A former senator who represented Kaduna Central in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Shehu Sani, has come under fire as he faces a barrage of criticism over a tweet.
Senator Sani, who has garnered quite a sizeable following on the microblogging app Twitter, is noted for his short, witty, satirical, sarcastic, and parabolic tweets, which he deftly deploys to pass across his message on national issues.
This time, however, in his attempt to deploy his usual style to speak on the current situation in Lagos State where arsonists have been setting ablaze shops and goods belonging to traders who are mostly of the Igbo ethnic stock in the nation’s number one commercial city, he stepped on the nerves of some Nigerians and offended not a few persons.
Concerning the situation, the Senator tweeted:
“If Lagos has become too hostile, just know that Birnin Gwari Forest in Kaduna State, Sambisa, and Dajin Gundumi, in Zamfara, are no man’s lands with more than enough space for trade and commerce.”
A greater majority of Nigerians who reacted to the tweet did not find it funny. Many of them said it was callous, insensitive, and odious, especially coming from a former lawmaker.
They strongly felt that the Senator clearly crossed the boundary of reasonableness and responsibility expected of someone of his status for attempting such a cruel joke out of a very sensitive issue.
Other commenters, however, took the tweets in their strides—some saying the locations mentioned lacked the facilities, especially in a seaport, to support businesses and others saying the Igbos could actually turn the mentioned locations into other commercial hubs in the country.
A few others stated that the Igbos are tired of developing other peoples’ lands only for the owner to turn against them later, saying they have suffered too much abuse and discrimination in Lagos.
Still, they were a few others who considered the tweet as a joke and responded with comments in like manner.
Read more of the reactions here.
What are your thoughts?
Content created and supplied by: Ifyafrica (via Opera News )
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