Why Twitter may be hesitant to comply with the FG conditions

Why Twitter may be hesitant to comply with the FG's conditions

Festus Keyamo, Nigeria's Minister of State for Labour and Employment, has stated that negotiations between Twitter and the Federal Government of Nigeria to lift the ban on Twitter are still ongoing, with a few conditions still needing to be met before the ban can be lifted.

In a statement, Festus Keyamo, a cabinet member involved in the Twitter dialogue, stated that Twitter has agreed to all of the Nigerian government's conditions but has not specified a timeline for putting them into effect.

Nigeria's use of Twitter, the world's largest social media platform, has been suspended following the removal of a tweet from the platform by President Muhammadu Buhari for violating the company's "abusive behavior" policy.

For the second time in as many months, the government has issued an announcement announcing the lifting of a suspension and the reopening of a platform in the United States.

When Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, announced that the Federal Government was close to finishing plans to lift the suspension in "a few days or weeks" in September, many people took notice.

Nigeria's 61st anniversary of independence was commemorated by a Presidential broadcast in October, during which President Muhammadu Buhari directed that the suspension be lifted, but only if certain conditions were met.

Set Conditions 

For Twitter to be permitted to resume operations in Nigeria, the Federal Government of Nigeria has imposed a number of conditions on the social media platform.

To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:

• Twitter must place a high priority on national security concerns while also preserving group cohesiveness.
• This platform must be registered as a business in the country where it operates.
• It is necessary to establish a physical presence and a representative in Nigeria.
• A fair taxation system must be in place.
• In order to resolve disputes as quickly as possible and to ensure local content, the government must establish a dispute resolution mechanism.

In a report by Festus Keyamo, the company owned by Jack Dorsey has agreed to taxation and physical presence regulations. In addition, he stated that the technical committee established to interface with Twitter is currently developing a code of conduct to regulate how users engage with the platform and other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.

"Therefore, they've agreed to taxation, and they've agreed to open a Nigerian office so that we can lodge some formal complaints about certain individuals who use Twitter to subvert the government of the day in person," he explains.

Why Twitter may not be in a hurry to meet FG conditions 

TweetDeck announced in April that it would be establishing its first African presence in Ghana, a move that was derided as snobbish by Nigeria. It was Ghana's commitment to "free speech, online freedom, and an open internet" that prompted the social media giant to make the decision.

The decision to locate in Ghana rather than Nigeria, where it enjoys greater patronage, was met with criticism; however, the reasoning behind the decision was understandable. Establishing a presence in Nigeria was clearly not in the company's immediate plans, and the FG's decision is likely to cause significant disruption to those plans going forward. The result would be a drag, which is logically a negative.

As an example, Twitter, which has approximately 16 million users in the United Kingdom, pays taxes there. Nigeria has approximately 40 million Twitter users, with a daily active user base of approximately ten million people, according to the most recent statistics. Consequently, the Federal Government's demand for equitable taxation may be reasonable.

Nonetheless, Twitter's ability to pay these taxes is contingent on the company's establishment of a presence in the nation. If a company like Twitter, for example, has its European headquarters in the United Kingdom, it must pay taxes in that country. As a result, paying taxes may become impossible if the Nigerian office is not available.

Twitter revenue from Nigeria might be neglible 

According to Twitter's Q3 2021 earnings report, the microblogging platform generated $742 million in the United States, which is the microblogging platform's largest market.. During the third quarter, international revenue increased by 28% to $542 million.

By far, the United States is the most important source of revenue for Twitter, accounting for nearly seventy percent of all revenue generated. Following Japan, India, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, among others, the world's second-largest economy is the United States. Rarely does Nigeria appear in the top five countries on any list.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the company has continued to grow at a breakneck pace despite the restrictions imposed by the government of Nigeria. Accordingly, Twitter would be prudent in determining whether these investments are worthwhile, particularly in a region that does not generate a significant portion of the company's overall revenue.

The government has boasted about the certainty of Twitter's demise, but there have been reports that the ban has had a negative impact on the country's economy. Approximately N2.18 billion per day is lost to Nigeria as a result of the Twitter ban, according to NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors cyber-security and internet governance.

 Access to Twitter 

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which circumvent geo-restricted websites' blocking, allow Nigerian users to access their accounts despite the platform's suspension.

The fact that users are becoming more accustomed to accessing the platform through virtual private networks (VPNs) may make the FG's pressure on Twitter more difficult to bear. Twitter's user base is shrinking in the country as a result of the suspension, which is expected to continue.

VPN users have expressed concerns about excessive data usage, power consumption issues (which are particularly problematic in Nigeria, which is infamous for its poor power supply), and a slew of other technical issues, including privacy and security concerns, among other things.

Many users, however, are either too afraid or technologically illiterate to experiment with virtual private networks.

President Buhari’s associates returning to the platform ahead of 2023 elections 

It is reasonable to anticipate that government supporters and agents will strictly abide by the ban by refraining from using their Twitter accounts during the investigation.. Ironically, some of these supporters have been known to occasionally log on to Twitter, presumably through virtual private networks (VPNs), to express their opinions on current events and political debate.

To give an example, Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who is a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, recently posted a tweet on his personal account. He had last tweeted on June 6, a day after the Nigerian government temporarily halted Twitter's operations, which was the day before.

As a former Federal Capital Territory minister, the governor expressed his appreciation to a supporter of his efforts. Someone in the comment section inquired as to whether the governor was using a virtual private network (VPN), to which the governor responded that he was out of the country and "could tweet temporarily."

A human rights activist who was the driving force behind the EndSars campaign in 2020, Rinu Oduala, pointed out to the governor that freedom of expression existed only outside Nigeria. He responded by stating that using Twitter did not equate to exercising one's right to free expression in the United States.

Several Nigerian Twitter users were enraged by this comment, arguing that, since he was able to use Twitter outside of the country, why were Nigerian citizens denied the same opportunity?

In a nutshell, this demonstrates that when the 2023 election campaign season gets underway, freedom of expression will be a major topic of discussion, as it has been stifled at every turn by the current administration so far. The crackdown on Channels TV, the proposed amendment to the Nigerian Media Bill, and, of course, the Twitter ban are all critical discussions that will ultimately determine which candidates will run for president of the United States of America in 2016.

Twitter's importance as a platform for political engagement is underscored by the fact that members of the political elite are using it to get around the government's ban. Political campaigns are taking place on Twitter as the election season approaches.

Political influencers, particularly those associated with the current administration, are already canvassing for votes on Twitter as the campaigns for the 2023 general elections get under way.

Discussions about the prohibition on the platform serve as an excellent rallying cry for opposition parties. Some believe that the ban is an attempt to silence the populace, despite the fact that Twitter is a platform that has an impact on people's political awareness.

Because the vast majority of Nigerians use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access their Twitter accounts, the country's revenue contribution to Twitter is almost non-existent, Nigeria has suffered severe economic losses as a result of the ban, and, of course, election season is approaching, Twitter may be hesitant to implement the FG's conditions in the short term.

According to Festus Keyamo, it should come as no surprise that the company is withholding a timeline. Watching how long Twitter can withstand this will be fascinating.