Nigerian filmmaker turned politician, Desmond Elliot, has lent his voice against the Federal Government’s decision to ban Twitter operations in Nigeria describing it as a withdrawal of human rights.
Africa Daily News, New York had on Friday reported that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria.
Lai Mohammed had stated that the Federal Government had suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria.
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Yesterday morning, the Twitter ban took effect to the displeasure of many Nigerians especially celebrities who use the platform to communicate directly with their fans.
Among them was Desmond Elliot, the lawmaker representing Surulere at the Lagos State House of Assembly who took to a Twitter thread to call on the federal government to reverse the suspension stating that the ban, ‘no matter the reasons proffered tramples upon our fundamental rights as people.’
The legislator said, ‘I want to admonish our government to always remember that the people’s right to express themselves freely must not be compromised. This ban, no matter the reasons proffered tramples upon our fundamental rights as people.’
Elliot reminded the government that Nigerian youths trade their wares and advertise their businesses and services via the micro-blogging site.
He said, ‘In a democratic society like ours, we must weigh the economic and social impact of this ban on the populace — especially our teeming youths and entrepreneurs who depend solely on this platform to carry out their legitimate business.
‘In the past, our government have shown the required goodwill to stand on side of the people even when it’s not too convenient for them to do so. I believe that this won’t be an exception. I want to appeal to the government to reconsider this ban in the interest of our people and our country at large.’
Meanwhile, the politician has come under fire several times on Twitter after some of his comments did not sit down well with Nigerian youths.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
