FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, file photo, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. The Nigeria government said Friday, June 4, 2021, it was indefinitely suspending Twitter in Africa’s most populous nation, after the company deleted a controversial tweet President Muhammadu Buhari made about a secessionist movement. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
The Nigerian government suspended access to Twitter “indefinitely” on Friday, three days after the social media company deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that was widely perceived by Nigerians as offensive.
Twitter’s censorship police deleted Buhari’s tweet, posted on June 1, that referred to the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War and to treating “those misbehaving today” in “the language they will understand”.
In a now-deleted tweet on June 1, the Nigerian leader threatened to deal severely with people in the country’s southeast, who he blames for the recurring attacks on public infrastructure in the region. “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. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” Buhari tweeted.
As many as 3 million people died in Nigeria-Biafra war, mostly from the Igbo tribe in country’s east. The tweet was deleted the following day after many Nigerians flagged it.
Nigeria will halt Twitter’s operations in Africa’s largest economy and most populous country for allowing its platform to be used “for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence,” the country’s Ministry of Information and Culture announced in a statement Friday.
“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Some pointed out the irony of announcing the ban on Twitter, with one person replying, “You’re using Twitter to suspend Twitter? Are you not mad?”
The statement also said that Nigeria’s national broadcasting regulator has been ordered to start the process of licensing all OTT (internet streaming services) and social media operations in Nigeria.
The regulator later added that the Twitter’s removal of Buhari’s tweet was “disappointing”, but not the only reason for the “temporary” suspension.
“There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences,” the government said.
A Twitter spokesperson said that President Buhari’s post “was in violation of the Twitter Rules“. Twitter later said it was “deeply concerned by the blocking” of its platform in Nigeria and was working to restore access in the country.
“Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society,” Twitter said in a June 5 post. “We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn”
On Saturday, several people in the West African nation reported they could not access Twitter using Nigeria’s main mobile providers MTN and Airtel, although they could still access it via Wi-Fi and free VPN apps. The search term “VPN” became popular overnight in Nigeria, according to the search tracking site Trendsmap.
“A nation of 200 million loses access to social platform because one man is offended,” tweeted Joyce Karam, a senior correspondent at The National News, an English-speaking publication that’s part of Abu Dhabi Media in the United Arab Emirates.
Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, also deactivated her Twitter account in solidarity with her husband and in line with the ban by the Nigerian government. Aisha, who joined Twitter in February 2016, had more than 1 million followers.
In April, the Nigerian government reacted angrily when Twitter chose neighbouring Ghana for its first African office. The country’s information minister accused Twitter of being influenced by media misrepresentations of Nigeria, including reports of crackdowns on protests in 2020.
Nigerians were infuriated with their government’s decision to suspend the popular social media platform, which was used in 2020 to organize, raise money and share alleged proof of police harassment.
“More than 800 children have been kidnapped in schools across Nigeria since December. A state of emergency has not been declared, no major press conference has been held,” Yemisi Adegoke, a BBC journalist based in Nigeria, tweeted.
“Twitter deleted a single tweet from President Buhari, 48 hrs later and the platform has been banned,” she added.
Twitter user @bastilamide lamented how the ban could cut short his dream “to be an influencer” on Twitter.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?
