For specific context: a tweet that was deemed threatening and inciteful to a segment of the country - the south east (where I'm from), was sent from the President's account.<p>After sustained uproar and outrage, Twitter deleted the Tweet.<p>Blocking Twitter is the response.<p>---<p>For background context: This government is very unpopular. Twitter has been the medium where the atrocities of the government has been publicized. Last year there was a very popular protest #ENDSARS (campaigning against police brutalization and killings) to which Jack Dorsey made a donation.<p>Earlier this year, Twitter opened their West African office in Ghana. It was seen as a massive snub and embarrassment to Nigeria. So the government has had a hurt ego brewing for a while.<p>PS: The great irony is that this government used the influence of social media to get into power. So this is them throwing down the ladder after using it.<p>AMA.
I understand the sentiment of many people supporting the decision of the Nigerian Government. But, you have to understand that for us twitter is not a luxury like it may seem in the West. It is the only popular safe space to express your opinion and call for international help.<p>So, even though some may like it, Nigerians and Africans fear this sort of move. It usually precedes pernicious acts of injustice that should be hidden.<p>If only you know the role of Twitter during the monumental protest held last year by young people against Police Brutality here.<p>I'm not canonizing Twitter, it's not without its faults, but, it's also of great use for us here.<p>It technically the Assembly for the Youth
Whenever twitter bans someone, there's a chorus of comments saying that twitter is just a website, just use some uncensorable p2p protocol, etc.. It seems like all of this would also apply to twitter itself getting banned, and yet I don't see any such comments here.
Smart. Honestly, every country should ban Twitter and Facebook. They are a net negative; this century's version of tobacco companies. Arguably worse, as they are a cancer on the entire discourse and well being of society writ large.
From long and unfortunate experience I don't really expect better but I am honestly begging non-Nigerians (specifically westerners to be very honest) to have a shred of empathy for people outside your comfort zones when commenting on foreign affairs.<p>I dearly wish I could have lived the sort of life that would make a social media platform removing people's posts or banning their accounts the great injustice of the day. I don't begrudge anyone that privilege but for goodness' sake try not to project your pet peeves on situations you barely know anything about. Nothing on this earth should bring you to the point of applauding a government headed by a literal ~former~ military dictator (and erstwhile genocidaire) because you are mad about a damn forum, especially when said government is in the business of killing its citizenry (both small and large scale).
In countries like this, are people even trying to rely on "white" Internet? In places like Belarus, certainly not. Many people just simply use ToR as their main browser.
Currently, the ban is only a government boycott. Burari's wife deactivated her Twitter account. I expect his party members to follow suite.<p>At the moment Twitter is freely accessible in Nigeria.<p>Maybe in coming months, the Buhari government would work with China to enforce the ban.
Kudos to Nigeria. The government, and governmental policies of any country are for their citizens to decide, not for Silicon Valley elites to dictate. Any other time period elites trying to control other countries political affairs would be called for what it is -- imperialism.
It's astounding to watch both states and companies work so tirelessly to pretend that the contours of the internet are isomorphic with the current political borders of the planet.<p>The internet is under no obligation to recognize or respect those borders, and on sufficiently large time scales, certainly will not.<p>So what's all the tantrum throwing? Can't we let states be states, and let the internet be the internet, and then see which one emerges as the more human (and more humane) phenomenon?<p>A company deleted a tweet. A state has blocked access to the servers of that country insofar as it can control network access. What is the takeaway?