Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has urged the Federal
Government to reverse its suspension of microblogging site, Twitter, noting
that the platform has become a money-making one for Nigerian youths who eke a
living through content creating and sharing on the platform.
He made this known in a statement on Saturday titled,
‘Statement by Governor Seyi Makinde Regarding the Suspension of Twitter’s
Operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government’.
Twitter deleted a ‘civil
war’ post by the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, on
Tuesday.
Consequently, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Mohammed, announced the suspension of Tuesday today, citing the “persistent use
of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s
corporate existence”.
Mobile network operators also said they received a directive
from the Nigerian Communications Commission to block access to Twitter in the
country following the suspension by the government.
Reacting in a statement, Makinde said, “As leaders, we
should go beyond emotional reactions to issues and think about how our actions
will affect the people we lead and our international ratings socially and
economically.
“Twitter has become the platform for young people and indeed
all Nigerians to exercise their fundamental right to express and publish an
opinion. They use the platform to complain, argue and give feedback to
government and its agencies who in turn, use these to improve policies.
“This is a fundamental point that should be kept in mind as
we debate the necessity of this suspension.
“We should also remember that Twitter has gone beyond a
source of communication for many of our hardworking youths in Nigeria. It has
become a source of livelihood for many, irrespective of their political
affiliations or religious leanings.
“Nigerian youths and digital communications organisations
earn a living from being able to use the platform to post communications on
behalf of their clients. Others who may not have physical stores also rely on
Twitter to give visibility to their products and services.
“Furthermore, I believe the Federal Government should be
actively interested in how certain policies and action will affect investor confidence.
“I, therefore, use this medium to appeal to the Federal
Government to reverse this suspension for the greater good of Nigerians.”
Recall that the National Bureau of
Statistics said Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose from 27.1 per cent in the
second quarter of 2020 to 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, adding
that over 23.19 million people are unemployed in the country.
Nigeria, with over 200 million people, has a vibrant youth
population mostly between the ages of 18 and 35 but sadly, the nation has not
made judicious use of its human resource gift to develop its industries and
economic wealth.
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