Jubal Kanayo takes a look at the Federal Government’s latest move to solve a problem it considers above all others: social media.
On the morning of Saturday, June 5, 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria followed through on its threat to ban Twitter in Nigeria indefinitely.
Barely 24 hours before, the government, though its minister of information, Lai Mohammed, had announced (via the same Twitter) that the government would be banning the social media network “indefinitely”.
The country’s young social media users were shocked beyond words and many found apt VPNs to side-track the bans by the already arm-twisted telecommunications networks.
But, let’s back-track.
Shortly after Muhammadu Buhari won a second term in office in 2019, the National Assembly, inspite of the many headaches calling for action, set about proposing a law to regulate social media. As the government reneged on its many promises, more Nigerians took to social media to criticise its policies and voice uncensored displeasure.
On October 1, 2019, Muhammadu Buhari assured that his administration would take decisive action against those who spread deceit and hate via social media. The government, he said, was committed to preventing abuse of technology that had the propensity to undermine the security of the country.
“Whilst we uphold the constitutional rights of our people to freedom of expression and association, where the purported exercise of these rights infringes on the rights of other citizens or threatens to undermine our national security, we will take firm and decisive action.”
According to Information Minister Lai Mohammed at the time, many countries had banned social media and the government was only making moves to regulate it. Somehow, he was asking Nigerians to be grateful for that gesture.
Sadly, Nigerians could not see the point.
Just like former education minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili asked at the time “When did Social Media become a national issue to be solved? The government should count it as a blessing and as a means of promoting the transparency it claims to be championing. Simple.”
While Nigerians bantered on Twitter (the biggest culprit), the government went to work and the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill (sponsored by Senator Sani Musa, APC, Niger East) passed second reading and moved on for consideration. It was christened ‘The Social Media Bill’.
What does the Bill Say?
Well, a portion of the bill reads: “Law Enforcement Department may direct the NCC to order the internet access provider to take reasonable steps to disable access by end-users in Nigeria to the online location and NCC must give the internet access provider an access blocking order”.
That’s part 3 (12) of the bill which empowers law enforcement agencies the power to shut down the internet without consulting the law.
An internet service provider that refuses to obey the order on conviction by a court may be fined N10 million for each day the order is not obeyed.
Another section of the bill prescribes a fine of ₦300,000 or three-year jail term or both for anyone found guilty of making statements that “diminish public confidence in the performance of any duty or function, or in the exercise of any power of the Government.”
While an employee of TechCabal commented via Twitter: “This is nothing but a move to muscle free speech and ban dissent. The senators you elected do not want to be accountable to you anymore”, a journalist, Chika Mefor wondered why the government was suddenly bent on taking away every medium the citizenry has to express themselves.
“Since the government has resisted every plea to come clean on good leadership since independence, we have made social media our feedback response channel.
“You take good structures from people, take water from them, take electricity from them, take security from them, take education from them, make food difficult to get. You have taken their life from them; now, you want to take their voices from them and control the narrative. That smacks of despotism.”
Okechukwu Stanley, a lawyer, failed to see why the government was failing to see the bright side. “If, really, you want to be transparent and enshrine good governance in this country, you can think of a smart way to reach the 29.3 million-plus social media users in this country and make them your public court on issues. You can make these people your indicator for what’s going right or wrong in the nation. These are not advisers, yes-men, lobbyists or others who stroll the corridors of power and you stand a greater chance of getting sincere, straight answers from them. Sadly, we are not ready for that discussion. The government is trying to lay the foundation for mischief. These are the things you do if you have an ulterior motive.”
#EndSARS and the Guillotine
It was the Year of the Lockdown and nerves were tense.
As the effects of the lockdown bit harder and more young people discovered that the governments and prominent politicians had stored up palliatives meant for the populace in warehouses. Young people discovered these palliatives, broke into these warehouses and carted away these palliatives to feed themselves and their hungry.
The stage was set for a showdown.
And the renewed wave of killing/harassment of young people by the police was the apt torch for the gunpowder.
Young people took to the streets of Lagos and Abuja to air their views, blocking major highways – Lekki Tollgate in Lagos, Central Area and Airport Road in Abuja – even when government failed to engage in dialogue and opted to use violence to disperse the young people.
Worse, the government came down hard on television stations and other media houses who “took sides” during the protests and, somehow, the governor of the Central Bank Godwin Emefiele opined that the activities of the #EndSARS protesters were financed by Nigerians in the Diaspora, using Cryptocurrency. The government set about banning the virtual currency and, by the time 2021 rolled around, sometime in March, the hammer fell and it became illegal to trade in cryptocurrency.
