Nigerians Defy FG’s Ban, Attack Buhari, Malami on Twitter, Dare FG to Arrest Them
Undeterred by the Federal Government’s ban of Twitter operations in Nigeria, Nigerians logged on to the microblogging site in large numbers on Saturday to lambast President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who on Friday announced the indefinite suspension of the operations of Twitter in the country, cited what he described as “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
According to him, the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission “to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.”
Hours later, telecommunications companies in Nigeria, including MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile, started blocking access to Twitter, with the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria saying it had received a directive from the NCC to block access to the social networking site.
However, the directive drew the ire of Nigerians, who protested the ban with the top-trending hashtag #KeepitOn that had gained over 260,000 tweets at 8.30pm on Saturday. Among the other top-five trends were #TwitterBan with more than 322,000 tweets, and #BuhariMustGo, which was tweeted over 90,000 times.
A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, tweeted, “Here’s a sliver of hope one finds in this tragedy of our @NigeriaGov’s #TwitterBan. The depth of the administration’s anger shows that our citizens are slowly but surely winning in their demand for a Nigeria that works. Citizens are maturing faster than the ‘leaders.’
“@Twitter enormously helped the emergence of engaged citizens and the voice in our land. Think of #Office of Citizen. The abduction of the 219 ChibokGirls was broadcast on this platform by @BBCNews. I am @obyezeks and vehemently oppose the #TwitterBanNigeria #KeepitOn.”
The Editor-in-Chief, Stears Business, Tokunbo Afikuyomi Jr, tweeted, “2023 is too far. Let’s start pushing impeachment. Successful or not, the threat and momentum of it can be powerful for our present and future democracy.”
Singer-songwriter, Banky Wellington, tweeted, “S’oro s’oke!!! This is not the time to back down. This is the time to speak up and stand up for our rights. They just made young people more motivated than ever to participate in our democracy. No more apathy. #NigeriaBelongsToUs”
Co-founder, #BringBackOurGirls, Aisha Yesufu, in a series of tweets, described Buhari’s 12-year struggle to assume office as a waste, saying she was prepared to face whatever consequences awaited her for her defiance.
She tweeted, “I made peace with myself and have prepared myself for either arrest or assassination. They can only kill my body, but not my voice that is in lots of videos and audios.”
Popular #EndSARS activist, DJ Switch, tagged the Federal Government as “BANdits,” saying they “ban crypto, ban protests, ban Twitter.”
government handles and agencies. Reduce their followership to zero. Let them use NTA! #TwitterBan.”
Also, Nollywood producer, Editi Effiong, tweeted, “Remember when DSS invaded the home of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and respected citizens clapped? Yeah, here we are.”
A political activist, Deji Adeyanju, tweeted, “Don’t allow them to bully you. The goal is to bully you with their illiteracy. Nobody can arrest you for using Twitter. I hereby volunteer myself for Malami’s experiment. Which police station should I report to for using Twitter?
“When did the National Assembly meet to formulate a law that people who use Twitter in Nigeria should go to jail? And what should be the prescribed jail time? Malami is a disgrace to the legal profession.”
A medical researcher, Emeka Obiora, said, “There’s no law under the 1999 constitution that empowers the state to arrest law-abiding citizens for freedom of thought, expression, privacy and association. The constitution of Nigeria supersedes the whims and caprices and ego of President Buhari and AGF Malami. This is Illegal.”
A finance and leadership expert, Bayo Adeyinka, said, “Choosing the VPN I would download was so easy when I saw one called Thunder. Thunder fire them all.”
A travel consultant, Nnayi Christmas, tweeted, “Shell is pulling out of Nigeria. Shoprite, Etisalat, Mr Price and many others have pulled out; even Twitter couldn’t set up operations all because of bad policies and high cost to run their businesses in Nigeria. Soon, Nigeria will be a graveyard to foreign investors. #TwitterBan”
Culled from The PUNCH newspapers