Well, not the power you know anyways. The hashtag #Tariq has been trending for the better part or yesterday and today the 27th of January. And not for the reasons you think.
A Twitter Space by name @SecureTheTribe sprung up across the Twitter sphere with an unsavoury agenda led by one Tariq Nasheed. The topic? To discuss and hurl distasetful xenophobic comments at Africans under the banner of pro- “Foundational Black Americanism” (whatever that term even means). The claim? African immigrants are stealing Black American jobs.
The beauty of the Internet is that it is an interactive space with varying views, experiences and minds. And that beauty presented itself by galvanising Africans, mostly Nigerians (our continent’s Big Brother) to counter the disuniting rhetoric of Tariq Nasheed.
If there is one thing we can count on, it is the uniting bulldozing force of Nigerians on Twitter. We love a good drag and this one had Tariq and his cohorts quartered by the ankles.
It is our hope that such xenophobic sentiments are not allowed to fester. The beauty of being a varied melanated people is that for all our differences, cultures and customs, we can agree to disagree.
Check out Twitter responses below from #Tariq:
