Since the Federal Government of Nigeria banned twitter, there have been multiples of unintended consequences on the trail. First SERAP and about 176 Civil Society groups dragged the federal Government to ECOWAS court.
Every public discussion in the public space has been inundated with what many have described as a clamped down on the rights of Nigerians, to express themselves on the activities of government.
The Government of the United States has since condemned the ban, saying it is against the rights of Nigerians to express themselves in a democratic setting.
Several European countries too have taken the same route to give a knock on the ban.
The Nigeria Government had summoned the Ambassadors of these countries to brief them on the issue.
The suspension of twitter which is a micro blogging platform has become a festering sore on the face that cannot be covered. All attempts to justify the suspension do not seem to satisfy the international community and civil society groups.
The Federal government was irked by the penchant of twitter in encouraging contents that threaten the sovereignty, peace and stability of Nigeria.
The tweets of the leader of the outlawed IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu to say the least provoked a lot of concern.
Worse still the tweet of president Buhari was deleted with much dishonour, leading to angst and bitter reprisal.
Twitter did not treat the president of the largest black nation with respect and the honour he deserves.
Despite all entreaties by government across the globe, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the vociferous minister of information Lai Mahammed has come up with conditionalities for the lifting of the ban or suspension. A recent press statement by F.G insists that twitter must register as a corporate entity in Nigeria and must be licensed to operate, subject to Nigerian Laws.This makes corporate sense and nationalistic to say the least.
These moves sound very reactionary rather than proactive. Shouldn’t FG have taken these measures earlier? Must we wait to be humiliated before putting up institutions that should guide and guard our territorial integrity and nation hood.
The socio-Economic Rights and Accountability project (SERAP) and 176 concerned Nigerians filled a suit at the ECOWAS court during the week anchored by the rights activist Femi Falana.
The group has argued that the suspension of tweeter is aimed at intimidating and stopping Nigerians from using Twitter to assess government policies, as well as expose corruption and criticize acts of official impunity by government and its agents.
The group sorts an order of interim injunction restraining the Federal Government from implementing the suspension. So much have been said on the implications of the suspension on the economy of Nigeria and those doing business in Nigeria, including media organizations.
The impacts of the suspension no doubt have consequences of losses on the media and other operatives that use the platform.
The P.D.P caucus of the Green Chambers in the National Assembly came out with strong words condemning the suspension, describing it as draconic. The group indulged all Nigerians to continue tweeting despite the government threats to prosecute users of the platform through VPN.
A Nigerian American commentator John Obidi who raised a red flag over the suspension of twitter in Nigeria described the implication of the ban as being associated with the law of unintended consequences. Nigerian Government has banned the use of twitter, but did not envisage that smart Nigerians would use VPN to by-pass the ban. In this case the United States is the default or preferred location to tweet.
The unintended consequences therefore are indications that stories which ordinarily would have been trending in Nigeria went viral in the United States.
So many Nigerians among the 40 million users have begun to tweet directly to the American audience who ordinarily would not see some of the issues that are very local to the country. Consequently, the federal government has been exposed and it is now a case of washing our dirty linings in public.
This has monumental consequences on Nigeria’s international relations and economy.
The Buhari administration has begun to have a monster reputation as being draconian and authoritarian in dealing with its citizens, despite the merit of its actions. Indeed, through VPN, the anger of Nigerians is being tweeted to the world. This is drawing global attention on domestic matters that would have remained local.
This is an unintended consequence. The law of unintended consequence can be avoided byby utilizing a thinking tool of the “second order thinking”. This recognizes the fact that by solving one problem, Nigeria may have inadvertently created another. In this case the exposure of its challenges to the world in a more shameful manner would have been avoided, but its passion to stop a platform they thought was being used by enemies of the government prevailed. The implication is that Government must always plan and act beyond their immediate obsession to avoid unintended consequences.
Unintended consequences come with unmitigated fury and blind chase of a course of action. The result is always fatal.
There is nothing wrong with Nigeria asserting its sovereignty and respect for its laws and corporate practice, by insisting that twitter must register in Nigeria. There is also nothing wrong in checking and monitoring media contents that may be inimical to the peace and stability of Nigeria. The problem lies with the inability of the institutions in Nigeria to operate in line with international best practices.
The Nigerian Government should also investigate why twitter preferred to anchor in Ghana rather than Nigeria. Something is wrong with Nigerian Ease of Doing Business parameters. The business environment is no longer favourable to Direct Foreign Investment.
No one invites a dog to a party with a big stick in the hand. Nigeria is becoming an evil snake that eats its tail.
The body language of the government of the day, has sent the wrong signals to the international community. It has become obvious that the centre can no longer hold.

By: Bon Woke