The Federal Government has summoned the envoys of the United
States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union in Nigeria over their
recent comments on the suspension of microblogging site Twitter in the West
African Country.
This was contained in an invitation to pressmen issued on
Monday morning by Kimiebi Ebienfa of the Crisis Monitoring and Public
Communications Division of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“I am directed to inform that following the recent ban on
Twitter by the Federal Government and Press Statement issued by some Heads of
Diplomatic Missions Accredited to Nigeria on the subject matter, the Honourable
Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Geoffrey Onyeama has invited the
affected Ambassadors to a meeting today at 12 noon.
“The venue is Minister’s Conference Room, 8th Floor.
“You are here invited to cover the Meeting. Thanks for your
usual cooperation,” the invite read.
Recall that in a joint statement on
Saturday, Canada, EU, UK, US, and the Republic of Ireland said banning systems
of expression is not the way forward.
The statement was titled, ‘Joint Statement From The
Diplomatic Missions Of Canada, The European Union (Delegation To Nigeria), The
Republic Of Ireland, The United Kingdom And The United States Of America’.
It read, “The diplomatic missions of Canada, the European
Union (Delegation to Nigeria), the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and
the United States of America convey our disappointment over the Government of
Nigeria’s announcement suspending #Twitter and proposing registration
requirements for other social media.
“We strongly support the fundamental human right of free
expression and access to information as a pillar of democracy in Nigeria as
around the world and these rights apply online as well as offline.
“Banning systems of expression is not the answer. These
measures inhibit access to information and commerce at precisely the moment
when Nigeria needs to foster inclusive dialogue and expression of opinions, as
well as share vital information in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The path to a more secure Nigeria lies in more, not less,
communication to accompany the concerted efforts of Nigeria’s citizens in
fulsome dialogue toward unity, peace and prosperity.
“As Nigeria’s partners, we stand ready to assist in
achieving these goals.”
Twitter had deleted a controversial civil war post by the
Nigerian President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Consequently, the Nigerian Minister of Information and
Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced the suspension of Twitter, citing the
“persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining
Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
Though mobile operators have blocked their customers in the
country from using Twitter, many Nigerians have switched to the use of Virtual
Private Networks to bypass the blockage.
Nigeria, with over 200 million people, had about 33 million
active social media users as of January 2021. WhatsApp is the most popular
platform used in the country, with over 90 million users according to Statista.
Also according to Statista, about 61.4 per cent of Nigerian social media users
use Twitter, 86.2 per cent use Facebook, 81.6 per cent use YouTube, 73.1 per
cent use Instagram, and 67.2 per cent use Facebook Messenger.
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