Still on the Twitter rage

Nigeria’s federal government last Friday “indefinitely”suspended the social media promoter, Twitter in Nigeria for endangering the nation’s corporate existence. The next day it followed up with a threat to prosecute anyone that violated the ban. Again on Wednesday the government said Twitter must register as a business concern for it to be allowed to dobusiness in Nigeria again.

Mr. Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, announced the conditions for lifting the suspension at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. The minister again accused the social media platform of suspicious activities in the country, adding that it paid no taxes to the Nigerian government despite the revenue it generated from Nigerians.
“It may interest you to know that most of the over the top and social media platforms operating in Nigeria do not have any office in Nigeria and do not pay taxes to the Nigerian government for the billions they earn here. “That is not the best practice globally, and that is why we are insisting that for you to operate in Nigeria you must first be a Nigerian company and be licensed by the broadcasting commission. Therefore, any OTT (over-the-top) or social media platform operating in Nigeria must do so legally.”

Mohammed recalled that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was directed last Friday to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT social media operations in Nigeria. He said the first step was for them to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission and thereafter be licensed by the NBC and then adhere to the conditions stipulated in their licences. “We have already advertised the notice to the companies concerned to apply for registration of licence.

“The cardinal thing is that witter must be registered in Nigeria. Twitter must stop using its platform for activities that are inimical to the growth of Nigeria and its corporate existence,” he said, explaining that Twitter was suspended because it provided ample opportunity for elements bent on threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.
The minister said, “As you are aware, last Friday the Federal Government suspended Twitter operations in Nigeria indefinitely.
“And the reason we gave was because of the persistent use of the Twitter platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” According to him, Twitter had refused to censor tweets from the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, whom he said incited violence against law enforcement agencies from abroad. “We’ve found out that Twitter is actually the platform of choice for a particular separatist leader who resides outside the country and issues directives to its members to attack symbols of government authority such as the police, the military, the electoral commission’s offices, correctional centres, etc. And this is being done willfully and consistently without any consequences from Twitter. You know, no country worth its name will tolerate that. And no company, no matter its self-importance, will force any nation to
accept this.”

Mohammed accused Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, of funding last October’s #EndSARS protests, citing facts from an online news platform, The Cable. He explained, “I said Twitter funded the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria last year. And people have challenged it. “And I’m glad that
The Cable has done some fact-findings and their conclusions are as follows: they said the truth is that fact-checking showed that indeed, Twitter played a prominent role in helping to raise funds for the #EndSARS protesters. Whether they paid directly, helped to pay or
helped to raise funds, it’s a matter of semantics.”

The minister refuted a charge that Twitter’s suspension was not effective, adding that the development did not stifle free speech as many claimed. The government’s order banning Twitter’s activity in Nigeria has been
complied with by the major mobile communications service providers including MTN, GLO, Airtel and 9mobile. However, some individuals and professional bodies have opposed the ban, saying it undermines democracy. These individuals include state governors and church leaders. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says it is preparing a
legal challenge of the government’s action.

The Twitter ban does raise some fundamental questions. Firstly, does the government stand on sure ground in this matter? Yes, it does. It represents the Nigerian state and, therefore, the only entity that can define and defend the sovereignty of the state. In that capacity, it certainly can declare who is an enemy of the state. Secondly, did
Twitter do anything that truly threatened Nigeria’s “corporate existence”? Again, yes it did when it took out President Buhari’s tweet warning enemies of Nigeria that they would be treated in the language they understood but put out another by the IPOB leader inciting insurrection against the state.

Legally, the government is right to move against the enemy and its supporters. Morally, too, Twitter is unfair to the government of Nigeria. It is.not a registered company in Nigeria and does not pay tax to the government. What is expected of it is to operate responsibly by complying with the nation’s laws. If it does not and will not, it should be booted out. This is what the Nigerian government has just done by asking Twitter to stay out. Its internal collaborators should expect no less.