By John Ikani
Nigeria’s Senate President Ahmad Lawan Friday was still evasive about taking a stand on the ban by the Federal Government on Twitter, an action that has generated widespread reactions.
The Senate has largely steered clear of taking a position on the suspension, despite having two plenary sessions this week, but Lawan on Friday, June 11, 2021 said Nigeria and Twitter need each other.
The lawmaker expressed optimism that the planned dialogue between the federal government and Twitter will end the ban on the microblogging site in Nigeria.
He said, “I believe this engagement between Twitter and the government will yield fruitful results.
“I am an optimist. I believe all of us would have learnt our lessons.”
Recall that the American microblogging and social networking service was suspended last week allegedly because it was being used for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.
The suspension announcement came just days after Twitter deleted a tweet from President Buhari’s official account after it was deemed to have violated its rules.
The tweet had been widely reported by Nigerians as harmful after the president appeared to threaten separatist agitators in the south east region with a repeat of the civil war that killed millions between 1967 and 1970.
Many critics, including foreign governments, have strongly opposed the suspension as a violation of the rights of Nigerians, but the Buhari-led government has doubled down on its position.
The government has insisted that one of the conditions for lifting the suspension is the registration of Twitter as a business in Nigeria.
