When the federal government of Nigeria banned Twitter on July 4, 2020, it gave no thought to the importance of the platform. All that mattered was the bruised ego of President Muhammadu Buhari, who felt insulted because his tweet—in which he had threatened to “treat those misbehaving today in a language they understand”—was deleted for violating Twitter’s policy and his account temporarily suspended.
But millions of Nigerians, especially young people, rely on social media platforms. They’re trying to use tech and social media to solve local problems in Nigeria, from entertainment to health to fin-tech. In 2019, there were about 24.59 million social network users in Nigeria, a figure projected to grow to 44.63 million users in 2025 as more and more users are able to access the internet and others begin to understand the role that social media plays in business, job creation, advocacy, and politics.
In April, Twitter announced that it was setting up operations in Ghana. In the statement announcing their decision, the company stated that Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and open internet. The move itself was unsurprising. During the #EndSARS protests against police brutality, oppression, and extrajudicial arrests and killings which were held across various states in Nigeria and the diaspora in October 2020, Twitter amplified the hashtag, which quickly gained traction and trended across multiple countries, with CEO Jack Dorsey sharing donation links to funding the protests across Nigeria. This, afterwards, prompted a discourse on regulating social media by Lai Mohammed—Nigeria’s minister of information and culture—and some northern governors.
Twitter has been at the forefront of the Nigerian social media revolution. It has a large number of young users, unhindered from airing their opinions. It was especially critical in organizing and crowd funding for the #EndSARS protests in October 2020. That may be why the government was quick to impose a ban on the slightest provocation.
This is nothing more than a political revolution deal, closing Twitter or restrictions, will certainly get opposed, people must oppose.