When Enori dropped an apology video, I saw that a lot of people were praising her for admitting she was wrong. Then those people started tagging
@itelNigeria and pleading that they forgive the girl.
The same thing is playing out in Deriko's case. Several people have been tagging
@TonyOElumelu and pleading for mercy.
But you see...
All of you pleading on behalf of these boys and girls are the real cankerworms.
You're the ones providing a breeding ground for these fatuous, asinine behavior that doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.
Now look at the screenshot below: that's another id!ọt in the making!
And you all emboldened these people.
You all are the ones always pleading for them and making them feel like heroes when they apologize.
You all are the ones quoting their defamatory posts, liking them, commenting on them, and retweeting them.
You all are the ones engaging their apology videos: quoting, retweeting them, and commenting on them.
And wetin concern Elon...
At the end of the day, Enori will still get paid handsomely from those defamatory statements, theatrical apologies and inane damage control posts that you all continue to engage. Deriko will still get paid a lot of money from those millions of views you all are helping him amass.
So, they're basically still rewarded for their bad behaviors. And you all are the ones who make it possible.
I mean, even if you want to react to such posts, just screenshot them and make a standalone post that doesn't directly help their own post? The attention is what they want in the first place, so starve them of it.
Please nobody should plead for these people again!
Or else, more of them will keep sprouting, like the guy in this screenshot, and YOU might be their next victim.🫵🏽
Anyway....
Stay sharp 🪒
Not every mistake should be erased because people online start pleading.
I have seen many people tagging Mr. Tony Elumelu and asking him to forgive the young boy over statements made about his family. I have also seen reports/videos that the boy’s family has apologised on his behalf.
Apologies matter, but so do consequences.
We have to stop normalising the idea that someone can make serious, unverified claims about another person online, face backlash, receive public pleas for forgiveness, and then simply move on, only for the cycle to repeat with someone else.
Growing up, my parents taught us to respect people, mind our business, and understand that our actions have consequences. If we ever got ourselves into serious trouble through our own actions, they made it clear that we would have to face the consequences ourselves. That lesson stayed with my siblings and me.
Mr. Elumelu will ultimately decide how he wants to handle this matter. But personally, I believe accountability should be taken seriously. If the law establishes that an offence was committed, the appropriate legal process should take its course.
Young people need to understand that having a phone, an audience and internet access does not make every statement consequence-free.
Freedom to speak comes with responsibility for what you choose to put into the world.