Eighteen days after banning Twitter operations in Nigeria, the federal government on Tuesday raised a Ministerial panel to negotiate with the U.S. based firm on the future of its operations in the country.
Before the empowerment of the committee was announced, many Nigerians notices that Twitter was easily available, meaning that the government has removed the firewall that stopped its activities in Nigeria.
According to the statement signed by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant To The President (Media)
Office of the Minister of Information and Culture, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the composition of the Federal Government’s Team to engage with Twitter over the recent suspension of
the operations of the microblogging and social networking service in Nigeria.
“The approval was announced in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who will chair the team.
“The Federal Government’s team also comprises the Attorney General of the Federation and Honourable Minister of Justice, Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment as well as other relevant government agencies.
“Following the indefinite suspension of its operations in Nigeria, for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence, Twitter wrote to President Buhari seeking to engage with
the Federal Government over the suspension, with a view to charting a path forward.”
The microblogging giant had first stirred the anger of the Nigerian government when in April, 2021, it opted for Ghana as its African headquarters. Many had expected it to be in Nigeria, which unarguably, is the major ICT hub in Africa.
But Twitter cited Ghana’s support of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet as reasons for its choice, reason which by hindsight, was a smart move as the ban on operations showed.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Information and Culture had on June 4, 2021 announced the ban on Twitter operations, citing “the presistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The ban was the climax of events that escalated when Twitter, on June 3, 2021, deleted tweets and videos President Buhari making threats of punishment to the secessionists’ group IPOB and Igbos in general for the persisitent attacks on Police and government facilities.
The President had referenced the genocide that engulfed the former Biafran enclave during the civil war which started July 1967 and ended in January 1970.
Specifically, the President said that young Nigerians in the Southeast region, the former Biafran enclave, were too young to remember the horrible events that occurred during the war, hence his move to ensure there is no repeat, hence the need to stop the activities of the secessionists with force.
“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the President said.
Twitter deleted the tweet, saying it violated its abusive behaviour policy especially with unrelenting activism online that it be taken down. Twitter also suspended President Buhari’s account, leaving it in a “read-only mode” for 12 hours.
A livid Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, called out Twitter, accusing it of double standard and show of open bias against the President.
Said Mohammed: “Twitter may have its own rules; it’s not the universal rule. If Mr President anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views. The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very, very suspect.”
In retaliation, Twitter operations were suspended in Nigeria.