Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Update: June 12, 2021
This pancocojams post provides two article excerpts and an alphabetized list that provides some information for non-Nigerians about people, products, places, and events mentioned in tweets about the "indefinite" ban that the Nigerian federal government imposed on the microblogging and social networking service Twitter on June 5, 2021.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/06/examples-of-tweets-about-nigerias.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Examples Of Tweets About Nigeria's Federal Government's Ban On Twitter (June 2021)".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/06/exampels-of-nigerian-tweets-include.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Exampels of Nigerian Tweets The Include The Words "Coconut Head" Or "Coconut Head Generation".
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Pancocojams' Editor's Statement
I stand in solidarity with those who are peacefully protesting the ban on the twitter app in Nigeria, West Africa because the suspension of Twitter is a violation of freedom of speech.
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Disclaimer:
I am African American and don't claim to be an expert on Nigerian culture or politics.
Additions and corrections are welcome.
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EXPLANATION ABOUT THIS POST [added June 10, 2021 at 9:30 AM]
On June 5, 2021, Nigeria's federal government blocked Twitter after the social media site deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened secessionist groups in the southeast who had been responsible for attacks on government offices. (Read article excerpts below.
As a result of that ban, many Nigerians began using VPNs to tweet.
On June 6, 2021, top twitter trending lists in the United States and throughout the world, began listing a number of Nigerian topics. For example, here's a quote from top twitter trends in United States on June 6, 9:57 AM (with the nations that the trending topic came from given in brackets).
"Today's Top Twitter Trending United States topics are Conjuring, Thank God for
VPN, Buhari, Nigeria, Josh Hawley.
And hottest Twitter Trends United States right now are
Buhari, Kawhi, Thank God for VPN, Leffen, #TwitterBan.
3 hours ago
1. #TwitterBan -211K [Nigeria]
2. Buhari -368K [Nigeria]
3. #June12Protest- 50K [Nigeria]
4. #EndSARS -61K [Nigeria]
5. Thank God for VPN- 26K [Nigeria]
6. Kawhi -134K [USA]
7. Abeg -49K [Nigeria]
8. Seyi Makinde- 26K [Nigeria]
9. #GovernorYahayaBello- [Nigeria]
10. #June5Coup- 469K [Myanmar]"
-snip-
By at least June 8, 2021 this emphasis on Nigerian topics in top twitter trending lists worldwide had ended. I'm not sure why. Perhaps Twitter figured out a walk around hashtags posted with VPNs from Nigeria [?]*
Note that the #Keepiton hashtags isn't included in the above list. It seems to me that-as of June 10, 2021-that hashtag seems to be the most active Nigerian hashtag regarding the Nigerian federal govenment's ban on twitter.
June 10, 2021 [10:28 PM]
Three Nigerian themed hashtags are trending in the United States on June 6, 2021 between 7:29 AM and 10:39 AM: Buhari, Lagos, and Niger. Prior to that on June 8, 2021 another Nigerian themed hashtag "Tiwa" (about a verbal spat between Afrobeats singer Tiwa Savage and Seyi Shay, another Nigerian woman who has bad mouthed Tiwa".
Update: June 12, 2021 [7:35 AM ET]
*That explanation for why Nigerian topics weren't top trending in the USA (and worldwide?) is probably incorrect because on June 12 at 7:37 AM, eight of the ten top trending hashtags in the United States are for Nigerian topics:
1. #June12thProtest -1632K [Nigeria]
2. #KeepitOn - 758K [Nigeria]
3. #DemocracyDay - 58K [Nigeria]
4. #BuharMustGo - 37K [Nigeria]
5. #EndBadGoveranceInNigeria - 33K [Nigeria]
6. Reekado - [Nigeria]
7. Ojota- 64K [Nigeria]
8. MONSTA X IS LOVE -15K [K-Pop]
9. Abuja- 172K [Nigeria]
10. WE WANT RESPONSES -333k [K-Pop]
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ARTICLE EXCERPTS
Excerpt #1
From https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/world/africa/nigeria-twitter-president.html Nigeria Bans Twitter After President’s Tweet Is Deleted
The popular social media site had removed a post by President Muhammadu Buhari threatening secessionists in the southeast of the country.
By Ruth Maclean, Published June 5, 2021, Updated June 6, 2021, 12:33 a.m. ET
"DAKAR, Senegal — Nigeria has blocked Twitter after the social media site deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened secessionist groups in the southeast who had been responsible for attacks on government offices.
The government suspended Twitter, which is used by millions of Nigerians, on Friday night, after a government official called the microblogging platform’s presence in Nigeria “very, very suspect.”
The ministry of information posted the announcement of
Twitter’s suspension — on Twitter.
Twitter users in Nigeria expressed outrage at the blocking
of one of the main outlets that they have to criticize their government and try
to hold it to account. Many circumvented the suspension by using virtual
private networks to access the service, raising questions of how effective the
ban will be.
Twitter said Saturday that it was “deeply concerned” by
Nigeria’s action and would work to restore access “for all those in Nigeria who
rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world.”
Twitter Public Policy
@Policy
We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in
Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in
modern society.
We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn
8:17 AM · Jun 5, 2021 ...
Apparently incensed by defiance of the ban, Nigeria’s
attorney general, Abubakar Malami, ordered prompt prosecutions of anyone found
flouting it.
[...]
In the tweet deleted by Twitter on Wednesday, Mr. Buhari
drew a connection between Nigeria’s civil war decades ago and attacks on
offices of the national electoral commission by arsonists and gunmen.
Most of the attacks have been in the southeast, which declared itself the Republic of Biafra in the 1960s and fought a devastating war for secession. Mr. Buhari, who has 4.1 million followers on Twitter, was a commander on the side of the Nigerian government during the war.
“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War,” he wrote in the now-deleted post. Those “who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
Some saw his words as a threat of genocide against the Igbo ethnic group that is in the majority in Nigeria’s southeast. Twitter said the tweet violated its “abusive behavior” policy."...
Excerpt #2
From https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57368535 Nigeria's Twitter ban: Government orders prosecution of
violators June 5, 2021
[…]
A long time coming
Analysis by Nduka Orjinmo, BBC News, Abuja
The Nigerian government has toyed with the idea of regulating social media in the country, and this administration has been obsessed with the idea since it came into office in 2015. Deleting the president's tweet, however, was seen as the final straw.
But it was the role Twitter played in the #EndSars anti-police brutality protests which shook Nigeria last year that truly sealed its fate.
The demonstrations were mostly organised on the platform and the company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, encouraged donations to one of the leading groups of organisers. A special emoji was also created for the protests.
Twitter helped give Nigeria's many youths a voice. But in the eyes of the government, the company's role in galvanising the country's young population was a line crossed.
Yet the government appears not to have reckoned with the ingenuity of #EndSars protesters. People are already downloading VPNs to bypass the block when it happens.
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ALPHABETIZED LIST OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS MENTIONED IN TWEETS ABOUT THE JUNE 5, 2021 NIGERIAN TWITTER BAN
ABEG
From http://naijalingo.com/words/abeg
"Abeg
Definition:Please (a polite addition to a request or
command)
Example:1. Abeg come wash my car
Abeg: to excuse one or pledging for
forgiveness or to give order to somebody
Example:To excuse: Abeg I no go fit
come for dat day
Forgiveness:abeg make you no wex for me o
Order: Abeg make una pay una moni"
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BIAFRA
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra
"Biafra,
officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in West Africa that
existed from May 1967 to January 1970 during the Nigerian Civil War.[2] Its
territory consisted of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. After Biafra's
declaration of independence, Nigeria declared war on the nascent state,
defeating them in the Nigerian Civil War and reuniting the two states.
[...]
In 1960, Nigeria became independent of the United Kingdom.
