Nigerian social media users have lambasted Tolu Ogunlesi, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, following his interview with CNN regarding the Twitter ban.
The anchor of the show, Larry Madowo, had asked if the reason behind the Twitter ban was because the Nigerian President’s tweet was deleted by the platform but Ogunlesi couldn’t give a coherent answer.
Tolu Ogunlesi also stuttered when asked if he supports the Twitter ban.
Madowo wrote on Twitter after the interview: “4 months after Nigeria banned Twitter, President Buhari adviser @toluogunlesi strongly defended the decision to me on @OneWorldCNN.
“But he wouldn’t say explicitly that he supports the ban, even when I pushed.”
Nigerian tweeps have however taken a swipe at the presidential aide for stammering during the interviews.
According to them, he failed to intelligently answer the questions due to his loyalty to the repressive government of Nigerian under Muhammadu Buhari.
Below are some of their reactions:
In June, the Nigerian government announced the suspension of the popular microblogging site from Nigeria, citing activities that allegedly threaten the country’s corporate existence on the platform.
The ban came a day after Twitter deleted Buhari’s tweet threatening to deal with Igbo youths “in the language they understand”.
The tweet was deemed genocidal as it referenced the onslaught of the Nigerian state against Biafrans during the civil war.
Since then, Nigerians can only access the site by bypassing the government’s obstruction via Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
Attorney-General Abubakar Malami had earlier threatened to prosecute those who continue to use the platform but made a U-turn, saying only corporate entities were liable for prosecution.
Following the global condemnation of the Twitter ban in Nigeria as well as other diplomatic interventions, the Buhari regime set up a panel to negotiate terms upon which the ban would be lifted in Nigeria.