Before that, the government, through its henchman, the minister of information, came down hard on Arise TV, African Independent Television (AIT) and Channels Television, slamming N3million fines on them.
“Actually, their main offence is that they aired scenes from the protests and, by the time the military started denying that it did not kill/shoot at any of the young people during the protests, these live feeds from the television stations contradict them and make them liars. The best way is to claim the pictures and feeds were photoshopped and that the young people had tampered with evidence,” pointed out a political observer and active participant in the protests, Asam Etoribo, at the time.
As usual, the minister had a defence for the government’s absurd stance.
The minister claimed that the younger people, who make greater use of social media platforms, do not watch television, listen to radio or read newspapers.
Mohammed maintained the position adopted by the Federal Government and the Nigerian Army by suggesting that viral videos and images which depicted the suppression of protesters were photoshopped, and as such, fake news.
“The recent #EndSARS war was fought on social media. They mobilised using the social media. The war today revolves around two things – smartphone and data and these young men don’t even watch television or listen to the radio or read newspapers. You will be shocked that when you start arguing with your children, they will be quoting the social media. So, we need a social media policy in Nigeria and we need to empower the various agencies and we need technology to be able to regulate the social media.
“The biggest challenge facing Nigeria today is fake news and misinformation. Based on that, we dedicated an entire National Council on Information’s meeting to that issue, after which we launched a national campaign against fake news in July 2018.
“We said, then, that the next war will be fought without a shot being fired, but with the use of fake news. We didn’t stop there.
“We went on a tour of all media houses to solicit their support in the fight against fake news. We launched the campaign to regulate social media, which was bitterly contested by the stakeholders. We kept saying that if we don’t regulate social media, it will destroy us. Social media and fake news will not destroy Nigeria.”
But human rights bodies and a myriad of civil society organisations came at the government and even proposed to march to the National Assembly complex in Abuja to get the attention of the legislators.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA Africa) and the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education.
National Coordinator (HURIWA) Emmanuel Onwubiko, condemned what he described as “the Federal Government’s fixation with the anti-social media law”.
“Since he (Mohammed) came into office he has been trying to stifle the freedom of the press. The way he is carrying-on makes one wonder whether he was given a special assignment to muzzle the press, including the social media. The Federal Government’s fixation with the anti-social media law is troubling – it is uncalled for.”
The HURIWA national coordinator observed that several existing laws in the country are enough to regulate the social media. He listed subsisting libel laws, and the Anti-Cybercrime Act, 2015, as legal instruments that are already regulating the use of social media.
He was not alone.
President, FIDA Nigeria, Rhoda Tyoben, insisted that the association would never support the enactment of an anti-social media law in the country.
“Gagging the citizens will be a big drawback on winning the fight against sexual gender-based violence which has gained so much support through the social media.”
Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo’s opinion was no different.
“We shouldn’t be surprised by this resurgence in the demand by the Federal Government on the National Assembly for legislation to regulate the social media. The #EndSARS protests have exposed this government as one that has no respect for human rights and this has made them push for the regulation of the social media.
“The Federal Government is the purveyor of fake news; the one using misinformation to counter the protests.
“The state wants to shrink the civic space. It is an attempt to entrench authoritarianism and we call on the National Assembly to resist this attempt,” Itodo added.
For the Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, hoped that any attempt by the government to push for the enactment of an anti-social media law would fail.
“The Federal Government has been trying to constrict the civic space. They have been trying to block the social media which has given voice to the masses. The mainstream media organisations are owned by the business class and the politicians and as such, they do not serve the people. The social media democratised the media space, that is why the Federal Government is trying to block it.
“The present government rode on the powers of the social media to ascend to power and if they think they can turn round to constrict the civic space today, they are wasting their time,” Zikirullahi added.
As the opposition gathered storm, 95 civil society organisations, under the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Protection of Civic Space, called on the National Assembly to reject the ‘Social Media Bill’.
Moves to mute social media networks in Nigeria actually began in 2015, with the Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and other Matters Connected Therewith, which as trounced upon arrival, after spirited opposition from Nigerians.
The ‘Slight’
Many heaved a sigh of relief when the government seemed to give it a rest. Even more citizens thought the government had opted for common sense and was more committed to dealing with its many self-inflicted headaches – terrorism, banditry, corruption, secession, kidnapping, religious intolerance etc.
