Nigeria‘s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, recently said that the government is monitoring Twitter closely under the new ownership of Elon Musk.
Mohammed, who said this at a news conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital, however said there is no intention of banning activities on the platform again.
The Nigerian government suspended Twitter activities in the country between 05 June, 2021, and 13 January, 2022, after the social media company deleted a tweet from the official account of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The government accused Twitter of allowing its platform to be used ‘for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence’.
‘We have no intention of banning any social media platform again, but we will also not sit by and allow any platform whatsoever to throw our nation into crisis’, the minister said.
Mohammed’s comments are neither here nor there because if there is no intention to ban the platform again, what happens after monitoring the medium, which is filled with people observing their right to free speech?
Human rights
Section 39 of Nigeria’s constitution (as amended) states that ‘every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference’.
In the first place, suspending Twitter activities in the country is a way of stifling free speech, which contravenes section 39 of the constitution.
Also, freedom of expression is recognised as a fundamental human right and enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other global pacts.
The problem of misinformation
Social media in itself is not a problem, but the attitude of people in using social media platforms calls for concern.
There are people who share information without proper verification, without authentication and tweet without thinking.
Education, not regulation
People need to be aware of the source of information they are consuming and this is where fact-checking comes in.
If the government is bothered by Twitter serving as a platform for misinformation, then there are many ways to help curb that, other than banning the space.
The Nigerian government needs to do more in the area of education, teaching citizens how to verify news before sharing it on social media.
This is where the Ministry of Information must use the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to educate Nigerians on the use of social media.
Also, the Ministry of Information can use the same platform, Twitter, to counter what it sees as misinformation or ‘fake news’, and educate citizens.
The government, through the ministry, can also partner with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working within that area and journalists to eliminate/curb misinformation on the platform.
The information ministry can also come up with a fact-checking unit within the ministry, whose sole purpose will be to counter false news with verifiable evidence.
These are measures the government can adopt in order to deal with the problem of misinformation or false news rather than considering limiting citizens’ right to freedom of expression.
Photo source: Ministry of Information
