The suspension of Twitter’s activities in Nigeria by the Federal Government has dominated the news for over a month now. Based on the influence that Twitter has inside the social media sphere, that delicate move has subsequently sparked severe conflicting sentiments among the public.
Despite widespread condemnation from local and international observers, government officials claim that Twitter’s decision to impose a ban on President Muhammadu Buhari’s account was selective and unjustified, while the social media platform has insisted that its move was legal and proper.
According to surveys taken by NOI, a public opinion and research group, over 40 million Nigerians have active Twitter accounts, making it the country’s sixth most popular social networking site.
In today’s world, information may be transferred and received instantly from one end of the globe to the other. That is one of the most appealing aspects of social media. Fake news, cybercrime, invasion of privacy, addiction, and hate speech, on the other side, have all been linked to this technology. Twitter has also enabled business people in different regions of the world to connect to their customers. The modifications to the scheduling of meetings or to the delivery of material may be simply communicated.
In the face of increasing poverty, the majority of young people in the nation have already taken advantage of the economic benefits of Twitter, as the platform offers the country’s tiny enterperts a supportive environment through its links to the world market.
The platform has also played a vital part with its prominent position on police brutality during the 2020 EndSARS demonstrations to advance good governance in the country.
It would be mentioned that the share of the IT sector where Twitter and other social media platforms belong to the aggregate GDP as of Q1 2021 was estimated at 14.9%. This makes the industry one of the biggest sources of revenue in the country.
In Q1 of 2021, Nigeria’s economies increased by less than 1%, notably by 0.51% and the main industry’s contribution to aggregate real GDP was as follows: 9.25% for the petroleo sector; 22.3% for the agricultural sector; 9.93% for the manufacturing sector; 15.51% for commerce, while 4.12% for construction.
The economic growth trend was slow and did not correspond with population increase during the first quarter of 2021.
The prohibition is nonsensical in that it makes it more difficult for individuals that use Twitter to reach broader markets, grow their businesses, and interact with people locally and internationally.
