No More Twitter. What’s Next?

Most Nigerians woke up to find their Twitter feed not refreshing last Saturday, meaning the Federal Government had enforced its directive to suspend Twitter operations in Nigeria, writes Vanessa Obioha

Confirming the action, the professional body of telecommunication operators in Nigeria, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) announced that it officially received instructions from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to block access to Twitter although it clarified its stance on the matter, which was in line with the United Nations position that people’s rights to communicate and share information freely and responsibly both offline and online should be protected and respected.

While some Nigerians used VPN — a virtual private network that encrypts internet traffic and identity, making it difficult for you to be traced by third parties — to access the microblogging site and condemned the act by the government, they received yet another shocking news by the government. This time, the country’s Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami was the messenger.

Malami ordered the immediate prosecution of individuals and corporations who defy the government’s ban on Twitter operations, according to his spokesman Umar Gwandu.

“Malami directed the DPPF to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay.”

By Sunday, the National Broadcasting Commission which was also directed to commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria ordered all broadcast stations in the country to cease patronising the social media platform.

With all these pronouncements, it became apparent to Nigerians that the government was waging war against the people’s freedom to express themselves, a trait of dictatorship.

What, however, that is yet to be ascertained is if these sanctions will be obeyed or will the people use their power to protest the actions of the government.

Again, for the prosecution of defaulters of the Twitter ban, what punishment will they be given? More importantly, is it achievable?

Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms in Nigeria. According to Statista, it accounted for 61.4 per cent of Nigerians who accessed social networking sites in Nigeria in the last quarter of 2020. The users fall between the ages of 16 and 64.

Young citizens find the platforms an avenue to air their agitations over unfriendly government policies as well as hold the government accountable.

But for an autocratic government, such freedom undermines its influence, thus, any form of criticism is seen as an attack on its person.

The advent of social media platforms, no doubt, helped in closing gaps of communication and information dissemination in traditional media. A good number of media organisations in Nigeria used platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to gather and disseminate information. As such, Twitter

is one of the sources of information for both citizens and media organisations.

But like every technology advancement, it has its drawbacks which sometimes outweigh the benefits, particularly when it threatens the security of a nation. It is a thriving ground for purveyors of misinformation and disinformation, sometimes employed by political rivals and rebels to undermine the efforts of a ruling government or create chaos. A good example was the #EndSARS protests that happened last year. A good number of images and posts shared on the platform on the night the alleged Lekki shooting happened turned out to be fake news. More so was the viral audio credited to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu ordered Igbos to destroy the properties belonging to the South-west people. The post deliberately incited ethnic discord as the Igbos were alleged to be responsible for the attacks on government properties.

The lack of gatekeepers in the platform is worrisome not only to media organisations but to governments as well. For instance, since the 2016 election, US Congress has continuously held founders of these platforms responsible for the promotion of fake news on their platforms.

Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, was among those who didn’t take immediate actions because he found it dangerous for his staff to serve as ‘arbiters of truth’. But the platform has long updated its terms of engagement and began monitoring and removing posts that violate its rules like President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet.

While misinformation and security challenges are some of the reasons governments take drastic actions to restrict or block access to social media site, Nigeria’s scenario looks more like a revenge act. Even if Twitter has been worrisome to the government, its timing did not justify the actions. As far as most Nigerians are concerned, the Twitter ban was purely the case of a bruised ego.

Making matters worse, is the different reasons given for the ban and subsequent steps since the growing condemnation of the Nigerian government’s actions. From the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu calling the ban a temporary one — against the initial announcement that the platform’s operations were suspended indefinitely — to him singling out IPOB as the only insecurity challenge the country faces in his principal’s defence.

According to him, “IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country. Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our country’s civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy,

Since the second tenure of Buhari’s regime, banditry, abductions and farmers-herders clash have taken a new hue, and IPOB is not known for cattle rearing or kidnapping students. So when Shehu ascribes every insecurity challenge to IPOB, one must begin to take the words of Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu seriously that Shehu “works, assiduously, for extraneous interests whose game plan stands at variance with the expectations of genuine lovers of peaceful coexistence among all the peoples whose ethnic extractions are indigenous to Nigeria.”

The pages of the Twitter ban are yet unfolding and subsequent days may unveil more development. Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama told ambassadors of certain countries to Nigeria that the Twitter ban may be lifted if the American microblogging company promises to behave responsibly. Already, an Indian social media app, Koo, which works like Twitter is already eyeing the Nigerian market. But with the disposition of this government to information technology, it is doubtful that the environment will be suitable for foreign investors.

QUOTE

The platform has long updated its terms of engagement and began monitoring and removing posts that violate its rules like President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet.
While misinformation and security challenges are some of the reasons governments take drastic actions to restrict or block access to social media site, Nigeria’s scenario looks more like a revenge act. Even if Twitter has been worrisome to the government, its timing did not justify the actions. As far as most Nigerians are concerned, the Twitter ban was purely the case of a bruised ego