Ambassador Abdul Dabatule, President of the Northern Nigerian Youth, has given a 48-hour ultimatum to popular social media personality and activist, Martins Vincent Otse known as VeryDarkMan, demanding a public apology for his comments regarding the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar.
The controversy erupted after VeryDarkMan openly challenged a recent remark by the Sultan, who described the social media as a “terrorist organization.”
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Reacting to Sultan of Sokoto’s remark, VeryDarkMan in a video on Instagram on Thursday faulted the reverred religious leader’s comments.
Defending his stance, VeryDarkMan said that social media has become a platform for civic engagement, transparency, and freedom of speech, asserting that it should not be associated with terrorism.
He said: “With all due respect do the sultan of sokoto it is really offensive to my likes that you would call social media a terrorist organization, as a first class king and a father you should do more research on social media anyways now that I am certain that you watch and use social media I have a message for you to pass across to the authorities, God bless you sir.”
His rebuttal, however, has sparked backlash from various quarters in Northern Nigeria, where many view his statements as disrespectful to a revered traditional and religious leader.
Reacting to VeryDarkMan’s remarks, Ambassador Dabatule criticized the activist’s response, labeling it as disrespectful and unbecoming towards a highly esteemed traditional leader.
He emphasized the importance of showing regard for cultural and religious institutions, particularly when addressing figures of such stature as the Sultan of Sokoto.
“We want VeryDarkMan to quickly withdraw his statement and apologize to the Sultan of Sokoto. We, the Northern Nigerians, are giving him 48 hours to do that,” Dabatule said.
