In a bid to calm the outrage that emanated from the ban on Twitter, the Nigerian Government has given conditions required before the ban can be lifted.
This was revealed in a statement released by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama during a meeting with envoys of Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union in Abuja.
According to the Minister, the ban was needed because of the proliferation of criminal activities on Twitter which persistently threatened the unity of Nigeria.
When asked when the ban would be lifted during the meeting, Onyeama said: “The condition would be a responsible use of the social media and that really has to be it.
“We are not saying that Twitter is threatening the country or any such thing. Why we have taken this measure is to stop them to be used as platforms for destabilisation and facilitation of criminality or encouragement of criminalities.”
The Minister further noted that the Federal Government’s mandate is to stabilize the country, despite room for various opinions and constructive criticisms.
He said: “Differences of opinion are not a problem; everybody will not think alike. But lives matter; Nigerian lives matter and we have to do everything we can to preserve Nigerian lives. And when we feel our goals are threatened, actions need to be taken.”
It should be noted that the envoys, in a recent joint statement condemned the ban on Twitter by the Nigerian government.
Also, they spoke against the move by President Buhari’s administration against free speech which according to them, was not in line with democratic governance.
The envoys made it known that the ban came at a critical time when the country needed to accommodate more communication platforms to tackle a host of challenges it is encountering.
