The Federal Government, last week, indicated its intention to open discussions with Twitter on the controversial ban following the social media giant’s decision to resolve amicably the lingering face-off with the Nigerian Government .
On the Presidential Committee’s team led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Onyeama; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, among others.
President Muhammadu Buhari had announced the constitution of the Committee on a day the National Assembly took the Minister of Information, Mohammed, on for explanations on what actually led to the indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. The Minister had insisted that the Federal Government was right in banning the activities of the micro-blogging giant, alleging that the activities of Twitter were threats to Nigeria’s security.
There had been widespread condemnations of the Federal Government’s clampdown on Twitter operations in the country as many believe that the decision was an outright violation of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians. to association.
An ECOWAS court has also condemned the action of the Federal Government even as the international community refused to accept the reasons given by the Federal Government. The fear is that the country’s democracy is taking a dangerous dimension with the freedom of association, speech and expression as well as the principles guaranteed and enshrined under Articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights being infringed upon.
However, the Minister of Information has insisted that the ban would not be lifted until Twitter is formally registered in Nigeria as a corporate entity with a promise to fulfil all accompanying financial obligations and operate in line with the laws of Nigeria.
He also maintained that the Federal Government was rather protecting the corporate interest of the country as he threatened to ban other social media platforms if they fail to register their operations as businesses with the authorities in Nigeria.
While THEWILL is not out to apportion blame in the controversial ban, which, undoubtedly, has affected a lot of Nigerians, especially those who use Twitter for their businesses, we are glad that an olive branch has been extended by the micro-blogging giant with Nigeria also agreeing to dialogue towards ensuring the resolution of the matter.
We are also happy that the Federal Government has listened to the voice of reason to dialogue with Twitter to resolve the issue at hand rather than being adamant by insisting on the indefinite ban.
We also want to commend Twitter for the maturity it has exhibited so far as confrontation would lead to no where. It is necessary to note that Nigeria and Nigerians need Twitter just as Twitter also needs Nigerians. The losses that have been incurred on both sides since the face-off started cannot be over-emphasised, especially in this age of digital economy. While we prefer control to prevent abuse of the social media of which Twitter is a part, we emphatically say NO to any attempt to stifle it.
Nigerians, we believe, should strive to use the social media positively instead of the abuse to which it is being subjected to in the country. The Federal Government should also weigh the options available to it first before jumping into conclusion or embarking on actions that would trigger unnecessary backlash. We believe that the Federal Government cannot afford to shut Nigerians out of the global space in this digital age.
As we look forward to the eventual resolution of the crisis, we want to believe that one or two lessons must have been learnt on both sides . Nigerians should strive to use the social media for national development instead of the destructive tendencies that are being exhibited through the various platforms by some mischievous Nigerians.
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