Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, representing Oyo North Senatorial District, engaged in a confrontational exchange with ministerial nominee Bosun Tijani over a non-patriotic tweet he posted more than four years ago. The incident took place during Tijani’s appearance before the Senate for screening on Saturday.

Buhari brought up the old tweet in which Tijani expressed dissatisfaction with the Nigerian passport and the nation as a whole on July 21, 2019. He questioned whether Tijani still held those beliefs about Nigeria and its passport.

In response, Tijani, an Information Technology expert from Ogun State, clarified that he is passionate about Nigeria and committed to its development. He admitted that he had tweeted in anger due to a frustrating experience with the Chinese Embassy.

Tijani explained, “I have a second citizen which is a British passport. I was in the UK and I was trying to apply for my Chinese visa because I did not need a visa to every other country. I got to the embassy and I was told that it would take me two days to get my Chinese visa. I was excited. And the gentleman said, what do you do? Where’s your payslip? I said, I run my business. He said, we have to see your bank account statement.”

“I said, I’m happy to provide it, but my business is fully domiciled in Nigeria. The moment I mentioned Nigeria, the gentleman said, you have to do a special check on me. And it was going to take a minimum of two weeks. In anger, I tweeted what you read, which was paraphrased wrongly. One, I’ve also been given a taste of what young people have been doing to all of you as well, which is the tweet you read is just the first part of that tweet. The second part specifically mentioned that for us to lift this country up, we must find a way to correct our image, to project a positive image. Because I don’t want my two young girls to grow up because they’re going to be proud Nigerians, I don’t want them to grow up to experience the same thing. This is something that can be proven.”

Tijani affirmed his strong passion for Nigeria and its development. He emphasized that his actions were driven by his desire for a better future for the country, especially for the sake of his two young daughters who he wants to grow up as proud Nigerians.

As an entrepreneur, Tijani has been actively involved in projects aimed at supporting Nigerian businesses, particularly in the education sector. He stated that his passion and dedication to Nigeria have earned him recognition from notable figures like Mark Zuckerberg and the founder of Twitter.

Additionally, Tijani mentioned that he recently hosted Bill Gates during his visit to Nigeria to discuss opportunities for the country’s youth.

During the Senate screening process, some senators raised concerns about Tijani’s past tweets, but others defended him, acknowledging the youthful exuberance and advocating for forgiveness.

Senator Ishaku Abbo, representing Adamawa North Senatorial District, came to Tijani’s defense, explaining that the nominee’s tweet was born out of a mixture of frustration and love for Nigeria. Senator Solomon Adeola from Ogun West Senatorial District also supported Tijani, urging forgiveness for his youthful exuberance and shortcomings.

However, Tijani’s ordeal didn’t end there as the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Simon Mwadkwon from Plateau North Senatorial District, presented another “non-patriotic” tweet by Tijani from 2021. Similarly, Senate Majority Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central Senatorial District, referred to Tijani as an “EndSARS protester.”

Bamidele highlighted that his own daughter had participated in the EndSARS protests, and he believed that Tijani was speaking up for his generation. He urged the Senate to forgive the nominee, emphasizing that President Tinubu wanted to collaborate with young people like Tijani to harness their ideas for the country’s improvement.

Tijani apologized for his non-patriotic tweets, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio accepted the apology on behalf of the Senate. He expressed that, as fathers, they should not disregard the potential of young individuals like Tijani. The nominee was then granted the opportunity to take a bow.