Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has come under fire for using the micro-blogging platform, Twitter despite the suspension of the platform by the Nigerian Government.
The governor who took to his Twitter page on Wednesday was replying to a tweep praising him over his performance as the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The tweep wrote, “I really wish we will get more @elrufai in politics. The man left FCT and till date, the Federal Capital Territory has not been able to have another FCT minister that’s close to the shoe latchet of Elrufai in terms of courage, administration, performance & focus. 14 years ago o.”
El-Rufai, who quoted the tweet, said, “This is an exaggerated compliment @dmightyangel but thank you for some of the words of encouragement. God Bless our nation. – @elrufai.”
Meanwhile, one of the governor’s Twitter followers asked if he had used the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access Twitter due to the suspension in place, but the governor replied, “VPN? Nope……outside Nigeria for a couple of days, so can tweet for the time being…[email protected]”
The response has since attracted the outrage of Nigerians who said the freedom of speech was only attainable outside the country.
A tweep, @Chydec1 wrote, “When you have to leave Nigeria to enjoy freedom of expression, really speaks a lot about the type of government in Nigeria presently.
“At least people like you who have the means to travel outside get to enjoy good Governance but fail to replicate what you enjoy here.”
When you have to leave Nigeria to enjoy freedom of expression, really speaks a lot about the type of government in Nigeria presently.
At least people like you who have the means to travel outside get to enjoy good Governance but fail to replicate what you enjoy here ð¥ð¤
— Winners Avenue only (@Chydec1) November 10, 2021
Another user, @Mrflaiirr noted, “Hello @elrufai , the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria banned Twitter so whether you are outside Nigeria or not, you are supposed to honor the ban. There is no justification for what you have done Sir, apologize to the president and delete ur account.”
Hello @elrufai , the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria banned Twitter so whether you are outside Nigeria or not, you are supposed to honor the ban. There is no justification for what you have done Sir, apologize to the president and delete ur account.
— Schrodinger (@Mrflaiirr) November 10, 2021
Another user @UchePOkoye stated, “You had to leave Nigeria to be able to tweet.
So you have been wanting to tweet but couldn’t and you never said anything.
“So the only place we can be to express ourselves on this app is outside Nigeria.”
One of the #EndSARS campaigners, Rinu Oduala said, “The only place you get freedom of speech is outside Nigeria”.
However, the governor was quick to respond to Rinu by stating, “Wrong @SavvyRinu! Conflating Twitter with ‘freedom of speech’ is a significant exaggeration. Freedoms of many descriptions existed before and without Twitter, and will remain long after!! Enjoy your day.”
Wrong @SavvyRinu! Conflating Twitter with âfreedom of speechâ is a significant exaggeration. Freedoms of many descriptions existed before and without Twitter, and will remain long after!! Enjoy your day. https://t.co/lzrFMT1JjB
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) November 10, 2021
The Nigerian government banned the use of microblogging site, Twitter in Nigeria on June 4, 2021, which attracted condemnations from inside and outside the country.
Some countries, groups and prominent individuals have described the ban as a gross violation of human rights.
And the country has been adversely affected as experts have noted that the impact of the Twitter ban can be felt in all aspects of socioeconomic growth.
