Rethinking the ban on Twitter

The recent ban on Twitter by the federal  government and is totally  uncalled for and should be rejected by all lovers of democracy.

Reports in the media showed that the ban on Twitter was as a result of taking down President Muhammadu Buhari’s post on insecurity. The question now is, should the Presidency be “angered” by the actions of the tech giant he has no control over? Should his anger stand in the way of other citizens’ right to information and freedom of expression?

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twitter b n for the media and free speech which is a fundamental principle of democracy. If we are really in democracy then freedom of expression and right to information is non-negotiable.

Even if the president’s perception about the media has not changed since 1984, when he promulgated Decree 4, his aides who are communication scholars should have told him how tragic it will be to gag the media in this jet age.

The presidency should learn from other democratic countries that faced similar issues.

Insensitive decisions hastily taken by our political leaders have grave consequences on our economy and the manner foreign investors and the world look at us.

Moreover, Twitter has been a source of livelihood to many social media influencers. Many young Nigerians have invested their time and money to build huge audiences on the Twitter platform and help advertise brands, goods and services.

These Nigerians have now joined the already impoverished ones roaming the streets.

The federal government should immediately lift the suspension. It doesn’t speak well of our democracy. We owe it to future generations to protect and secure an egalitarian society where freedom of speech and expression matter.

Henah Joseph, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri