By Chukwudi Gbadebo Njoku<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Research Fellow,\nBuilding Blocks For Peace Foundation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Nigerian\ngovernment announced the ban on Twitter on the 4th<\/sup> of June, 2020 and\nin the early hours of June 5th<\/sup>, implemented the ban, restricting\nmillions of Nigerians access to the social media platform. This was sequel to a\ntweet by the President of the country, Muhammadu Buhari, which was reported by many\nNigerians as hateful and capable of inciting \u201cgenocidal\u201d actions against the\nIgbo people since it referred to events that occurred during the unfortunate\ncivil war of 1967 to 1970 that left more than one million people dead. The\ntweet sparked a movement on social media in support of Nigerians from the Igbo\nethnic group. The President\u2019s tweet read that \u201cMany of those misbehaving\ntoday are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that\noccurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30\nmonths, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they\nunderstand<\/em>\u201d (Global Voices, 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The President\u2019s tweet\nwas in response to the recent escalation of insecurity in Nigeria, with\nparticular reference to the killing of security personnel and destruction of\ngovernment property such as police stations, law courts and offices of the\nIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria\u2019s south east and\nsouth south regions. The violence against the police and other security agencies\nhas led to the killing of at least 200 security operatives in the Niger Delta\nalone between January 2020 and March 2021 (Foundation for Partnership\nInitiatives in the Niger Delta \u2013 PIND, 2021). Also, amongst other arsons, more\nthan 16 offices of the electoral commission were reportedly attacked and\nvandalized in the south east and south south region between January 2019 and\nDecember 2020 (PIND 2021). These attacks on government facilities and security operatives\nin the Niger Delta jeopardizes peace in the region and has dire socio-economic\nand political implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The issues of\ninsecurity as well as the high-handedness of the government and its security\nagents have been at the forefront of social discourse in Nigeria. Twitter has\nbecome fertile ground for such public discourse over the last decade,\nespecially in recent times, pre and post #EndSARS protest. Although Twitter in Nigeria\npresents double-edged sword for peace and development, it has defined and\nchanged social and political interactions and communication and has been\nadopted by state and non-state actors. Its fundamental role in the society is\nglobally acknowledged as it provides vital linkages between the government and\nthe people (Gonina, Ngantem and Dapiya, 2020). The President, members of the\ngovernment at the executive, legislative and judiciary, government ministries,\ndepartments and agencies all adopt social media, especially Twitter to\ndisseminate information to the general public. This highlights Twitter\u2019s\nrelevance in linking the government and the governed. Twitter also alternatively\nsupports investigating, alerting and reporting individuals, activities and\npractices of civil right suppression or those that can endanger the safety of\nthe nation. It has also awakened citizen journalism and increased participation\nof the public in national affairs<\/p>\n\n\n\n A social media\nplatform such as Twitter is thus useful for transforming societies, individuals\nand even governments. It can help spread peace, encouraging dialogue among\npeople from different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. It can also affect\nperception on ethnicity, change attitudes, and promote tolerance and mutual\nunderstanding. According to Peace Insight (2013), it can thereby be employed to\nbridge the divide between ethnic groups that wouldn\u2019t otherwise communicate\nwith one another. A ban on Twitter thus implies that the government would\nbecome incapable of communicating with its citizens through Twitter, while\nindividuals and civil society organizations would be unable to leverage on the\nsocial media platforms to foster dialogues around peace and social cohesion at\na time when such engagements are most needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more, the ban on Twitter\nmeans that businesses that are run or advertised through the platform are\nstifled. Twitter users in Nigeria made up mostly of young people who according\nto the Governor of Oyo State \u2013 Seyi Makinde have gone beyond using Twitter as a\nsource of communication but as a source of livelihood irrespective of their\npolitical affiliations or religious leanings. Nigerian youths and organisations\nwho may not have physical stores earn a living from being able to use the\nplatform to give visibility to their products and services. The ban thus means that\nmore youths who rely on Twitter for their businesses would become unemployed,\nthus increasing their tendencies to engage in crime and other clandestine\nactivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a nutshell, Twitter\nis a tool available for everyone; the government, conflicting parties and peace\npractitioners to engage in dialogue and peacebuilding efforts. It creates\nprospects for peace processes, such as support with data collection and\nanalysis, strengthening peace messaging and diversifying dialogue (Conciliation\nResources, 2020). It however comes with some risks. This is because conflicts\nare becoming more complex and difficult to resolve. Twitter may have added to\nthis complication due to its ability to aggravate propaganda and hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government rather\nthan stifle the people\u2019s voice on social, economic and political issues must\nlearn how to leverage on Twitter to listen, dialogue, interact and disseminate\nun-inciteful information to the Nigerian people. Measures such as arresting and\nprosecuting Twitter users who have merely tweeted as proposed by the government\n(CNN, 2021) and attempts to pass bills that would prohibit the usage of social\nmedia in Nigeria would compromise freedom of speech and expression as\nguaranteed by several international frameworks, increase youth unemployment and\nfoster resentment between the government and the masses, thereby compromising\nthe purpose of democracy<\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CNN (2021). Nigerians\ncan now be prosecuted for sending tweets following ban on Twitter. Retrieved\nJune 2021 from https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2021\/06\/05\/africa\/nigeria-prosecute-twitter-users-intl\/index.html<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conciliation Resources\n(2020). The role of social media in early peacemaking: Help or hindrance?\nRetrieved June 2021 from https:\/\/www.c-r.org\/accord\/pioneering-peace-pathways\/role-social-media-early-peacemaking-help-or-hindrance<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Global Voices (2021).\nNigerian government suspends Twitter after controversy over president’s deleted\ntweet threatening violence. Retrieved June 2021 from https:\/\/globalvoices.org\/2021\/06\/04\/nigerian-government-suspends-twitter-after-controversy-over-presidents-deleted-tweet-threatening-violence\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gonina, S. S.,\nNgantem, L. M. & Dapiya, K. S. (2020). Defining Mass Media\u2019s Threats to\nNational Security. Canadian Social Science, 16 (5), 2020,\n21-27.DOI:10.3968\/11700<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peace Insight (2013).\nHarnessing the power of social media for conflict prevention. Retrieved June\n2021 from https:\/\/www.peaceinsight.org\/en\/articles\/social-media-conflict-prevention\/?location=&theme=conflict-prevention-early-warning<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n PIND (2021). Niger\nDelta Weekly Update for May 23-29, 2021. Retrieved June 2021 from https:\/\/pindfoundation.org\/niger-delta-weekly-update-may-23-29-2021\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n