Earlier this month, the Nigerian government banned Twitter from the Nigerian social media space. This has led to a downturn for many businesses in the country. Many businesses use Twitter as a means of advertising. Meanwhile, individuals who are established as brand influencers have been unable to work.
One major benefit of the platform is its fast rate of spreading information. Protests have been held successfully in the country due to the level of coordination on the platform.
This fact has not gone unnoticed by the present government. Hence, they have used this means to shut down the voices of the masses. Although the government stated that the Twitter ban is temporary, its end is not yet in sight. Consequently, the people have resorted to using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to stay on the micro blogging platform.
The government’s stand
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed informed the citizens that they should develop a replacement for the banned Twitter. He made this statement before the House of Representatives Committee as he defended the government’s decision.
In his words,
“I think this is a very good opportunity for our very resourceful Nigerians to also look at how they can have an app that can replace Twitter. And this app will be patronized by all of us. We have received a few approaches and we want to encourage them.”
Mohammed also attempted to discourage Nigerians from using VPN to gain access to Twitter since the ban was placed on June 5.
“My advice to anybody using VPN is to stop it because it exposes your entire data, including your bank account. So, if you are using VPN and you think you are hurting Lai Mohammed, you are hurting yourself.”
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However, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami , had also ordered the prosecution of any Nigerian caught using Twitter.
Reactions to Lai Mohammed’s statement
Armsfree Ajanaku said, ‘’This is how the government continues to think in reverse. So, they had to ban the available one before thinking of a homegrown one. Vagabonds in power.’’
Fazlur Bolaji Jegede commented, ‘’It is now that Nigerians are resourceful especially the youths. They are no more lazy.’’
Abdulakeem Busari said, ‘’What happened to UTAS, the homegrown payment platform developed by ASUU? E don enter voicemail.’’
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Taio ‘laBiyi commented, ‘’And what’s the guarantee that whatever app developed by Nigerians will be free from the gag and muzzle of your old brains?’’
Generally, Nigerians have called on the government to lift the ban on Twitter for the sake of their businesses. The government has also been advised not to hinder the growth of her citizens. If they are unable to provide a better means of livelihood for the people, they should not quench the ones the people struggle to provide for themselves.
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