A British journalist, Christopher Wilson, sparked outrage among many Nigerians with a now-deleted tweet.
In the tweet, Wilson compared Nigerians to Nazis for welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to Nigeria, igniting widespread condemnation.
The three-day visit of Prince Harry and Meghan to Nigeria attracted significant attention and reactions worldwide.
“Desperate to show his wife they were still ‘royal’ in the eyes of the world, the Duke of Windsor took Wallis on a tour of Germany in 1937. Nigeria’s human rights record is not far short of Nazi Germany’s,” Wilson posted on Tuesday.
Wilson, author of ‘A Greater Love: Charles and Camilla,’ was referring to Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who became the wife of King Edward VIII.
Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Simpson.
The monarch’s decision to marry Simpson, a divorcée, triggered a constitutional crisis, leading to Edward’s abdication from the throne in December 1936.
After their marriage, they became known as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
The couple travelled extensively, and notably, they visited Adolf Hitler at his Berghof retreat in Bavaria, Nazi Germany, in October 1937.
Markle, an American divorcee, married Prince Harry in 2018.
However, the couple announced their decision to step back from their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California, United States. Despite their move, they retained their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
When confronted for comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany, Wilson referenced a 2023 report from the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
The report he cited highlights human rights abuses in Nigeria, including extrajudicial killings, torture, harsh prison conditions and arbitrary arrests, among others.
The post sparked criticism and backlash from Nigerians and netizens.
On X.com, @wukster2, who tweets anonymously, wrote, “How did we become Nazis @TheWislon? You are so triggered by Harry and Meghan that you have resorted to comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany. Meghan Markle’s power over mediocre white men and women needs to be studied. We need a global conference.”
A tweep, Faith Harvest, who identifies as @harvest_fa77000 on X, wrote, “Desperate? Nah, there is no comparison. Try as they may to liken Meghan to Wallis Simpson, Meghan is no Wallis and Harry is certainly not an abdicated king with sympathies to Hitler, and as far as human rights records, Christopher Wilson needs to read up on his own history!”
On Arise TV’s The Morning Show, journalist, Rufai Oseni, also voiced his criticism.
“These people are racist. This is the height of racism. He’s just so jealous because Harry and Megan came to Nigeria and they got relevance and it’s in your face it’s going to hurt you to the very end. I hope that this racism eats your bile up and it continues to eat you because we can’t continue this way. How would you relate them to what happened in Nazi Germany?
“The scenarios are different very different. These people came for a worthy cause in Nigeria which is the Invictus game, to be able to support veterans. Harry has built a brand with this Invictus game that goes around the world and has supported a lot of veterans and that’s something worth celebrating but because of the hatred and the bile that you have against this guy just let him be,” Oseni said.
Glow Lee, who tweets as @GlowanneLee, said, “Christopher Wilson is a royalist journalist critical of Meghan from the beginning and has just compared Nigeria to Nazi Germany. This is the mentality of the hard-core royalist. If they can say these things on Twitter, what would they say off it?”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the capital city of Abuja last Friday and were pictured at a range of engagements over the weekend.
The official purpose of the trip was to celebrate the Invictus Games, Harry’s tournament for wounded soldiers in Nigeria.