Nigerians Lose N150.46bn In Two Months Due to Twitter Ban

 

The ban on Twitter by the federal governemnt has cost Nigerian businesses a staggering N150.46bn ($366.88m).

 

Recall that the Federal Government banned Twitter on June 5.

 

The latest release is according to figures calculated by NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool. According to the tool, it costs Nigeria’s economy N102.77m ($250,600) every hour to ban Twitter.

 

It has been 1,464 hours (61 days) since the ban. In that time period, Nigeria may have lost N150.46bn.

 

The NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool estimates the economic impact of an internet disruption, mobile data blackout or app restriction in a nation using indicators from the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, Eurostat and U.S. Census.

 

The Federal Government had on June 4 announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. Telecommunication companies started blocking access to Twitter on June 5, after they received a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission to block access to Twitter.

 

The FG had cited the persistent use of the platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence as the reason for the suspension.

 

Following the ban, groups including the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, had dragged the Federal Government to the ECOWAS court.

 

The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government told a Federal High Court in Lagos that it had not stopped Nigerians from using Twitter, adding that many Nigerians still used it every day.

 

This was in a counter-affidavit the government deposed to in response to an originating motion filed by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong.

 

The affidavit said, “The applicant (Effiong) and the class he seeks to represent can still operate those Twitter accounts from anywhere in the world and even from Nigeria.

 

According to a report by Statista, Nigeria has about 33 million active social media users, with about 26 per cent on Twitter.

 

Since the ban, some Nigerians have migrated to the use of Virtual Private Networks.

 

ExpressVPN said in June that it recorded an increase of over 200 per cent in web traffic from Nigeria since the Federal Government banned Twitter.

 

VPN works by changing the location of devices they run on. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises have said this has not been good for their businesses.

 

In a report in The PUNCH, financial planner, Kalu Aja said, “Social media enables the brand to talk directly to consumers. It’s direct marketing, specific and targeted. There is no organisation on earth, profit or not-for-profit, without some form of advocacy via social media.

 

Olanregun Ayodele who sells women’s and men’s clothing on Twitter said, “Twitter was very important to my business. I got a lot of customers from Twitter.

 

Another SME entrepreneur, Babatunde Motunrayo, who sells female accessories on Twitter said, “Twitter was very helpful. I got 75 per cent sales here, compared to other apps I sell on. I use Instagram too but make more sales from Twitter.