Bosun Tijani, one of the
ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, has apologized to the members of
the Nigerian Senate over his 2019 ‘non patriotic’ tweets against Nigeria and
the lawmakers.
Tijani, a 46-year-old Information
Technology expert from Ogun state, tendered his apology when appeared before
the Senate during the ongoing ministerial screening on Saturday.
His apology comes after Senator
Abdulfatai Buhari representing Oyo North Senatorial District, on Saturday,
tackled a ministerial nominee, Bosun Tijani, over a non-patriotic tweet he
posted over four years ago.
The lawmaker asked the nominee to
clarify whether he still believes in Nigeria and the country’s passport.
“On the 21st of July 2019, Dr
Bosun tweeted against Nigeria that he does not appreciate the Nigerian passport
and Nigeria as a nation,” the Oyo Senator said after Tijani read his profile.
The lawmaker asked the nominee to
clarify whether he still believes in Nigeria and the country’s passport.
But, while, addressing the
Senate, Tijani said he is very passionate about Nigeria and he is committed to
the country’s development.
Tijani said he tweeted as a
result of a frustrating experience he had with the Chinese Embassy.
He stated, “I tweeted in anger.
I’m very passionate about the development of Nigeria and my passion for Nigeria
was what led me to tweet in anger.”
Senator Ishaku Abbo representing
Adamawa North Senatorial District immediately rose to Tijani’s defense, saying
that the nominee tweeted out of a mixture of frustration and love for Nigeria.
Also, Senator Solomon Adeola from
Ogun West Senatorial District defended Tijani, saying his “youthful exuberance”
and “shortcoming” should be forgiven.
Adeola, said Tijani has what it
takes to use his skills to develop Nigeria’s IT industry, saying the baby
should not be thrown away with the bath water.
The Senate Minority Leader
representing Plateau North Senatorial District, Simon Mwadkwon, read another
“non-patriotic” by Tijani which was posted sometimes in 2021.
Similarly, Senate Majority Leader
representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Opeyemi Bamidele, described
Tijani as an “EndSARS protester.”
Bamidele said his daughter also
protested police brutality and extrajudicial killings in October 2020.
He said said Tijani was trying to
speak for his generation and should not be haunted for the tweet.
The Senate Leader said Tinubu
wants to work with young people like Tijani to bring harmonise their ideas for
the betterment of the country.
Bamidele asked youths to learn
from Tijani’s situation and thereafter urged his colleagues to forgive the
nominee.
Meanwhile, the Senate President
Godswill Akpabio said Tijani’s apology has been accepted.
“We are all fathers and we cannot
throw the baby away with the bath water…On behalf of the Senate, I want to
accept your apology. You can take take a bow and leave,” he said.
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