Ibrahim Suleiman: Constant Retweeters Lack Originality

Nollywood actor Ibrahim Suleiman recently sparked a debate on social media by stating that people who consistently retweet others’ thoughts instead of sharing their own tend to “lack spine.” This comment, shared on his X account on May 22, 2024, drew mixed reactions from his followers.

Suleiman’s original post read: “Beware of people whose TLs are full of them constantly retweeting the thoughts and opinions of others and very few actual tweets of their own. They tend to lack spine.”

This statement prompted various responses. Some users agreed with Suleiman, emphasizing the value of expressing one’s own ideas. One user commented, “Retweeting is easy. Forming and expressing your own ideas? That’s where the real backbone is shown.”

However, others disagreed, pointing out that retweeting can also be a way to support shared opinions without redundancy. A user explained, “The beauty of this app is simply that sometimes, someone has already put together what you would say, what you feel, or what you think, and in that case, there’s no need to tweet it but to retweet in support of that opinion.”

Some reactions were more critical, with one user saying, “Una go just open mouth waaahhh dey talk rubbish. People have a life ok. Not everyone depends on Twitter/X to survive like you,” and another adding, “Hian spine ke?? It’s not that serious for some people.”

In response to the backlash, Suleiman clarified his stance in a follow-up post, highlighting that there is a distinction between “quoting” and “retweeting” and that his original tweet was not meant to be taken as an absolute statement. He concluded with, “But na twitter. So not surprised. Okay, this was fun. Muted.”

Suleiman’s comments have certainly ignited a conversation about originality and expression on social media, reflecting the diverse ways people engage with content online.