<blockquote><b>Ahm well, so I, I, I, you know, I am not, you know, I am: Tolu Ogunlesi suffers to defend Buharis Twitter ban<br></b><br><br>Mr Ogunlesi appeared on a CNN segment with Larry Madowo on Wednesday, where he was asked whether he was in support of the ban or not.<br><br>Tolu Ogunlesi, a new media aide to PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, tried unsuccessfully to defend the regimes illegal and indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.<br><br>Mr Ogunlesi appeared on a CNN segment with Larry Madowo on Wednesday, where he was asked whether he was in support of the ban or not.<br><br>Ahm well, so I, I, I, you know, Im not, you know, the government of Nigeria has made a decision.<br><br>You know aah.. and for me, no its so, Im not sure thats the question you should be asking me, Mr Ogunlesi said as the host pushed him to give a yes or no response.<br><br>I think its a win-win actually for both twitter and the government of Nigeria.<br><br>Thats certainly the view I get out of the um negotiations. Its a win-win for both parties and ehm, Im happy about that'<br><br>Mr Madowo quickly pushed back that the unconstitutional and repressive measure could not have been a win-win as Mr Ogunlesi suggested because Nigerians have already deployed VPNs to bypass the restriction and continue to use Twitter to carry out their businesses and comment on state policies.<br><br>Following the ban in Nigeria on June 4, Mr Ogunlesi and fellow supporters of the Buhari-led regime, including Bashir Ahmad, Ajuri Ngelale, Philip Obin, Abubakar Sidiq Usman, stopped using Twitter to engage online.<br><br>They moved to , an Indian social networking platform used by less than 200,000 of Nigerias over 200 million population.<br><br>Information minister Lai Mohammed, while announcing the suspension in a press statement on June 4, said Twitter activities were capable of undermining Nigerias national security and corporate existence.<br><br>The ban was ordered days after Twitter removed Mr Buharis tweet for threatening genocide against Nigerians of Igbo ethnic group who have long oppossed his sectional and exclusive government.<br><br>Attorney-General Abubakar Malami also said the ban was ordered because using Twitter in Nigeria was seditious, a claim that has been condemned by rights activists.<br><br>Since the ban in June, Nigerian government officials had been in a series of meetings with Twitter, but neither party would disclose the details of ongoing discussions.<br><br>Twitter, however, assured repeatedly to Peoples Gazette that the talks have been cordial and fruitful.<br><br>Mr Ogunlesi, an opinion writer and former critic of the political elite, quickly switched sides when he was asked to be one of the presidents dozens of new media assistants in 2016.<br><br>He has continued to defend the governments actions, even when they conflict with his previously-held positions.<br><br>Following the murder of at least nine #EndSARS protesters in Lagos on October 20, 2020, Mr Ogunlesi disappeared from social media.<br><br>He, however, returned a few weeks later to continue his service to the Buhari regime, beginning first with a Medium article that many readers criticised as a show of support for the soldiers brutality.</blockquote><br><a rel=ugc href="https://gazettengr.com/ahm-well-so-i-i-i-you-know-i-am-not-you-know-i-am-tolu-ogunlesi-suffers-to-defend-buharis-twitter-ban/'utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost">https://gazettengr.com/ahm-well-so-i-i-i-you-know-i-am-not-you-know-i-am-tolu-ogunlesi-suffers-to-defend-buharis-twitter-ban/'utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost</a>
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