#TwitterBan: Buhari’s Government Has Thin Skin For Criticism – Ozekhome

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, says the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has thin skin for criticism and cannot take ‘punches.’

This is in reaction to the Federal Government’s announcement placing a ban on Twitter operations in the country.

Ozekhome in a statement on Friday titled, ‘When A Tottering Government Twiddles Twitter’ said the government is trying to cover its atrocities from global exposure with its decision to suspend Twitter in the country.

“The Nigerian Government through the Information Minister, Mr Lai Mohammed, suspended indefinitely, operations of the Micro-blogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.

“It was a retaliatory action against Twitter for humiliating President Buhari based on his incendiary statement against protesting Nigerians.

“Well, I am not surprised that the Federal Government has suspended Twitter operations in Nigeria. I have always said that this Government has a very thin skin for criticism. It is a government that cannot take punches, but delights in always giving punches to adversaries, real or imaginary,” the human rights lawyer said.

He lamented that Nigerians will suffer the decision of the government and not the microblogging site.

“What does Nigerian government think Twitter loses by being suspended? It is just the Nigerian people that will suffer. There are well over 300 million people across the world that use Twitter. So Twitter will not feel it. It is just like a drop of water in an oasis. Twitter will not even know that a country has suspended it.”

He also called on the Federal Government not to stop at just banning Twitter operations in Nigeria but “dissolve” citizens and get new people in their place.

“My humble appeal to this Government is that it should go further than this. It should actually suspend or dissolve the Nigerian people which it has become so allergic to and no longer wants to see or hear about.

“Then, it can now go ahead to elect or select another people in place of the present Nigerians who appear to have become a nuisance to it. I am very ashamed of this government,” he said.