₦airaland Forum

Flamees:
Where's Naija

Audience in millions

United States 69. 3
Japan 50. 9
India 17. 5
United Kingdom 16. 45
Brazil 16. 2
Indonesia 14. 05
Turkey 13. 6
Saudi Arabia 12. 45
Mexico 11
France 8
Philippines 7. 85
Spain 7. 5
Thailand 7. 35
Canada 6. 45
Germany 5. 8
South Korea 5. 15
Argentina 5
Egypt 3. 7
Colombia 3. 35
Malaysia 3. 35

Topmaike007:
if Nigeria is truly what you depict it then I see no reason why Mr Dorsey should be after Nigeria market

Yusufisraelj:
The essence of public discuss is not an intellectual contest, only childish persons do that, it's essence is bring enlightenment and shape decisions.

That being said, while we've depended so much on the outside world for sustenance and survival, it does not mean we should relegate our sense of being as a people, or condone with being slighted upon.

Am I in tandem with Buhari's administration, no way on the economic and security front. However the stunt by Twitter seeks to put a dent on the highest office in land and by extension Africa, people who do not seem to understand our culture or the challenges bedeviling us, equally they made sure Africa remain like this, and you want us to condone with slight?


Are you aware that the Ajeokuta steel plant was delibrately frustrated by the west, bkos it's development was significant to continent, making us to compete on par with the west on that front, are you also aware of the structural adjustment program enforced in the 1980s to cripple African economies on the devaluation of their currencies to make sure the countries remain beggarly?

Your continent has been pillaged but you seem not be aware, African leaders who seek to bring monumental changes to their countries are assassinated, point in case Thomas Sankara amongst a host of other, that time will fail me to mention.

In life if you don't define how people should treat you, you'll be doormat.

KRSWon:
your leaders travel outside of the country to utilize those countries' healthcare industry instead of fixing the broken healthcare in this country (reminder that the NHS in the UK is not only world-class compared to whatever's in Nigeria, it's also FREE ), they purchase their luxury cars from those countries (while the ordinary citizens purchase their tukunboh busted hand-me-downs from those countries), they purchase weapons and military equipment from these countries, they purchase iPhones from these countries, the electronics they and you use come from these countries, Nigerian airlines purchase airliners from these countries, Nigerian businesses and schools purchase their software from these countries, the social media platforms you and they use come from these countries (including the very same Twitter that the people who came up with and implemented this ban are STILL using), they beg for foreign aid from these countries, the the money they embezzle from Nigeria and Nigerian taxpayers go to offshore accounts in these countries and are used to purchase real estate properties and luxury goods in those countries, instead of fixing and investing in education here they send their children to go school in those countries, they import medicine and vaccines from these countries (and then sometimes hoard them), the search engines you use to browse the Internet come from these countries, and they and you are using the global network that AMERICANS created to post online right this minute (the Internet, created by Tim Berners-Lee and DARPA).

Doyin2:
My observation:

All these foreign elements would bark at weaker countries,especially African,in the name of human rights.But they dare not do same to hhh super powers like China and South Korea.

Is Nigeria the only country restricting the excesses of Twitter?

Doyin2:
What is wrong in a temporary ban to register displeasure with a foreign information platform?Is Twitter the only means of communication in Nigeria?

When Twitter suspend your account due to violations,what happens to UN chatter on human rights?

Africans think!

Rissamenti:
We always talk about Europe and America as if they've ALWAYS had constant light from the get go, with no problems.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

They suffered their fair share of POWER CUTS and NO POWER ACCESS right up till the 196OS.

1960s is like yesterday, in terms of our world.

As stated by research:

''In the 19th and early 20th century, electricity was not part of the everyday life of many people, even in the industrialised Western world. The popular culture of the time accordingly often depicted it as a mysterious, quasi-magical force that can slay the living, revive the dead or otherwise bend the laws of nature.

With electricity ceasing to be a novelty and becoming a necessity of everyday life in the later half of the 20th century, it required particular attention by popular culture only when it stops flowing''

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity

Another source confirms this, saying:

''The oldest American power lines date back to the 1880s, and most of today’s grid was built in the 1950s and 1960s with a 50-year life expectancy.''

https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/why-us-lose-power-storms/

So Nigeria is not going through what America or England did not go through in their development.

