The Nigerian Government “Conditionally” Lifts The Twitter Ban

Close to 4 months after the Nigerian Government placed a ban on micro-blogging site, Twitter, the President of the West African country, Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the conditional lifting of the suspension.

Techbooky recalls that the Nigerian authorities on June 6, 2021 ordered the halt of Twitter operations in the country, premising its decision on unwholesome activities of the Social media giant that sought to undermine the corporate existence of the country.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed had hinged the government decision on Twitter  bias and encouragement to those who sought to put the country in flames, a reference to the tweets of separatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu being allowed to hold sway on the platform. The angst of the government was reportedly further fuelled with the deletion of a tweet by President Buhari where he promised to deal with those burning government facilities in the South-Eastern region of the country in the language they understand and making reference to the Nigerian Civil War where many Nigerians lost their lives. Twitter deleted the tweet saying it violated its platform rules, much to the consternation of the President and Nigerian government officials.

Twitter reportedly reached out to the Nigerian government in a bid to solve the impasse, with the country’s Minister Information affirming recently that talks between the Nigerian authorities and Twitter is progressing.

In a nationwide broadcast marking the 61^st independence anniversary of Nigeria, President Buhari described the social media as a very useful platform but said he regretted that some persons with untoward intentions have misused the platform to organize, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.

In the exact words of the President:

“Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialize, and access news and other information.

“However, recent events have shown that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination.

“Rather some users have misused the platform to organize, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.

 “To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these challenges.

“Following the suspension of Twitter operations, Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria to resolve the impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue.

“The Committee, along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and has addressed a number of key issues. These are National Security and Cohesion; Registration, Physical presence and Representation; Fair Taxation; Dispute Resolution; and Local Content.

“Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.

“As a country, we are committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of our citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.”

The suspension of the micro-blogging platform may have come with a huge price as according to a figure released in August by NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool, Nigeria lost about $366.88 million, equivalent to 150.46 billion in Nigeria Naira as a result of the ban.

According to NCST, it costs the economy of Nigeria  $250,600 equivalent to 102.77 million in Naira every hour to ban Twitter.

The NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool in their report said they estimated the economic impact of an internet disruption, mobile data blackout or app restriction in a nation using indicators from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Eurostat and U.S. Census to arrive at their figure.

The ban which was announced in June has elicited reactions and widespread criticism globally on its effect of freedom of expression and ease of doing business in the West African country.

It is hoped that this new agreement between the Nigerian authorities and Twitter will be for the common good of the populace and not inhibit freedom of expression.