It was only a matter of time.
In April 2021, Twitter announced that it was opening its first African office in Ghana. Of course, this ruffled feathers, because Nigeria has double the number of twitter users than her neighbour – who has a greater ease of doing business score, has more efficient power system, relatively more peaceful, has a more thoughtful, less Draconian approach to governance and tilted towards good governance than it did towards religion.
Twitter described Ghana as “a champion for democracy” and “a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet”.
That hurt.
While the many young Nigerians on the network understood and blamed the government for the big ‘shoo-away’, the government’s eternal henchman, the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, was on hand, to blame the “young people who use Twitter and other social media networks” for the “slight”.
“This is what you get when you de-market your own country,” he told reporters via in a video posted on Twitter by his ministry.
“Nigerian journalists were…painting Nigeria as a hell where nobody should live,” he said of coverage of the protests in which Twitter users coalesced behind the #EndSARS hashtag in reference to the widely feared Special Anti-Robbery Squad that was disbanded after abuse allegations surfaced.
“The natural expectation would have been for Nigeria to be the hub for Twitter in this part of Africa,” said Mohammed.
That seemed to go away for a while and, then, the IPOB/ESN demon reared its head in the south-east.
The Nigerian government, after weeks and months of unprecedented highhandedness in the region and being frustrated that its use of never-before seen force was not yielding the desired results, took to Twitter on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, to promise “troublemakers” in the region “violence and a repeat of the Civil War”, seeing as it was “the only language they understand”.
“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Biafra war,” Buhari wrote. “Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
“I think we have given them enough latitude. They have made their case, they just wanted to destroy the country,” he said, appearing to reference secessionist agitators. “Whoever wanted diversion or destruction of the system at this point, I think will soon have the shock of their lives,” he also warned.
This resonated loudly with the world at large.
“The threat reminds us of what a government should be like, but it is highly misplaced, ill-timed, tactless and bereft of any form of creative problem-solving,” one miffed Twitter user wrote.
Former presidential candidate Kingsley Moghalu called Buhari’s tweet a “threat to the southeast” and chided the president’s choice of words. “This is not the kind of word he should say as the president.
“I think (your) language matters when you are a leader and when you are facing many crises because that language can be interpreted in many ways,” Moghalu said during a television interview.
Moghalu accused Buhari of “bringing up evocations that are very unpleasant” but said the president should have assured Nigerians that his government will continue to work to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
A number of reactions mocked those who were calling for Buhari’s head, while others wondered over what they termed “the president’s double standards”.
They were killing Boko Haram during GEJ admin & Pantami cried out that the admin was killing Muslims. Today, Buhari threatens to use Civil War tactics on a region & u’re saying he is referring to IPOB/ESN. If he was that gladiatorial, why was he appealing to islamist terrorists?
— FS Yusuf (@FS_Yusuf_) June 2, 2021
They kept hiding and pretending but Buhari yanked off the veils yesterday.
Drop your certificates and join the Nnamdi Kanu army 🤡🤡🤡
— Adamu Hayatu (@AHayatu) June 2, 2021
Ndi Igbo had a history before Buhari and we will have a future after him. We will not fear him.
He is irrelevant to our progress as people!
Pass it on pic.twitter.com/b1vSRflYjZ
— Chiby (@ChibuzoEzendu) June 2, 2021
A leader who performs as woefully as Buhari, should be impeached (after all, the British let go of Chamberlain when WW2 began), but Buhari still has millions of fanatical followers who will commit unspeakable violence if that is even suggested.
But 2 years is a long time to wait
— Onye Nkuzi (@cchukudebelu) June 2, 2021
Nigerian soldiers shot unarmed protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, then Buhari gave a national address on October 23 and threatened more violence on protesters.
It’s becoming clear who ordered the shooting.
— Major Gen. Oluchi 📊🪙 🐐 (@General_Oluchi) June 2, 2021
When Buhari speaks to bandits,
He begs them. He appeals to them.
But when Buhari speaks to the so called Nigerian citizens,
He threatens them. He uses language that can be used to justify harm, violence and massacre against the same people he swore to protect.#EndNigeriaNow pic.twitter.com/rB75glj5QI
— Fearless Biafran👩🏽✈️👩🏽🚒🧑🏽🎨💯🌍💯💥 (@fearlesssoski) June 2, 2021
The video of Buhari saying those words confirms what Alhaji Buba Galadima told me when I visited him; he said that contrary to what most people think, Buhari is aware of all the atrocities in his government. He sanctions it and hides behind someone. Idiagbon? Kyari?
