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‘Hypocrite’ – Nigerians Dig Out Gbajabiamila’s Old Tweets After Call To Regulate Social Media

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11 months ago

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Randle substation Surulere
  • Gbajabiamila is a former leader of the opposition in Nigeria’s House of Representatives.
  • However, he rose to become the Speaker of the House in 2019 after his party secured a majority in the lower legislative chamber.
  • During his time as an opposition leader, he often used social media to criticise the government, but is now calling the platform a “menace”.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has caught the ire of Nigerians on social media after he called for the regulation of the platform.

While representing Tinubu at the public presentation of a book, “Nigerian Public Discourse: The Interplay of Empirical Evidence and Hyperbole” written by a former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, in Lagos on Thursday, Gbajabiamila claimed that social media has become a societal menace and must be regulated.

“The social media has become a societal menace and must be regulated. As many people do not understand that once the send button is hit, there is a potential to reach millions of people around the world which is capable of causing a great danger not just in the society but even unintended consequences to the individuals that are receiving information which may include security of life,” he said.

However, the former House Speaker’s statement has spurred anger on social media, as many users rejected his call as a move to muzzle free speech.

Gbajabiamila’s critics pointed to his old tweets criticising the Goodluck Jonathan administration, accusing him of hypocrisy.

Between 2013 and 2015, before the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential election, the president’s chief of staff often used colourful names to describe the Jonathan administration.

“It tells you how a government will go when desperate. This is an accidental government,” he wrote in May 2013.

In another tweet, he called the Goodluck Jonathan-led government an administration of vagabonds.

“Now if obtaining mny [sic] from 520k pple [sic] for 4.5k jobs isnt [sic] 419 someone needs to tell me what is!! Vagabonds in Power n Barbarians at the gate!!” Gbajabiamila wrote in March 2014 in an apparent response to the controversial employment scheme of the Ministry of Interior.

Another time, the former speaker accused Jonathan and his advisers as regarding Nigerians as imbeciles.

“$1B loan after N3trillion to Defence in 3yrs,it’s evident the President and his advisers regard Nigerians as imbeciles (which they are not),” he wrote.

President Bola Tinubu and his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila

President Bola Tinubu and his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila

Gbajabiamila’s boss, Tinubu, also often used social media to criticise the Jonathan administration.

“Nigeria’s security situation is precarious Nigerians are tired of excuses and explanations They want protection for their lives and property,” the president wrote in April 2014.

 

“On matters of security, the bulk stops at the President’s table. Like in other countries, Jonathan is the Chief Security Officer.Stop Boko Haram,” he wrote in a separate tweet in April 2014.

Therefore, Gbajabiamila’s critics wondered why he suddenly sees social media as a menace when he regularly used it as an opposition figure to criticise the past administration.

Comedian, Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, was one of his loudest critics, describing the present administration as one of “hypocritical vagabonds.”

“Social Media wasn’t a menace when Mr Gbajabiamila used it to address the Government as Vagabonds and Barbarians in 2014,” Mr Macaroni wrote, quoting the president’s chief of staff’s old criticism of the Jonathan administration.

“Today he is Chief of Staff and he suddenly realizes that Social media is a menace…. HYPOCRITICAL VAGABONDS.”

In another tweet, the comedian attached Gbajabiamila’s old criticisms and wrote that, “Mr @femigbaja. This was you when Social Media was sweeting you. It is evident that you and this accidental and desperate government of yours regard Nigerians as Imbeciles!! Well we are not!!! The people are suffering!!! Fix up and put an end to this ridiculousness!!!!”

Other social media users joined in criticising the president’s chief of staff’s position.

The former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari also often toyed with the idea of censoring social media but fierce pushback from Nigerians scuttled multiple moves by the government.

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