Stakeholders To FG: Social Media Ban Stifling Whistle Blowing Policy, Anti-Corruption War
Stakeholders at a Radio Town Hall Meeting on “Whistle blowing and Whistle blower Protection” have said that the ban of the micro-blogging platform, Twitter amounts to disservice to the government’s fight against corruption and whistle blowing policy.
They therefore called on the Federal Government to restore Twitter operations in Nigeria.
Following the deleting of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet which Twitter considered as going against its community rules, the Federal Government last week Friday, announced an “indefinite suspension” of the operations of the micro-blogging platform in Nigeria.
Speaking at a town hall meeting organized by the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) in collaboration with the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG), Wednesday in Abuja, the Director of Programs at YIAGA Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu asserted that the ban on Twitter was misplaced, saying that the clampdown on Twitter is causing distrust and will affect whistle blowing in Nigeria.
Mbamalu stressed that the government failed to look at the broader picture and benefits of the platform in the fight against corruption before slamming a ban on it.
According to her; “Twitter was one platform where people were revealing and reporting incidences, it was one platform where people beyond the young entrepreneurs who conduct businesses earn a living. There were critical reports of violation, corruption, and demands for accountability, and they were all done on the Twitter platform.
“The whole conversation around sex for grade and having a bill to criminalize sexual harassment in tertiary institutions all started with a social media campaign, on Twitter platform in particular.
“The platform remains an important platform to demanding accountability,” she said.
Mbamalu called on citizens not to relent in holding the government accountable against all odds.
She called for more education for citizens in the fight against corruption, noting that women will play a better role in the fight against corruption if they get more education.
Similarly, Community Engagement Officer at Connected Development, (CODE), Mukhtar Modibbo condemned the suspension of Twitter operation in the country, adding that trust was lacking between the people and government.
In his words; “Look at the reality of the country, you will be wondering if the citizens will be able to trust the system.
“How many people were protected after blowing the whistle? One of the persons was someone that collected the money and had to leave the country because his life was under threat,” he opined.
Modibbo called on the government to do more in mobilizing citizens against corruption by being more responsible, and open for citizens to hold them accountable.
On his part, the Team Lead, Tap Initiative, Martin Obono while expressing discontent on the Twitter ban disclosed that there are a plethora of benefits in using technology and social media to expose corruption, adding that it is high time Nigeria developed an App to fight corruption.
He said; “Government must look at the negative sides of banning social media. Technology provides grounds for tweet meet, short messages to document abuses and human rights.
“There are a plethora of areas to use social media to fight corruption but in the absence of whistle blowing law, the creation of an App to expose corruption and protection of whistle blower’s identity is needed”.
According to Obono, the steam of whistle blowing is dying because some people who blew the whistle in the past never got the incentive government promised them and therefore urged the government to demonstrate political will that they are really interested in fighting corruption, which will inadvertently make citizens act accordingly.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons With Disability, Musa Mu’azu Musa pleaded with the government to immediately reverse its ban on Twitter.
Musa, who stated that persons with disability (PWDs) can play a major role in the fight against corruption, decried the spate of corruption in the country, adding that 99 percent of problems faced today by PWDs are caused by corruption.
His words; “I am advising the government please, apart from the economic benefits, there are social rights around it. We owe it to our government to get feedback on their policies and the only way we can give them that feedback is through those platforms. So, we want them to lift the Twitter ban and also encourage people to speak using the platform,” Musa stated.
