Nigerian government shuts down Twitter
Nigeria loses over N90 million for every hour the social media app, Twitter, is shutdown by the Federal Government, a new report has estimated to show the cost of the ban.
The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, had announced that the Nigerian government has decided to ban operations of Twitter within the country, without giving specific timeframe.
Former US President, Donald Trump, banned for two years by Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook.
Although, Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, said the ban was temporary, nevertheless, the decision is hurting the country's economy.
In an estimation by Netblocks’ Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST), it stated that N90.7 million is lost per hour, but when measured by the past 31 hours, the ban cost Nigeria N2.8 billion, as at 7:00 am of June 6, 2021, considering 39.6 million Nigerians uses Twitter.
It was gathered that Nigeria will lose an estimated N453.5 million per hour if Facebook, YouTube, and other social media apps are shutdown, while it will cost the country N2.02 billion per hour if the internet is completely shutdown.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Nigerian tech founders have criticised President Muhammadu Buhari's decision to ban the operations of social media site, Twitter.
They stated that the ban will have a negative implication on the country's business environment which has been plagued by various downsides affecting business growth.
The founders said jobs will be lost to the ban, as Twitter has provided employment opportunities for many Nigerians. They also said the ban will affect investors' confidence in Nigeria.
