The Nigerian government has announced an indefinite block of Twitter. They announced it from their Twitter account. Yes, you read that right. That’s exactly what happened. The block on Twitter seems to be a form of retaliation against Twitter itself, rather than a means to suppress or silence the online voices of Nigerian citizens.
Twitter Shut Down the Nigerian President
The Nigerian President made a tweet that insensitively referenced the events of the Nigeria-Biafra war of the late 1960’s. During this war, as many as three million people of the Igbo tribe died. Nigerians have many opinions about the events of this war, as well as the massive amount of lives that were lost. When they saw their leader release a Tweet that felt like an ominous or threatening message, they were quick to report it.
The now deleted tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari read as follows:
“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand”
Buhari was speaking of the population of Nigeria’s southeast, who he believes are responsible for damage to public infrastructure. The tweet seemed to be implying that Buhari was interested in taking an “eye for an eye” approach to handling the population of the southeast, with the underlying message being a thinly veiled threat.
After Twitter removed numerous reports, the platform came to the conclusion that the tweet violated the company’s abuse policy and deleted it. Twitter treats all tweets the same, even if they’re sent out by the leader of a country. The President of Nigeria felt that he was above this standard, and that’s why the block started.
Twitter Got Blocked, and Nigerians Have Opinions
Members of political parties opposing the leader’s party, lawmakers, advocates, and activists were quick to denounce the actions of the government, rightfully declaring that they were an infringement of speech and freedom.
Following the block, Twitter announced that it’s African base would be established in Ghana rather than Nigeria, declaring that Ghana supports the idea of free speech and an open internet. This was undoubtedly a money move on Twitter’s part, kicking the government down off of its pedestal.
The Tech Savvy Population Wasn’t Fooled
More than 39 million Nigerians were active Twitter users prior to the block, and most of them still are. Nigeria has a booming tech industry, and Lagos is considered the Silicon Valley of Africa. Twitter is a crucially important communication tool for networking professionals in virtual industries. People need Twitter to communicate, network, collaborate, and exchange ideas.
This could have been disastrous if it had any actual impact on people. As it would turn out, the block was barely more than symbolic. Nigerians responded to the block by laughing at it.
Nigerian Twitter users started a viral Twitter trend by tweeting and hashtagging “Thank God for VPN”, seemingly not caring that their government attempted to put restrictions in place. The government failed to consider that the people were smarter than they were, and that the population didn’t really care about their leader’s temper tantrum.
The government attempted to gently backpedal, mostly as a result of the backlash, the loss of jobs from a potential Twitter headquarters, and the overt criticism they received. The government issued a brief statement, reiterating that they support free speech but that citizens should be fair and patriotic.
VPNs Saved The Day
Free speech will never die in Nigeria. The population understands exactly how to access information and websites at their own leisure. If their government won’t allow it, they’ll simply circumvent their government. They’ve established an incredible precedent for what happens when a spiteful government causes consequences for people.
TorGuard VPN is happy to unlock the world of free speech and information for people in Nigeria and other countries where governments attempt to stomp it out. We’re celebrating with Nigerians. “Thank God for VPN.”