We shall succeed.

As of 2012, Nigeria generated approximately 4,000 - 5,000 megawatts of power for a population of 150 million people as compared with Africa's second-largest economy, South Africa, which generated 40,000 megawatts of power for a population of 62 million. An estimated 14 - 20 gigawatts of power is provided by private generators to make up for the shortfall. Nigeria has a theoretical capacity of more than 10,000-megawatt generation capacity using existing infrastructure but has never reached close to that potential.

Officialgarri:
They can board the next flight and go back to their country.

We are in 2021 and will not tolerate Neo-colonialism especially under the governance of a man who has balls.
Don't come and dictate to us how to run our country. We do not need your help except when it comes to bilateral relations.

China isn't using google, WhatsApp, facebook, twitter in their country, yet there's no fuss about it. Nobody is accusing them of freedom of expression or whatever
Even Russia won't allow you use VPN to access all the banned sites, yet they are still existing and getting stronger.

But these westerners see us as a little child and wants to flex their power on us, yet some efulefus and flat headed idiots are being used to sustain their agenda.

They should worry less, we will treat them in the language they understand

bluefilm:
But facebook is still there as another option?

bluefilm:
Am I missing something or are people actually working on and earning from twitter in this country

All those DSTV and bank customer care guys I normally chat with are the only ones I know who may claim they are actually working on Twitter...

maasoap:
How's Buhari handling your life? You lost your job or your house? Would you want Buhari to watch helplessly and allow Dorsey to help set the country on fire?

With present economic woes, we shouldn’t add to our people’s problems – NESG

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group and economic experts on Sunday described the Federal Government’s ban on a social media network, Twitter, as ill-advised.
The NESG, in an interview with The PUNCH, said people, particularly the small and medium entrepreneurs, would suffer, adding the ban would compound Nigerians’ economic woes.
Others who spoke to The PUNCH included a former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr Sam Nzekwe; a Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Prof Akpan Ekpo; the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria and the Lead Director, the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere.
They lamented the impact of the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria on businesses, warning that the development was capable of triggering more job losses in the country
Recall that the relationship between the Federal Government and Twitter went sour on Wednesday when the network deleted a post on the Nigerian Civil War by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The President, had on Tuesday in the post hinted that he would treat IPOB and other secessionist groups, “in the language they understand,” a tweet, which was deleted by Twitter on the grounds that it violated its rules.
On Wednesday, the Federal Government reacted angrily, saying Twitter’s mission in Nigeria was suspicious.

On Friday, the Federal Government suspended, indefinitely, the operations of Twitter in Nigeria. It said Twitter’s operations violated Nigeria’s cooperate existence.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who on Friday announced the suspension, cited what he described as “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The ban, which sparked public outrage, has been condemned by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, among others.
“The government’s recent #Twitterban undermines Nigerians’ ability to exercise to exercise this fundamental freedom and sends a poor message to its citizens, investors and businesses,” the US Mission in Nigeria said in a statement on Saturday.

The NESG, a private sector-led think-tank, and economic experts, who spoke to our correspondents in separate interviews, said the ban on Twitter would dampen foreign investors’ appetite to invest in the country and take a toll on the government’s digital economy drive.
The President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Mr Femi Egbesola, lamented the adverse effect the ban would have on small and medium-scale enterprises.

