Popular Nollywood actress, Bimbo Akintola, has said that her decision to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the 2023 general election was influenced by what she described as the consistent online bullying of people who held different political views.
She explained in a conversation with Chude Jideonwo that she became upset after seeing Nigerians attack others, including veteran actress Joke Silva, simply because they expressed their preferred candidates.
According to her, the level of hostility pushed her to openly reaffirm her position, as she felt deeply troubled by the intensity of harassment directed at those who supported another candidate.
The actress stressed that Nigerians need to respect each other’s opinions, pointing out that disagreement is normal and contributes to the nation’s diversity.
She noted that although some people may still believe Tinubu was not the best choice, her decision at the time reflected her own conviction and the candidate she personally chose to vote for.
She said, “Somebody annoyed me; Nigerians annoyed me. Don’t bully other people. We have our right to different opinions. Don’t you like this man? Fine. You have the right not to like him. Do you prefer this person? Good for you. They bullied Aunty Joke to the point that somebody wrote something that offended me so deeply. I now did a video saying, you know what, I’m going for the same person; kill me. Let me see you change my mind with the bully.
“We need to stop it. We need to understand that we can never agree with everybody. That’s what makes us great. That’s what makes us beautiful, makes us different. If we were all the same, it would be a boring life. Till tomorrow, you might not agree he is the best person for the job, but at that point, that is who I wanted; that is who I voted for.”
