In yet another gaffe, presidential aspirant Bola Tinubu said Nigerians like “tweeting on WhatsApp,” a comment suggesting the former Lagos governor could not distinguish between WhatsApp and Twitter, two dominant social media platforms.
Mr Tinubu, during a campaign event at Onikan Stadium on Sunday, decried how Nigeria has not been able to harness its full potential in the area of modern technology, saying he would fix the problem if elected.
“Do you know how many of you tweeting on WhatsApp right now? [intelligle] holds a database of 1.6 billion on WhatsApp alone.”
Mr Tinubu, however, failed to correct himself and specify that WhatsApp is a messaging platform owned by Meta and its estimated users stand at two billion as of the end of 2021, the largest worldwide.
On the other hand, Twitter is a microblogging platform used by politicians, journalists, businesses, and everyday citizens to comment on emerging issues and causes.
Mr Tinubu’s mixture of both platforms marks another instance of his embarrassing public statements, which experts said could be a sign of mental health challenges.
The 70-year-old politician said last year that the Nigerian military should recruit 50 million youths to fight unemployment, a statement his handlers later walked back.
Earlier this year, he was caught on camera appearing to urinate on his body. He also said the permanent voter cards have an expiry date, contrary to public knowledge and the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Mt Tinubu’s age has been a subject of public controversy as some politicians who have known him for decades past insist he should be in his 80s and not 70s as he’s officially claiming.
He, however, maintained that he’s in good health and can govern 200 million Nigerians successfully if elected, with his supporters often pointing to President Muhammadu Buhari, who assumed office and spent months in hospital, as an indication of what’s possible.
