By 
By Kunle Oladele
Compliance with the Federal Government ban on Twitter appears to be withering as some governors, prominent clerics, and private enterprises including media organisations continue to tweet.
The government suspended Twitter from operating in Nigeria last Friday after the micro blogging site deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. The government had also accused Tweeter of allowing content undermining the country’s corporate existece to be published on its site.
But the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who has over 1.8 million Twitter followers, argued that his church was present across the world and has continued to tweet.
Adeboye, held in high esteem by millions across the globe including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor in the Redeemed Church, tweeted that his actions are justified under the Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
“The Redeemed Christian Church of God is domiciled in more than 170 nations and territories. The tweets here are in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the cleric tweeted.
Article 19 of said document states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
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Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi, founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, made a similar tweet, stating: “In view of the Twitter ban in Nigeria, please note that the content shared on this handle is targeted at a global audience in more than five continents and over 100 nations and we share the content from any of these locations.”
Also, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, a staunch supporter of President Buhari and a leading member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), defied the ban on Twitter even after the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had ordered the arrest and prosecution of anyone found using the social media platform.
El-Rufai on Monday tweeted a RT Op-ed by a Serbian-American journalist, blogger and translator who applauded Nigeria’s recent suspension of Twitter operations in the country. The governor has has over 1.8 million Tweeter followers.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, who in a statement on Saturday, had opposed the Twitter ban saying it will affect investors’ confidence, has continued to tweet in defiance of the order.
Consultation should have preceded action against erring Twitter
“This kind of decision requires consultation. It requires involving leaders and influencers across all spectra of society so that you don’t make a ruling that is unenforceable or deemed to be anti-people,” said one analyst in Lagos.
He added: “There would have been another way to make Twitter accountable without losing the critical support of your own citizens who you need as allies to tame these foreign apps.
“We are now witnessing a scenario that your most formidable allies are now the ones openly saying you err on the part of law. Soon, the bandwagon effect follows and then, what next? The governors are tweeting. The clerics are tweeting. The media are tweeting. The constitution does not forbid them the right to tweet.”
But the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has warned that government will take action. His words: “The attorney-general has made it clear that if anyone violates the regulation, that such person will be prosecuted. I think it is the right of the attorney-general to decide who to prosecute.”
Ban violates freedom of expression – Envoys
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, this week in Abuja, met with envoys of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Republic of Ireland and the European Union in Nigeria.
All the envoys insisted that the Twitter ban violates freedom of expression.
“We recognise the official position of the Nigerian government on the responsible use of social media but we remain firm in our position that free access to information is very important and perhaps more important during troubled times,” said US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, on behalf of the five envoys.