According to him, the social media, of which Twitter is a leading platform, provides a cheaper option of advertising.
Egbesola said, “SMEs would no longer be able to advertise their products and services on Twitter. This ban would disrupt the tens of thousands of small businesses that create more than 70 per cent of the nation’s employment.
“Twitter might have been at fault for censoring the President’s tweet, but the government should consider the positive side. The ban would affect employers and may lead to the loss of jobs which would worsen the unemployment woes of the country. We appeal to the government to reconsider the ban.”
The Chief Executive Officer, NESG, Mr. ‘Laoye Jaiyeola, said, said the ban would have a significant impact on the economy.
He said, “The impact of Twitter ban on Nigerian economy is not good. Generally, some of us will want to believe that the President must have been ill-advised on the ban. The digital space is one area that we have every potential to grow as a national, given the fact that a number of our people that do not have work at least are able to carry out some legitimate work on the social media.
“It is important that in time like this, we are careful how we add to people’s problems. In a way, it will discourage those who are supposed to come and invest in Nigeria. The small and medium enterprises suffer, and the people suffer.”
Jaiyeola said although the NESG had not done any research on how much the country would lose, it had done a study on the impacts of the digital economy on the country.

He said, “It (digital economy) is not just an enabler to the economy but a sector that we must mine to grow. If well harnessed, it could take people out of poverty and create more jobs.
“Let us not mess up an area where we do not even have control. This is an area where we want people to come and develop. This action is not in the interest of Nigerians.”

A professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Akpan Ekpo, described the Twitter ban as a wrong signal to investors.
He said, “It will scare potential investors from coming to Nigeria because it is global practice to allow Twitter to operate.
“Although the government says this is temporary, it is still not a good omen for investors, especially foreign investors and portfolio investors (hot money), they would be scared since they do not know what would happen to other platforms so they might take out their money.”

According to Ekpo, there is a need to think through decisions before taking them.
He said, “The tech space would suffer; they would not raise the amount they raised last year, which was a good year. Tech investment will reduce, although this is an opportunity for innovation also.

“FDI inflow will be greatly reduced. The government should have thought about the business aspect. A lot of young people get employment on this platform and now it is affected, with a high unemployment rate they should have been careful before taking this decision.”
According to Ekpo, investment is a part of GDP, and once investment declines, employment will too.
“Investment generates employment. The Nigerian economy is in a state of stagflation; we have rising inflation and unemployment. So, there is a need for thorough thinking before making economic decisions, so we don’t worsen our situation. I am hoping that very soon they will reverse the suspension in the interest of the economy,” he said.
A former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr Sam Nzekwe, said the suspension would negatively affect the Federal Government’s plan for a digital economy and portray the government in a bad light internationally.
He said, “It is going to affect online businesses badly because they have to start looking for an alternative for advertising their goods and services, and those alternatives may be expensive.
“In a way, it is going to affect the digital economy. Our economy is still a small one; we need to deploy all facets of digital tools, and I hope that this issue gets resolved.”

Paradigm Initiative, a digital advocacy organisation, put the cost of suspending Twitter operations in Nigeria at $250,600 per hour.

“Exactly 24 hours ago, the government of Nigeria announced the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria. Since then, the country has lost N2,177,089,051 ($6,014,390) based on the cost of Shutdown Tool. The loss continues at a rate of N90,712,044 ($250,600) every hour,” it said on Saturday.
The company used the NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool to arrive at the estimate. The tool estimates the economic impact of internet disruptions, mobile data blackouts or app restriction using indicators from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Eurostat, and US Census.
A finance officer at Greenville LNG, Ogidiaka Ovie, said, “Government policies, over time, have discouraged investors. Many multinationals will continue to withdraw from Nigeria like Shoprite. The business environment is harsh in Nigeria.
“The ban on Twitter will surely affect the economy as many businesses now thrive on the Internet. Nigeria may risk denial of loans from multilateral creditors as the majority of these institutions are controlled by the United States, and they have a way of protecting their businesses.”
A finance officer at Vedic Lifecare Nigeria Limited, Okorie Iheanacho, said, “A lot of business transactions are being carried out on Twitter. As a result of the ban, there may be a temporary loss of activities there. Unemployment may occur if it lingers for long as companies would reduce their admin expenses.
“The ban sends a negative signal to both prospective and existing investors on the economy as they would not like to have a physical presence in Nigeria. This will lead to reduction in income flow to the economy in the form of tax.”