Makes sense?
— Somto Onuchukwu (@chosensomto) June 2, 2021
Before the Lekki massacre happened, Buhari issued a foreboding threat, most of us didn’t take it to heart but he followed it up by murdering citizens before the watching cameras. His current threat against Igbos must not be taken lightly.
He is a maniac and a roving one at that.
— DEMAGOGUE PhD.💘senior advocat (@von_Bismack) June 2, 2021
Each time Buhari speaks to Fulani bandits, He begs them. He appeals to them. But when Buhari speaks to citizens, He threatens us.
— Sunday Igboho (@_IgbohoSunday) June 2, 2021
You’d find folks making a case for Buhari by saying that he only mentioned criminals not the entire region. So the 3 million people that perished in the 30 month war were all criminals? Can you hear yourselves?
— fred4U (@frediecruze) June 2, 2021
There is a planned campaign to blame that tweet on Buhari’s aides. Please don’t fall for that. Take that tweet very seriously. There is an institutionalised #Igbophobia
— FS Yusuf (@FS_Yusuf_) June 2, 2021
Buhari basically said: we slaughtered your parents 30 years ago. We will slaughter you again. The Igbo is not only endangered but face genocide in Nigeria. Do you know see why the #SitAtHome was successful? It is never about IPOB or Kanu. It is about the survival of the Igbo. https://t.co/2g10hwC5Hs
— Mazi Gburugburu (@Mazigburugburu1) June 1, 2021
Exactly a month ago, General @MBuhari was “appealing” to herdsmen and bandits to stop their acts of terror. A month later, another Buhari is threatening the Southeast with Nigerian Civil War.
How can one man have strikingly different reactions to similar events? #TableShaker
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) June 1, 2021
Bandits are given money and allowances with round table meeting but Buhari has the guts to threaten Ndi Igbo with repetition of the Civil War.
The audacity of the President!
— DANNY WALTER 👑 (@Danny_Walterr) June 1, 2021
Following the flurry of reactions, Twitter waited 12 hours and, after confirming that the tweets were against the spirit and letter of its policy, deleted Buhari’s tweet.
Many rejoiced and even called upon the social media network to delete or ban Buhari’s handle.
The information minister, Lai Mohammed, was quick to point out that: “Twitter may have its own rules, it’s not the universal rule,” he told reporters. “If Mr President anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views.”
The ‘Hammer’
Sometime at mid-day, Friday, June 4, 2021, the Federal Ministry of Information announced, via its Twitter handle, that it was banning access to Twitter in Nigeria “indefinitely”.
According to the minister, Mohammed, the blacklisting was due to “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.
Foreseeing the government’s move, Nigerian using the social media network intensified criticism of government and many tweeted tips on how the government’s “week firewalls could be by-passed, using VPNs, just in case you wake up on Saturday and you cannot access Twitter”.
True, by the time Nigerians woke up on the morning of Saturday, June 5, 2021, access to Twitter had been blocked. Mobile networks said they received orders from the government to block off access to Twitter. The scramble for VPNs began. Soon enough, 70 per cent of those who were blocked off had gained access again.
While many other Nigerian leaders went about their duties with sealed lips, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo was a lone voice calling out to the government to rethink what he described as a rash decision, without using the exact words.
“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.
“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.”
“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,” Makinde’s statement read a few hours into the ban.
About five hours after the ban came into effect, the microblogging network assured Nigerians it would help them find a way to gain access to the network again.
“We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #openinternet is an essential human right in modern society. We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn.”
Pressing Issues
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 and over 23.19 million people are unemployed in the country, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The nation is now unsafe than it has ever been and there is palpable tension in the land, as the threat of Islamisation, subsistence and thriving terrorism, kidnapping and robbery continue to increase with not a finger raised by the government; most schools in the north shut down due to the fear of abduction, deafening silence on poignant national issues, etc., but the nation’s ruling class is most intrigued and fixated on social media and what is published thereon.
How much does the government have to hide?
Why has the government decided to blame social media for the nation’s many troubles?
Why has the government refused to make any tangible effort towards ending terrorism, kidnapping/banditry, nation-wide violence and opted for silence and a pseudo-problem-solving stance?
Why does the nation’s elite take joy in misinforming the masses and blame it on social media?
