Governor Makinde on Twitter ban

[Toyin Falola]

Statement by Governor Seyi Makinde Regarding the Suspension of Twitter’s Operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government
June 5, 20212 min read

Being a statement by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, regarding the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government
It has become imperative for me to release a statement regarding the suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government.

As leaders, we should go beyond emotional reactions to issues and think about how our actions will affect the people we lead and our international ratings socially and economically.

Twitter has become the platform for young people and indeed all Nigerians to exercise their fundamental right to express and publish an opinion. They use the platform to complain, argue and give feedback to government and its agencies who in turn, use these to improve policies. This is a fundamental point that should be kept in mind as we debate the necessity of this suspension.

We should also remember that Twitter has gone beyond a source of communication for many of our hardworking youths in Nigeria. It has become a source of livelihood for many, irrespective of their political affiliations or religious leanings. Nigerian youths and digital communications organisations earn a living from being able to use the platform to post communications on behalf of their clients.

Others who may not have physical stores also rely on Twitter to give visibility to their products and services.

Furthermore, I believe the Federal Government should be actively interested in how certain policies and action will affect investor confidence. I, therefore, use this medium to appeal to the Federal Government to reverse this suspension for the greater good of Nigerians.

~ Seyi Makinde, June 5, 2021


Sent from my iPhone

[Harrow, Kenneth]

think about the interesting irony that buhari's suspension of twitter matches trump's fury with not being about to control facebook, which finally banned him!

the governor's arguments below are excellent; but in a sense trump could also say, let the speech roll freely, regardless of whether i lie or not.

the problem ultimately lies in the fact that freedoms of all kinds can be abused. we want to think of power being abused; but power has shifted to that which controls our attention.

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

---

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>
Sent: Saturday, June 5, 2021 12:51 PM
To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Governor Makinde on Twitter ban

 

--
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com 
Current archives at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue__;!!HXCxUKc!kLRpogunEr55BTGkpUYEiyCx98cJ68UniaRf9fmY3evsIw9GH5OpQE5Xc33fMA$
Early archives at https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html__;!!HXCxUKc!kLRpogunEr55BTGkpUYEiyCx98cJ68UniaRf9fmY3evsIw9GH5OpQE69kT-ABQ$
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/B9F48AB2-939A-4E67-ABB4-4EC7F320CCF5*40austin.utexas.edu__;JQ!!HXCxUKc!kLRpogunEr55BTGkpUYEiyCx98cJ68UniaRf9fmY3evsIw9GH5OpQE6e1yMdIg$ .