I guess you have heard about the Twitter ban in Nigeria, it just happened like period cramps, you know how people react when they are in their feelings? The expressive nature of Nigerians provoked our president into banning Twitter the same Twitter they have used in the past for their campaigns. Unknown gunmen are everywhere terrorizing Nigerians but just one tweet from the president was taken down and see the immediate response we got, the ban happened effectively.
Twitter ban: After VPN what next?
Nigerians are too quick to move on, so our leaders continue to disrespect us and ride on us. Things happen in our nation and people come with the energy of fixing everything and suddenly the flames die off like we are so cool with the recent happenings? Take, for instance, the End SARS protest, people died, properties got destroyed and yet nothing is been said about the incident anymore.
What happened to all the struggles, why did we quit? Our leaders always find a way to shut us up, they killed people and they lied that no one died during the protest, they arrested innocent civilians and we can’t do anything; well, we are so powerless in a democratic society. Where is freedom in Nigeria? A nation where one person could wake up and change policies because of mood swings because one person is in his feelings and he tosses around a whole nation like a swing. I guess this can only happen in Nigeria, our dearest president is the Lord, you dare not object to his command.
Where are the elected Representatives, senators, who were elected for the purpose of speaking for the people? They are so mute now, no one wants to get involved, every one of them securing the bags and damning the people. During elections we hear them talk about the common good but what did we get? a group of people siphoning funds and betraying the people who voted them in.
It was wrong for the President of Nigeria to disrespect the efforts of people and to talk down their struggles during the Biafran remembrance day, here is the statement our dear president made as Nigerians commemorated the Biafran War and the efforts of their heroes past, as they pray that such never reoccurs, “Ozoemena”.
Here is the tweet from President Muhammed Buhari, ” Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War; those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand”.
This was acrid and coming from a person who is supposed to stand as a shepherd is so wrong and disappointing, it was wrong for the president of Nigeria to threaten young people with civil war, an incident as the Biafran war that was so painful and many wished they can erase the memory from their hearts is what our president threatened us with.
The same president who has done nothing about terrorism and insecurity, who has pleaded with kidnappers in a statement he made on Twitter on the 5th of May 2021, the president tweeted and I quote ” I again appeal for the release of the students of Greenfield University and all other citizens held in captivity. We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Nigerians live in a country where everyone can move where and when they want without the fear of kidnapping and banditry”.
See how calm and patient and nice he is to people who are making us live in fear but the president is threatening innocent young civilians with war? Just, wow! It is the most disgusting thing I have seen on the net this year. Little wonder, Twitter had to take it off because that threat of a statement from a leader is all shades of wickedness.
All these led to the suspension and banning of Twitter in Nigeria by the President. Nigerians didn’t find his statement funny, so people engaged the president with tweets and here we are; banned from tweeting in our own country because our president felt offended due to the back clashes he got and because Twitter took down his tweet.
Let us come back to Nigerians and how they move on as usual. We keep moving on and on and finding alternative ways to feel better in times like this, this is not good for the change we are looking for, Day and night our rights are taken away from us and we sit back and fold our hands.
They took away food from our tables and we bend to the ground to pick crumbs, they take away clean water and we drink from the gutters, they allow us to live in darkness and we buy generators; They allow us to live in fear with the frequent kidnap and killings and we just stay back at home and lock our doors, and this has been the order of the day.
We moved on until we got to the Twitter ban and again, Nigerians still found a way out of this, they introduced VPN and now no one remembers that our president was so wrong to ban Twitter, because what justification does he have for banning Twitter in Nigeria?
This will never end if we continue to find alternative measures or other coping mechanisms to survive in Nigeria, we cant continue to give excuses for arrogance of our leaders, we cannot continue to do this. Why can’t we put an end to the numerous frustrations. Why must we always bend for these bad people without consciences? We can’t continue to tolerate them, this attitude of adapting to situations in Nigeria and making everything a joke or meme is the reason they are still riding on us.
The government wants to start licensing social media and OTT operations in Nigeria, we are busy preaching about the digital space and how it is beneficial for people and start-ups and we are getting all these. We all want to leave Nigeria what happens to those who cannot, they should stay here suffer, and die? we are just nothing thinking about our reactions to the attitudes of our leaders, we have to take a break from the whole drama and restrategize, this time we should come out more resilient and focused and we should mean the change. We have to stop adjusting to their cruelty.
We can’t all live in Nigeria, for the poor old woman in my village who cannot afford to leave the country can we find a way to make this nation better. Running away won’t solve the problem, the point still remains, there is still a suffering Nigeria whether we like it or not and this nation needs help and it starts with all of us.
Democracy is gradually phasing out and it is sad!
Twitter ban is an eye opener do not be distracted.
