Nigeria’s Twitter ban leaves some businesses in the lurch

Lagos-based entrepreneur Ogechi Egemonu was selling more than 500,000 naira ($1,219) worth of watches, shoes and handbags on Twitter per week.

Now, with the site suspended by the Nigerian government, Egemonu does not know how she will cope.

“Social media is where I eat,” she told Reuters. “I depend on social media for my livelihood.”

Scores of small and medium-sized businesses across Africa’s most populous nation – and largest economy – are reeling from the indefinite suspension of the social media site.

Nigeria announced the suspension on June 4, days after the platform removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional separatists. Most telecommunications sites have since blocked access.

NOI Polls estimates that 39.6 million Nigerians use Twitter – 20% of them for business advertisement and 18% to look for employment. Experts warn its lack of ready availability – it is accessible using Virtual Private Networks that mask location – could ripple across the economy.

“The ban has significant collateral damage,” said Muda Yusuf, director general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, who said that a “sizeable number of citizens” use Twitter to make a living.

REVENUE LOSS

Parliament’s minority caucus warned the suspension was costing Nigerians “billions of naira on a daily basis.”

Dumebi Iyeke, a research analyst with the Financial Derivatives Company, said it would hit young Nigerians – among whom there is a 45% unemployment rate – the hardest.

“We are looking at a potential loss in their revenue,” Iyeke said, adding that it could further lower living standards amid high inflation.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed last week said that all social media sites must register a local entity and get a license to operate. He cited complaints over lost money as proof that the ban was effective, but said other sites are still available.

($1 = 410.0900 naira)

By Nneka Chile

(Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram and Libby George in Lagos. Writing by Libby George;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

WTVB

Related stories: Biden Administration Calls On Nigeria To Reverse Twitter Ban

Trump congratulates Nigeria for Twitter ban, says more countries should do the same

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Biden Administration Calls On Nigeria To Reverse Twitter Ban

The Biden State Department on Thursday called on Nigeria to restore its citizens’ access to Twitter after the government blocked the site in retaliation for deleting a tweet posted by the Nigerian president.

The U.S. “condemns the ongoing suspension of Twitter by the Nigerian government and subsequent threats to arrest and prosecute Nigerians who use Twitter,” the State Department said in a statement.

Free expression and access to information are “foundational to prosperous and secure democratic societies,” the agency added.

The department called on the Nigerian government to “respect its citizens’ right to freedom of expression by reversing this suspension.”

TANGENT

The Biden administration statement is a noticeable contrast with former President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday called on other countries to follow Nigeria’s lead and ban Twitter, as well as Facebook. “More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook,” Trump said in a statement, adding “perhaps I should have done it while I was president.” Trump was kicked off of Twitter and Facebook in January following the Capitol riot. Facebook last week said Trump would remain off the platform for two years, before his ban would be revisited. Twitter’s suspension of Trump is permanent.
 

SURPRISING FACT

Nigeria is one of four countries that have banned Twitter, including China, North Korea, and Iran.
 

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Unduly restricting the ability of Nigerians to report, gather, and disseminate opinions and information has no place in a democracy,” the State Department said.
 

KEY BACKGROUND

The Nigerian government banned Twitter on Friday after the social media platform deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari that it said violated its “abusive behavior” policy. The tweet compared the brutal Nigerian Civil War of the 1960s to the slew of attacks by Nigerian separtist groups against offices in the southeast area of the country. “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” Buhari wrote in the now-deleted tweet. Those “who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.” Twitter blocked Buhari’s access for 12 hours and ordered him to delete the tweet. After access to Twitter was restricted by the government, Nigerian Attorney General Abubakar Malami ordered the Ministry of Justice to prosecute those who violated the ban.
BIG NUMBER

40 million. That’s the estimated number of Nigerians who used Twitter before the ban. Buhari’s account, which is still active, has 4.1 million followers.
CHIEF CRITIC

“We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria,” Twitter said in a statement. “Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.”

Forbes

Related stories: Trump congratulates Nigeria for Twitter ban, says more countries should do the same

Trump congratulates Nigeria for Twitter ban, says more countries should do the same

Today, former President Donald Trump issued a statement supporting the Nigerian government’s decision to suspend Twitter activities in the West African country.

“Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President,” he said in the statement.

The ex-President also encouraged other countries to follow in Nigeria’s footsteps and ban Twitter and Facebook.

“More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech — all voices should be heard. In the meantime, competitors will emerge and take hold. Who are they to dictate good and evil if they themselves are evil? Perhaps I should have done it while I was President. But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was. 2024?” he added.

Trump’s approval is coming days after Nigeria suspended Twitter indefinitely last Friday. The government made the judgment days after Twitter deleted Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet for violating its abusive behaviour policy and several calls by Nigerians to take it down. His tweet threatened punishment on secessionists in the southeastern part of the country.

Although the Nigerian President, via his spokesperson, later declared that the state-wide ban on Twitter was only a temporary measure to curb misinformation and fake news, new directives suggest otherwise. The government ordered broadcasting media to delete their Twitter accounts and stop using the platform as a news source on Monday which further confirms a ploy to stifle free speech and enforce censorship.

“In compliance to the above directive, broadcasting stations are hereby advised to de-install Twitter handles and desist from using Twitter as a source (UGC) of information gathering for news and programmes presentation especially phone-in,” an excerpt of the statement read.

On the other hand, Trump has been on the receiving end of not one but two bans. In early January, he was permanently banned from Twitter after instigating the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol. Twitter cited concerns over the “risk of further incitement of violence.”

He was subsequently suspended indefinitely on Facebook. Last Friday, the social media juggernaut announced its decision to reconsider Trump’s suspension in two years (which starts counting from January).

“At the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. We will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest. If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded,” Vice‑President for Global Affairs and Communications at Facebook, Nick Clegg said.

“When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts.”

By Tage Kene-Okafor

Tech Crunch

Related story: Nigerians launch legal action against government’s Twitter ban

Nigerians launch legal action against government’s Twitter ban

Dozens of Nigerians and a local rights group have filed a lawsuit at a regional court seeking to lift the government’s ban on Twitter, describing the decision to suspend the hugely popular social media platform’s operations as an attempt to silence criticism of the government.

Authorities announced the ban on Friday, two days after Twitter removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.

The government’s move prompted an immediate backlash among social media users and human rights activists, with #NigeriaTwitterBan and #KeepitOn trending on the platform as Nigerians used virtual private networks to access the site. The government has said those who continued to use Twitter would be prosecuted.

On Tuesday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a local rights group, and 176 Nigerians filed the lawsuit at the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, calling for an interim injunction restraining government from implementing the ban.

“The suspension of Twitter is aimed at intimidating and stopping Nigerians from using Twitter to assess government policies, expose corruption, and criticize acts of official impunity by the agents of the Federal Government,” the suit read, according to the group.

Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP’s deputy director, said the ban “negatively impacted millions of Nigerians who carry on their daily businesses and operational activities on Twitter,” calling it “final proof of shrinking civil space in Nigeria and the intention of government to stifle any dissenting voice”.
‘Erratic decision’

In 2021, Nigeria ranked 120th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index.

Africa’s most populous country has been celebrated as one of the few on the continent attracting investment into its tech ecosystem but was recently shunned when Twitter chose neighbouring Ghana for its first African headquarters.

Gbenga Sesan, executive director of the Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise working on digital inclusion and rights, told Al Jazeera the suspension of Twitter sent the wrong signal to foreign investors, adding that small businesses using Twitter as a source of livelihood in Nigeria would be affected.

“Businesses in Nigeria use digital media to reach customers, expose their brands and communicate with various stakeholders. That will definitely be affected by this erratic decision,” he said.

Information minister Lai Mohammed told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the suspension had nothing to do with Buhari’s tweet being deleted, but rather with “separatists inciting violence” online.

“Regulating social media is not about stifling press freedom. All we are talking about is the responsible use of these platforms,” said Mohammed, adding that Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube were still accessible.

Nigeria joined countries such as China, North Korea and Iran in issuing a ban on Twitter, while Uganda, Turkey and Egypt have suspended the app during elections or political unrest.

The United States-based company said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” as access to the internet was “an essential human right in modern society” and it “will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate”.

Al Jazeera