Hours after the Federal Government announced the banning of the operations of the microblogging platform, Twitter, several government officials, appointees and agencies of government have continued to use the platform.
Sunday Tribune reports that the Federal Government through the Federal Minister of Information and Culture on Friday, June 4, 2021, announced the ban on Twitter operations.
The announcement signed by Special Assistant to the President (Media), Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, Segun Adeyemi, was posted via the ministry’s official Twitter account at 4.53 p.m.
The tweet has since generated over 7,000 comments, 19,000 retweets and 11,000 likes. Unfazed by the government’s decision, Nigerians have deployed the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass government restriction of Twitter.
Many Nigerians have since taken to Twitter to mock and condemn the ban on the social media platform using numerous hashtags including #Buharimustgo, #TwitterBan, Malami, Using VPN, google authenticator, Abacha, VPN App, Opera and My Twitter.
Nigerians who still operate their Twitter accounts are surprised that some notable Nigerians have joined them in the use of VPN to access the banned platform.
The notable persons include Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who appealed to the Federal Government to rescind the ban on Twitter operations.
But many more Nigerians were caught unawares, as they could not access the platform on the mobile phones from Saturday morning.
They, were, however, assisted with the massive sharing of VPN link across many other platforms by ICT savvy Nigerians.
Makinde, in a statement posted on Twitter, asked the Federal Government to “go beyond emotional reactions to issues and think about how our actions will affect the people we lead and our international ratings socially and economically.”
In the same vein, a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, also took to Twitter to condemn the ban, calling on other social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram to deactivate all accounts associated with President Buhari and his government.
Sunday Tribune reports that Nigerians who are still connected to Twitter were able to do so using masked IP addresses from different countries of the world using VPN. Sunday Tribune reliably reports that government officials, appointees and agencies of government have continued to use the banned social media platform to publicise government activities and personal issues, thus risking prosecution.
Below is the timeline of activities they carried out on Twitter after the ban.
House of Representatives Speaker
Official Twitter account of the Office of the Speaker, House of Assembly, Femi Gbajabiamila, also announced the speaker’s call for stronger diplomatic ties with Canada in a series of tweets between 5.23 p.m. and 8.27 p.m.
The series of tweets were also retweeted by the official account of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives official Twitter account.
Bashir Ahmad
Personal Assistant on New Media to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, also made a couple of tweets.
At 5:33 PM on Friday, he tweeted a photograph of the president holding a customised Super Eagles jersey alongside the Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick.
The tweet has the caption: “Nigeria’s Number 1. @MBuhari” and the emoji of the Flag of Nigeria.
Ahmad further tweeted using the ban platform to intimate his over almost one million followers of his other social media accounts. He dropped another comment at 8:14 PM and another which has since been deleted.
NCoS
The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) also posted about the commencement of organisational team sport at the agency’s training school in Kaduna (CSTSK) at about 5:05 PM.
The tweet contained four photographs and a Facebook link to the agency’s Facebook page.
Immigration
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) also joined the list of government agencies which defied the Federal Government directive after it tweeted at 5.09 p.m. in response to a Nigerian’s claim that he got his passport documents and that of his sister after about four months.
Super Eagles
Between 6.23 p.m. and 9.23 p.m, the Twitter account of the Super Eagles posted 29 tweets about the country’s friendly tie with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon which Nigeria lost by 1-0.
Deputy Senate President
The Deputy Senate President and chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Senator Ovie OmoAgege, also tweeted about the closing of the ninth Senate National Public Hearing on Constitution Review and Amendment at about 6.27 p.m. on Friday.
INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at 6.45 p.m. on Friday published a press release on the commission’s deliberation about issues concerning the conduct of the Anambra State governorship election and the Federal Capital Territory Area council election.
NITDA
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) also tweeted about its Director General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, meeting with the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education, Prof. Abba A. Haladu, at NITDA’s Corporate Headquarters, Abuja. The tweet was posted at 7.21 p.m.
NCDC
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in its usual way since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic took to Twitter to announce the daily COVID-19 infections figures.
The agency’s tweet at about 12.02 a.m. on Saturday, noted that 48 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the country, adding that confirmed cases have risen to 166,730 with 162,584 discharged while 2,117 deaths have been recorded in the country so far.
NIMASA DG
The Director-General/ CEO of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh, via his Twitter handle felicitated Governor Diri Duoye of Bayelsa State on the occasion of his 62nd birthday celebration. The tweet was posted at 11.40 a.m. on Saturday.
From Sunday Ejike, Grace Egbo and Taiwo Amodu, with agency report
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, at the weekend ordered immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government’s ban on Twitter operations in the country.
Malami, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr Jubrilu Gwandu, on Saturday directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) to commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators.
The Chief Law Officer of the country also directed the DPPF to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the National Communication Commission (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure speedy prosecution of offenders.
The Federal Government had, last week, suspended Twitter Inc.’s operations indefinitely after the social media giant deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The ban was as a result of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence,” Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, said on Friday, in a statement that was also posted on Twitter.
He ordered the nation’s broadcast commission to compel all media services and social media operatiors in Nigeria to apply for permits to operate.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, has appealed to the Federal Government to lift its ban of Twitter for the greater good of Nigerians. Makinde made the appeal in a statement in Ibadan, the state capital, on Saturday.
He noted that Twitter had become a source of livelihood for many, irrespective of their political affiliations or religious leanings “apart from being a source of communication for many of our hardworking youths in Nigeria.
“Nigerian youths and digital communications organisations earn a living from being able to use the platform to post communication on behalf of their clients.
“Others who may not have physical stores also rely on Twitter to give visibility to their products and services,” he stated.
Makinde further stated that Twitter provides a platform “for young people and indeed all Nigerians to exercise their fundamental right to express and publish opinions.
“They use the platform to complain, argue and give feedback to government and its agencies, which in turn use these to improve policies.”
He urged the Federal Government to be actively interested in how certain policies and action will affect investors’ confidence. Also, stakeholders in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had reacted to the current ban on the microblog, Twitter, by the Nigerian government.
The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) said it wants a speedy resolution of the issue. In a statement signed by its national president, Engineer Ikechukwu Nnamani, ATCON identified Twitter as an integral part of the digital economy the Federal Government is promoting. Nnamani stated that while the association and its member-companies understand the position of the Federal Government, the reasons for the directive, and have complied with the directive, it is pertinent that the issue be resolved soon in the interest of all.
He emphasised that OTT platforms, Twitter being one, is an integral part of the digital economy the Federal Government is promoting, so when disagreement arises with respect to user policies, it is good to get it resolved in a timely manner.
Another ICT expert, Sam Onigbanjo, said there is the need for Nigeria to have its own digital platforms for it to have an international voice. The digital marketer and capital market trading expert noted that a country of over 200 million people cannot keep relying on technologies from the West which can be deleted at will.
“With the recent incident involving Twitter, Facebook has also deleted President Buhari’s statement, citing that it contravenes their community policies. Do we now realise why investing in Nigerian technology and technologists is a great idea?
“The true anger should be directed at why we have not developed our own digital platforms. Where are the Nigerians who can build global digital platforms and how is this country enabling them? This is where constant electricity, quality internet access and ease of doing business come to play,” he said.
He stressed the fact that digital platforms should be embraced, adding that banning their use would never solve problems.
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