So the federal government recently banned Twitter in Nigeria after the president’s genocidal tweet was deleted. I usually do not comment on things like this but being a fencist at this point is not an option.
Like some of you already know, i was actively involved in the #endsarzprotest which took the country by storm but unfortunately, it ended on a sour note with many young Nigerians losing their lives at the lekki tollgate protest ground.
It seems Nigerians are up for a bumpy ride
My thoughts on the Twitter ban without sounding like an alarmist: i think we had this coming. Ever since the endsarz protest that spread around different parts of the country, we have seen the government devise different ways to stiffen the freedom of the masses.
It started with the talks of regulating the social media sphere against hate speak and fake news. A social bill was purposed which resisted by the masses.The government's effort also extend to the entire digital space.
What followed was a ban on crypto in Nigeria. The narrative was that bitcoin was running the country's economy to the ground. But here is what I think: the move was well calculated to preempt another revolt against this corrupt regime.
For those who followed the endsarz protest, you can attest to the fact that the government through the central bank tried to restrict fundings that came to support the protest. The protest was tagged by the government as a politically motivated protest. Private accounts were frozen and the only option was crypto.
Old dogs, old tricks…
This government has done everything in their books to stiffen freedom of speech and to be quite frank I don't think they will relent even if they do not have the technical know-how to do so.
If anything, this generation of Nigerians is more tech-savvy and we live in a global village where information is easily disseminated. It is only important to control anything without using brute force, which the government is not shy of using.
In conclusion, although I know Twitter isn't exactly pro-free-speech and I should be happy that they are getting a dosage of their medicine, but this doesn't mean well for the country. I am hoping we as a country find our way out of this mess.
This is the time to promote https://d.buzz and Hive as a genuinely censorship resistant alternative to Twitter in Nigeria.
i haven't used dbuzz but i think it is worth exploring. i have written articles in the past about decentralised options for Nigerians. it is a topic worth revisiting
I sometimes wonder where we are heading to as a country.
Is there still hope for Nigeria?
omo dear...i really don't know what to say. it is becoming a terrible thing
I don't think what we need is just prayers.
The rate at which we are going ehn, if something is not done, Nigeria might be unsafe for the next generation
Omo prayer alone cannot help o. I'm wondering at what point is it going to be enough. The way it's going they want to destroy the country before the end of their administration.
Lemme japa first before they burn Nigeria to the ground
😂😂 my dear I'm already in UAR
You better follow me japa o... UAR na Nigeria senior brother
Guy the matter just weak me, I can't open the site now,I did not know the government have control like this.
Did they announce the blocking of twitter on twitter....
Yes they did 😂 crazy right
Use vpn and access any website you want. Hive.blog and 3speak and pob is also blocked in Russia. They even blocked linkedin here. But as you see, I'm posting here and I can access any website I want. There is an extension on the browser I use called browsec, they have an application on the smartphone as well, but I use there an other vpn I like, there are a lot of them. And when the application 3speak wasn't working I used ProtonVPN that I had tpo install ! Enjoy. ☺
i actually use a VPN (proton vpn) service to bypass some restrictions. It is very helpful