Astha Rajvanshi, a Time’s reporter, has come under fire for writing the citation of Bola Tinubu, the president-elect of Nigeria, in the 2023 issue of the magazine’s 100 most influential people.

In the report, Rajvanshi described Tinubu as a “longtime political power broker”, who has had nearly two decades to prepare for the presidential election. 

She said the former governor of Lagos is “aware of his inheritance” in the form of a “litany of crises in a fractured nation, including deep-rooted corruption, religious insurgencies, and shortages of cash, fuel, and power in a crumbling economy”.

But at the release of the magazine’s issue on Thursday, several Nigerians, particularly supporters of Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), known as Obidients, subjected the journalist to intense criticism. 

With deluge of vitriol on her timeline, Rajvanshi resorted to locking her account on Twitter but the battering continued on her Facebook and Instagram pages.

Rajvanshi was accused of laundering the image of Tinubu, while some others called her “the promoter of a man that rendered families hopeless due to heroin trafficking”.

Below are some of the reactions on Twitter

Theodore(Dr) B.Mls, MPH, D.Epi

@DrTheodo

Poor @astharajvanshi , Nigerians have made her lock all her accounts.

Dear Astha Rajvanshi, I hope you understand why Nigerians are at rage with you and the Time Magazine.

Bola Tinubu was INDICTED for heroine trafficking and money laundering in Chicago Illinois USA which he had.

Samspace

@officialsaspace

Dear @TIME, it is reasonably understandable that this is a paid ad and promotion but in what measure is the evidence of this write up by Astha Rajvanshi based on?

Let’s be Factual. Is it his influence on drugs & narcotic pushing?

Mindset

@mindset_tweet

No amount of PR from Astha Rajvanshi will change the fact that Tinubu was indicted for dealing Drugs in the US.

Anti-Agbado!

@Oserume1

ASTHA RAJVANSHI stays in India and she is doing image laundering for Tinubu, will she vote for #TinubuTheDrugDealer to be President of India with all she knows about Tinubu??

After doing the dirty work for Tinubu, she locked her account, she does not want any backlash...

Martini®

@MartinOkonkwo

It's ideal that the professional circle of Astha Rajvanshi @astharajvanshi know that she is a promoter of a man that rendered families hopeless due to Heroin trafficking.

Putting the message out on LinkedIn will do it.