Charles ‘Ironside’ Aghogho has reacted to the continued indefinite suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, by the federal government. Social media application Twitter found itself on the wrong side of the Nigerian government when it was suspended indefinitely by the Nigerian government after the removal of a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari sounding off on the country’s troubled security situation.
Nigeria’s Minister of information, Lai Mohammed, had on the 4th of June, 2021 announced the suspension of the bird social media app, Twitter citing the “incessant” use of the platform for activities that undermine the corporate existence and security of the country.”
The suspension has seen a wave of mixed reactions from public figures, politicians, entertainers and prominent personalities both in Nigeria and the diaspora who make use of the social media platform as a creative tool, business, information & newsgathering platform.
Reacting to the continued ban and restrictions, the South African based digital content creator, philanthropist and entrepreneur, said the decision will mostly affect the Nigerian youths. He said this is because most millennials and young entrepreneurs rely on the social media app to run their businesses and also for current affairs and breaking news.
“In these pandemic times a lot of people have moved their businesses online as a way of mitigating and preventing the spread of Covid 19” Ironside says. In his words; “Nigeria is losing millions of dollars in revenue and funds in terms of new investment in the start up and technology sector. Also the country spends millions daily in cost as a result of blocking the social media app”. He opined that the ban may also threaten Nigeria’s status as one of the best-performing African countries in attracting investment for technological start-up businesses.
“Studies have shown that each hour of the social media gagging costs Nigeria about $250,000 (N102.5 million), bringing the daily loss to N2.5 billion.”
Aghogho says, the ban could further compound the security problems in the country as the platform is the only means through which some people get daily update on current and happening events. He pleaded with the government to reconsider the ban and rescind its decision or come to an agreement with Twitter. With this ban, Nigeria joins China, Iran, and North Korea as countries that currently ban the use of the app for its citizens.
“The suspension has already created a market access gap for small and medium scale enterprises that use the platform to reach their customers. And could potentially complicate the strain COVID-19 pandemic is already exerting on businesses” Charles reiterated.
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