The Peoples Democratic Party caucus in the House of Representatives asked the Federal Government to lift the ban or it would take legal action against it.
Leader of the PDP caucus, Kingsley Chinda, made this known in a statement on Sunday and titled ‘Press Release on Suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.’
On his part, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, said that the ban had no solution to any of the myriad of problems confronting the nation.
Ortom described the ban as an ill-advised diversion from the core issues of insecurity and injustice plaguing the nation.
According to the statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, Ortom said, “The Twitter ban offers no solution to any of the myriad of problems facing the country.
He stressed that the move was only capable of heightening tensions and fuelling suspicions among Nigerians.

A lawyer, Dr Kayode Ajulo, said the order of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for the prosecution of violators of the Twitter ban was contrary to provisions of the nation’s constitution.
Ajulo made his position known in a statement titled, ‘Legality or otherwise of the directive to prosecute violators of Twitter ban in Nigeria – Ajulo.’
He was responding to Malami’s directive to the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation to prosecute all those found to be violating the Twitter ban.

A civil rights movement under the aegis of Yiaga Africa also condemned the indefinite suspension of Twitter services.
The organisation said the directive that all Over-The-Top services must be licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission before they could operate within Nigeria had sent “a dangerous signal to the world that Nigeria is not open for investments, particularly in the technology and entertainment sector.”

“To this end, we call on the Federal Government to reverse this decision immediately, and to refrain from further assault on press freedom, freedom of expression and free speech”, YA said in a statement by its Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu.
The Centre for Social Justice in its reaction stressing that various sub-sectors in the information and communication would suffer economically.
Lead Director, CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, said the ban was a gross violation of Nigerians’ human rights and economic obligations to respect already accrued economic and social rights.
He urged the government to refrain from taking steps that would prevent Nigerians from accessing services provided by third parties which did not violate laws enacted by the respective legislatures.
He said, “The contribution to aggregate real Gross Domestic Product as at Quarter 1 of 2021 by the information and communications sector where Twitter and other social media platforms belong is valued at 14.91 per cent, being one of the largest contributors to the total output of the country.
“The information and communication sector is composed of the four activities of telecommunications and information services; publishing; motion picture, sound recording and music production; and broadcasting./
“Recall that the Nigerian economy grew by less than one per cent specifically by 0.51 per cent in Quarter 1 of 2021.”

Onyekpere noted that the contributions of the major sectors to aggregate real GDP showed that the oil sector accounted for 9.25 per cent; agriculture, 22.35 per cent; manufacturing, 9.93 per cent; trade, 15.61 per cent; construction, 4.12 per cent; etc.
He said, “The overall growth pattern of the economy in the first quarter of 2021 was tepid and did not match population growth.
“It failed to respond to stagflation – high unemployment, slow growth, inflation, and other macroeconomic challenges facing the nation. That Nigeria is just struggling to exit recession even compounds the scenario.”
Onyekpere added, “Twitter as part of social media platforms is a veritable medium for the outreach of enterprises in the ICT and other sectors.
“Banning Twitter will retard investments, productivity, employment generation and the overall output and outcome of the economy.”

Solatium:
How does twitter add to your country IGR or is that a FDI?
some of you are just empty headed

Sunday2021:
Lies, fake news and propaganda are the qualities of ipob terrorists.
Let us lose 2 trillion naira, we don't care twitter must go down.
It is better to lose money than losing lives. Twitter want to bring war to Nigeria, do you know how many lives will be lost in that war?
God punish twitter!!!

plaindealer:
Ignorant people peddling worthless and fabricated meaningless propaganda.

Less than 1% of Nigerians are on Twitter so exactly who is losing money and from what business, transactions or value did you add up to come up with that rubbish?

You don't have to pick up every trash on the internet, makes you look unintelligent because that rubbish is meaningless.


Why are some people so daft?

Esseite:
You lack sense of economics..

Dont the online stores get the goods from the local stores even from the villagers while reaching a wider international audience including export?

Does twitter not create a verifiable means of getting to producers, whole sale merchants, retailers directly etc?

The public speaking and interview awareness which creates income is mostly publicised through Twitter.

The spread of information which tilts an economy in various favours, Twitter is a means.

