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.
The PUNCH had earlier reported
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.
Source: punchng.com
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