‘Buhari administration lazy, not ready to solve problems’
Buhari |
The current Federal Government of Nigeria, headed by Muhammadu Buhari as the President of
Nigeria, has been described not only as lazy, but also unwilling to solve Nigeria’s problems which should be its major mandate.This allegation, that Buhari and
his staff are lazy, was made by the Executive Director, Enough Is Enough (EiE)
Nigeria, Yemi Adamolekun, during a media briefing held on Monday, September 13,
2021 on the ongoing ban of Twitter in the country by the Buhari administration.
Organized by leading civil
society organisations, the briefing which was held to mark 100 days since the
ban and to further expose its lingering consequences, took a critical look at
the origin of the ban, the blatant disregard for rule-of-law by the federal
government and the ban’s dire consequences to the economy and the citizenry of
Nigeria.
While speaking at the briefing, Adamolekun
described the ban as a disservice to the government which in a bid to stifle
its citizens had also destroyed the positive impact of agencies like the
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) which up until the ban provided
COVID-19 updates and kept citizens aware and conscious of the pandemic.
“We have issues like
unemployment, a pandemic, insecurity, poverty, and absence of a sense of
belonging, the government neglected their concerns and moved to ban Twitter.
“If the government of Nigeria
wanted to ban Twitter, they could have done it legally, but there is no
document, either a legal document or court order backing their action. This is
a gross violation of human rights, and we must hold the government accountable.
“Twitter has shown its ability to
help mobilise younger Nigerians and give them a voice. And as we go on to the
2023 general election and as long as the federal government chooses not to deal
with the fundamental issues that Nigerians have. And as long as there’s a place
that Nigerians can exercise their voice - Twitter, radio, Facebook, Instagram -
they will find a way to express themselves.”
She added that the action of the
Federal Government “is just laziness and shows they’re not ready to solve the
problems on the table.”
Also present at the press
briefing was the Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative (PIN), Gbenga Sesan,
who confirmed that the ban had impacted the revenue projections of many
businesses.
He disclosed that according to
NetBlocks: “Nigeria has lost about $250,000 every hour since the Twitter ban, a
figure arrived at using the Brookings Institution method.”
He added that though the
government claimed the social media platform was being used by warmongers to
destabilise the country, the ban was more about the ego of the President and
the lies of the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who could
not comprehend the boldness and wit with which young Nigerians demanded
accountability from their leaders on the platform.
He also noted that the present
administration, having failed in doing its job of arresting criminals and
terrorists who use social media, decided to stifle the entire population and
make Nigerians suffer for its failings.
Giving an insight into some of
the activities carried out by CSOs since the ban, Director of Programmes, Media
Rights Agenda (MRA), Ayode Longe, stated that as soon as the Twitter ban came
into effect, civil groups jointly condemned the action and called on the
federal government to withdraw the order.
Longe stated that the
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) led 176 concerned
Nigerians to file the first lawsuit at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice
against the government.
“Following the suit, the ECOWAS
Court on June 22, 2021, issued an order restraining the Buhari administration
from prosecuting or harassing any Nigerian for using Twitter or any other
social media platform in the light of the threat by the Minister of Justice and
Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), that anyone using
Twitter despite the suspension would be prosecuted.”
He added that EiE Nigeria also
filed a N5bn claim at the Federal High Court in Lagos against four mobile
telecommunications operators in Nigeria over their blocking of access to the
messaging platform in a class action on behalf of the companies’ subscribers,
including PIN and MRA.
He continued that “despite the
legal actions, the Nigerian government has stuck to its guns in continuing the
ban. Lai Mohammed said the government would ‘soon reverse the ban’ as meetings
have been held with Twitter and some demands made by the government have been
met but Twitter hasn’t been unbanned.”
The groups observed that the
prolonged ban reflected the poor understanding of the government (and the
governed) about a truly democratic state as well as the government’s shameless
use of fear and threats in passing draconian orders.
Buttressing this point, Adamolekun
said, “Let’s not forget, as a people we were not taught what a Democracy is.
What a lot of us grew up understanding is military rule and in military rule
you keep yourself to yourself, nobody wanted to die, nobody wanted to end up in
jail. So, for us as Nigerians, the power dynamics of a democracy, we don’t
understand it.”
The groups reiterated their
positions in pursuing the various suits filed against the federal government;
ensuring that the voices of Nigerians are heard and encouraging the citizenry
to stand their grounds in exercising their rights, as upheld by the Nigerian
constitution.
For further information, please
contact:
Valery Njiaba
Communications Officer
Paradigm Initiative, Lagos
Email: media@paradigmhq.org
Akindeji Aromaye
Media Associate
EiE Nigeria, Lagos
Email: akindeji@eienigeria.org
Idowu Adewale
Communications Officer
Media Rights Agenda, Lagos
E-mail:
idowu@mediarightsagenda.org
SERAP, Lagos
E-mail: info@serap-nigeria.org
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