The projection of new entrants trends and produce to reach a wider audience would be extremely difficult and expensive for start ups if not for twitter.

sammy329:
The ban is good development, twitter has become become a security risk in Nigeria, with its copious amount of fake and inciting news.

Coldshisha:



Buhari should have delegated people to go to twitter headquarters and dialogue with them showing the effects of civil unrest, people who had died since the whole saga and why tough measure is needed to forestall another Boko Haram ISWAP crisis

EndSARs loss is an example of why we must be careful of another civil unrest



.

Coldshisha:



Buhari should have delegated people to go to twitter headquarters and dialogue with them showing the effects of civil unrest, people who had died since the whole saga and why tough measure is needed to forestall another [b]Boko Haram ISWAP crisis

EndSARs loss is an example of why we must be careful of another civil unrest



.

Kabongo1:
I will advise the government should ban the use of mobile phones and other devices for now.

It will go a long way to improve the economy of Nigeria as youths will be more focussed on the things that matter in life like becoming farm hands and menial workers. No dissenting voices will be heard any more as well.

Government urges apology for role Catholic church played in residential school system after remains of 215 children discovered

Canada’s government has called on Pope Francis to issue a formal apology for the role the Catholic church played in Canada’s residential school system, days after the remains of 215 children were located at what was once the country’s largest such school.

Justin Trudeau’s government also pledged again to support efforts to find more unmarked graves at the former residential schools which held Indigenous children taken from families across the nation.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia has said the remains of 215 children were confirmed last month at the school in Kamloops, British Columbia, with the help of ground-penetrating radar. So far none has been excavated.

The Kamloops Indian Residential school was Canada’s largest such facility and was operated by the Roman Catholic church between 1890 and 1969 before the federal government took it over as a day school until 1978, when it was closed. Nearly three-quarters of the 130 schools were run by Catholic missionary congregations.

A papal apology was one of the 94 recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up as part of a government apology and settlement over the schools, and the prime minister asked the pope to consider such a gesture during a visit to the Vatican in 2017.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced in 2018 that the pope could not personally apologize for residential schools, even though he has not shied away from recognizing injustices faced by Indigenous people around the world.

“I think it is shameful that it hasn’t been done to date,” Marc Miller, Indigenous services minister, said.

“There is a responsibility that lies squarely on the shoulders” on the Catholic bishops of Canada, he added.

Carolyn Bennett, Indigenous relations minister, added that an apology by the pope would help those who suffered heal.

“They want to hear the pope apologize,” she said.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools as part of a program to assimilate them into Canadian society. They were forced to convert to Christianity and not allowed to speak their native languages. Many were beaten and verbally abused, and up to 6,000 are said to have died.

The Canadian government apologized in parliament in 2008 and admitted that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recalled being beaten for speaking their languages. They also lost touch with their parents and customs.

The prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has said the government will help preserve grave sites and search for potential unmarked burial grounds at other former residential schools. But Trudeau and his ministers have stressed need for Indigenous communities to decide for themselves how they want to proceed.

“We will be there to support every community that wants to do this work,” Bennett said. “We know right now that that work is urgent.”

The government previously announced C$27m (US$22m) for the effort. Bennett called that a first step.

“I know people are eager for answers but we do have to respect the privacy and mourning period of those communities that are collecting their thoughts and putting together protocols on how to honor these children,” Miller said.

Indigenous leaders plan to bring in forensics experts to identify and repatriate the remains of the children found buried on the Kamloops site. Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Assembly of First Nations, spoke with Trudeau this week and urged him to work with First Nations “to find all the unmarked graves of our stolen children”.

Murray Sinclair, the former chair of the reconciliation commission, said more sites will be found.

“We know there are lots of sites similar to Kamloops that are going to come to light in the future. We need to begin to prepare ourselves for that,” Sinclair said.

helinues:
Abi...

They can only talk about insecurities which to my best of understanding still fair compared to last government even though much are expected from this government cos majority of the insecurity was under reported in the past government and also due to few Nigerians had access to the internet then.

Wailers, this is the thread to proof your profession as chronic wailers..

1,2, 3 set go

I Wish President Jonathan Is Impeached- Buhari