The government claimed that the deletion of the President's
tweets factored into their decision but it was ultimately based on "a
litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where
misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent
consequences.
The decision by President Muhammadu Buhari's government to
ban Twitter in Africa's most populous country in June, has dealt a blow to its
revenue ambitions.
According to Netblocks Cost of Shutdown Tools, which uses
the classic Free Digital App GDP impact technique, Nigeria has lost at least
$243 million in the past 51 days since the Twitter shutdown.
Despite this, Twitter on Thursday posted stronger-than-expected
earnings for the second quarter thanks to growing advertising demand across all
geographic regions and types of ad products.
The San Francisco-based company earned $65.6 million, or 8
cents per share, in the April-June quarter. That's up from a loss of $1.38
billion, or $1.75 per share, a year earlier.
In Nigeria, Twitter recorded $1.19 billion in revenue in Q2
2021, against the $683.4 million Twitter reported for the corresponding period
of Q2 2020.
The United Nations, foreign capitals from Washington to
London and rights groups have all condemned the ban as a threat to freedom of
expression.
Nigeria's broadcast regulator took a step further, ordering
television and radio channels to suspend their Twitter accounts and stop using
the social media giant for news, branding its use as "unpatriotic."
Even using a VPN to access the platform would lead to
investigation and possible suspension of broadcast licenses.
For a young channel like News Central, expanding but still
fighting for its place in the market, the Twitter ban is a setback.
"We largely depend on the referrals we get from Twitter
to attract to our YouTube Channel, and to our channel on the satellite
StarTimes," Oladayo Martins, head of the digital for News Central told
AFP.
"The last report shows a drop of 40 percent of our
viewers in the past five days. We are a pan-African channel, but driven mostly
by the Nigerian youth."
Army of the young
In Africa's largest economy, three-quarters of the
population of 200 million are younger than 24 -- a generation that is also
hyper-connected to social media.
Young activists turned to Twitter last year to organize the
#EndSARS protests against police brutality that eventually grew into the
largest demonstrations in Nigeria's modern history before they were repressed.
For broadcasters, social media is more than an essential
tool.
"We show our lives on Facebook, we show our lives on
Instagram, but when we want to have a conversation or when we want to debate
social issues, we use Twitter," said Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun, the head of
programming.
One of the chain's flagship programmes, NC Trendz, discusses
hot topics on the Web with its trends and hashtags to give a pulse of society.
"We used to talk about gender-based issues, in Uganda
we followed the opponent Bobi Wine house arrest, we used it in South Africa
also during the lockdown," she said.
"It is an important barometer for us to understand and
know what a big proportion of people say in their country. Africa is not a
(single) country, but a lot of our problems, as young Africans, are similar.
And Twitter brings the continent together."
Stability a priority
Buhari's government has defended the decision, saying that
Twitter had become a platform for activities threatening the country's
stability, particularly for an outlawed separatist group in the southeast.
Information Minister Lai Mohammed this week dismissed
worries about freedom of expression saying Nigeria's stability was a priority.
He said social media companies would now have to register and license locally
in Nigeria.
But rights groups question the legality of the decision.
Nigeria parliament has not passed legislation regarding to the ministry's move
against Twitter.
One broadcaster has already decided to take the government
to court.
"Criminalizing the use of Twitter is also excessive and
unlawful, there's no provision within our laws that support such draconian
policies and practices," Osai Ojigho, country director for Amnesty
International in Abuja.
The ban has provoked some calls for protests online or on
the street, but for the moment Nigerian broadcasters are following the
ministry's orders.
At Arise News, a private channel popular with Nigerian
youth, social media remains an essential tool for growth.
The broadcaster's YouTube channel grew from 40,000
subscribers last year to 145,000 this year. Arise's Twitter account leaped from
39,000 subscribers in 2020 to more than 292,000 now.
In Arise's offices in a glass office tower in Lagos' chic
Ikoyi district, journalists have disconnected the VPNs. But Arise tweets still
flow from their offices in London and Washington.
"Fortunately, we still have a lot of engagement coming
from the diaspora in the UK, in the US,... and a lot of young Nigerians use
VPN," said Agharim Irabor-Omoruyi, social media manager.
On Thursday morning, #AriseNews was the most shared trend
for Nigerian web users, despite the ban.
On the same day, the channel got a visit from President
Buhari, 78, for his first interview since the start of his second term two
years ago.
Asked the question that everyone was waiting to know, when
and if Twitter was going to be restored, the head of state smiled and replied
that he was keeping the answer to himself.