari civil war comments

• Lai Mohammed accuses Twitter of bias for deleting Buhari’s civil war post

Twitter has deleted a controversial post by President Muhammadu Buhari on the Biafran war of 1967-1970 which led to loss of many lives.

But Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, accused Twitter of double standards for deleting the controversial post by Buhari.

The tweet, which was posted on Tuesday, read in part, “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.”

Many Nigerians condemned the Buhari’s comments, which they noted as insensitive particularly as they said his administration had not spoken hard on northern elements causing trouble in the country.

Following several complaints, Twitter eventually bowed to pressure, deleting the tweet.

A comment by Twitter stated, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules”.

The social media giant had earlier in the year banned then United States President, Donald Trump, for his inciting comments which led to the attack on the US Congress.

Speaking on the issue with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday, Mohammed said Twitter had conveniently ignored inciting tweets by the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and others.

The minister said Twitter also displayed the same bias during the #ENDSARS protest during which government and private property were either looted or destroyed.

He said Twitter’s role was suspicious and Nigeria would not be fooled.

He said, “Twitter may have its own rules; they are not the universal rules. If Mr President, anywhere in the world, feels very bad and concerned 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.

“They 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.”