- Lawyers threaten court action
- Activists vow street protest
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Nigerians were unanimous on Friday in their condemnation of the suspension of the micro-blogging site, Twitter, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The federal government on Friday suspended Twitter’s operations indefinitely, after accusing the organisation of “undermining Nigeria’s existence.”
Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, said in a statement that the government was forced to act because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
Reacting to the suspension, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, said he was not surprised at what he called the “petulant gesture” of Buhari.
In a short statement he sent to TheNiche, Soyinka wrote, “Heard the news of Buhari’s ban on Twitter an hour or so after sending off TO SHOCK AND AWE to the print media. Kindly add my total lack of surprise at this petulant gesture, unbecoming of a democratically elected president.
“If Buhari has a problem with Twitter, he is advised to sort it out between them personally, the way Donald Trump did, not rope in the right to free expression of the Nigerian citizen as collateral damage. In any case, this is a technical problem Nigerians should be able to work their way around. The field of free expression remains wide open, free of any dictatorial spasms!”
In the same vein, former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, called for a review of the suspension noting that Twitter had become part of the daily lives of youths and also a source of income and livelihood for many youths.
“No sir! This should not be the response from the president of a nation with a vibrant youthful population for whom #Twitter is part of their daily lives and a source of their income and livelihood. This must be reviewed,” Saraki tweeted.
In his reaction, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar wondered if his comment on the ban would not be his last tweet before it is disabled.
He tweeted: “Hopefully, this isn’t my last tweet. #smile.”
The ban has also elicited angry reactions from lawyers, members of the civil society, politicians, businessmen and ordinary Nigerians.
For the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), the ban is illegal and unconstitutional.
SERAP said Buhari should within 48 hours rescind the suspension or face legal action.
“Suspending Twitter in Nigeria would deny Nigerians’ access to information, and disrupt the free exchange of ideas and the ability of individuals to connect with one another and associate peacefully on matters of shared concern. It would also seriously undermine the ability of Nigerians to promote transparency and accountability in the country, and to participate in their own government.
“We call on the Nigerian authorities to guarantee the constitutionally and internationally recognized human rights of Nigerians including online. Deletion of President Buhari’s tweets should never be used as a pretext to suppress the civic space and undermine Nigerians’ fundamental human rights,” SERAP said in a statement signed by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
Lawyer and President of Voters Awareness Initiative, Wale Ogunade, backed SERAP, by adding that the ban was both illegal and unconstitutional and must not be allowed to stand.
“The ban has infringed on our freedom of information and expression. The government has no right to proscribe Twitter because it is a medium through which we get information. They better rescind themselves else we will go to court,” he said.
Executive Director of Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, said every legal avenue must be exploited to resist the draconian decision.
“You remember that it is under this same Buhari as a military head of state that Decree 4 was enacted.
“You know he failed in his bid to muzzle freedom of expression through Social Media Bill. Now, he is using another tactic to achieve the same sinister plan.
“Civil society must be more alive and more active in their civic duty in mobilizing Nigerians to resist this plot. Unless that happens, this man will throw this country into confusion. All options must be exploited, both legal and political, including civic action to stop the plot,” he said.
A former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on social media, Reno Omokri, wants Twitter to ignore the ban and continue its operations in Nigeria.
“The suspension of the activities of @Twitter in Nigeria by the @MBuhari administration should be ignored by @Jack (Twitter CEO). The Buhari government has no means of enforcing the suspension. Even officials of the Buhari regime are still on Twitter.”
A former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, gave the ban a sarcastic interpretation.
He said: “As the Supreme Military Council of #Nigeria’s Federal Military Government moves to ban access to #digitalmedia, this is a final #shoutout to all my people who still need to reach me: u better reach me now to get my PMB. This has entered #PostOffice matter.”
A sarcastic Dino Melaye expressed concern that the government made its suspension pronouncement through the same medium it suspended.
“Naija Govt sha. Using Twitter platform to announce Twitter suspension. Na im Baba Fela dey call babanla nonsense. Buhari is trying to eat Beans with okro soup and 21 days old Kunu to push it down.”
A social media influencer, @OgbeniDipo wondered if the government deliberated well on the decision before making the shocking announcement.
“Does President Buhari and the federal government know how much young Nigerians make on social media platforms like Twitter daily? Does Lai Mohammed know the number of jobs being sustained by Twitter in Nigeria? What is wrong with these people?”
Another influencer, @ayosogunro said, “Is there any intelligent person left in the Federal Government of Nigeria? Who runs this country and comes up with these silly ideas?”
Meanwhile, Twitter, on Friday expressed what it called “deep concern” over the decision of the Nigerian government to suspend its operations in the country.
A report by TheCable said Sarah Hart, Twitter’s senior policy communications manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the company was investigating the development.