As with many other new African states, the borders of the country did not
reflect earlier ethnic, cultural, religious, or political boundaries. Thus, the
northern region of the country has a Muslim majority, being primarily made up
of territory of the indigenous Sokoto Caliphate. The southern population is
predominantly Christian, being primarily made up of territory of the indigenous
Yoruba and Igbo states in the west and east respectively. Following
independence, Nigeria was demarcated primarily along ethnic lines: Hausa and
Fulani majority in the north, Yoruba majority in the West, and Igbo majority in
the East.[17]
***
Excerpt #2
From.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51094093 Remembering Nigeria's Biafra war that many prefer to forget By Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Published15 January 2020
"The deaths of more than a million people in Nigeria as a
result of the brutal civil war which ended exactly 50 years ago are a scar on
the nation's history.
For most Nigerians, the war over the breakaway state of Biafra is generally regarded as an unfortunate episode best forgotten, but for the Igbo people who fought for secession, it remains a life-defining event.
In 1967, following two coups and turmoil which led to about a million Igbos returning to the south-east of Nigeria, the Republic of Biafra seceded with 33-year-old military officer Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the helm.
The Nigerian government declared war and after 30 months of fighting, Biafra surrendered. On 15 January 1970, the conflict officially ended.
The government's policy of "no victor, no vanquished" may have led to a lack of official reflection, but many Nigerians of Igbo origin grew up on stories from people who lived through the war."..
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BABA - Yoruba word for "father"; In these Nigerian tweets, "Baba" is a referent for President Buhari.
BUBU- nickname for Nigerian President Mujammadu Buhari.
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BUHARI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammadu_Buhari
"Muhammadu Buhari GCFR (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian
politician who has been president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired
Nigerian Army Major General and served as military head of state from 1983 to
1985, after taking power in a military coup d'état.[2][3]
Buhari ran for president of Nigeria in 2003,
2007, and 2011. In December 2014, he emerged as the nominee of the All
Progressives Congress party for the 2015 general election. Buhari won the
election, defeating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. This was the first
time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost a general
election. He was sworn in on 29 May 2015. In February 2019, Buhari was
re-elected, defeating his closest rival former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by
over 3 million votes.
[...]
Early life
Buhari was born to a Fulani family[8] on 17 December 1942,
in Daura, Katsina State, to his father Mallam Hardo Adamu, a Fulani chieftain,
and his mother Zulaihat.[9][10]"...
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JACK DORSEY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dorsey
Jack
Patrick Dorsey (born November 19, 1976)[5] is an American billionaire
technology entrepreneur and philanthropist who is the co-founder and CEO of
Twitter"...
-snip-
Read the entry below for twitter.
-snip-
A number of tweets in trending Nigerian hashtags thank "Jack" for his support for #EndSars protests, and for other actions, including Twitter's response to reports that Buhari's tweet had violated Twitter's policy regarding threats of violence.
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DESMOND ELIOT
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Elliot
"Desmond Elliot (born Desmond Oluwashola Elliot; 4 February,
1974) is a Nigerian actor, director, and politician [2][3] who has starred in
over two hundred films and a number of television shows and soap operas.[4] He
won best supporting actor in a drama at the 2nd Africa Magic Viewers Choice
Awards and was nominated for best supporting actor at the 10th Africa Movie
Academy Awards. He was elected as a lawmaker of the Lagos State House of
Assembly, Surulere Constituency, in the 11 April, 2015 Nigerian General
Elections.
Politics
Elliot declared his intentions in September 2014
to run for Lagos State House of Assembly under the All Progressives Congress.
He contested and won the Surulere Constituency in the 11 April 2015 Nigerian
General Elections.[16]In October 2020, during the End SARS protest, Desmond was
heavily criticized[17] for allegedly supporting Anti-Social Media Bill in
Nigeria; an allegation he earlier denied when the news first filtered in via
social media.[18][19][20] In a viral video circulating all over the internet,
he was seen vehemently criticizing social media users and influencers and
stating that if the Nigerian state doesn't stop social media, social media will
destroy the Nigerian state. His comments were not taken lightly by Nigerians on
social media and thus the popular Nigerian pidgin slang, na Desmond Elliot
cause am, meaning It's Desmond Elliot's fault, was born"...
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#ENDSARS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_SARS
"End SARS is a decentralised social movement, and series of
mass protests against police brutality in Nigeria. The slogan calls for the
disbanding of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the
Nigerian Police with a long record of abuses.[2][3] The protests which takes
its name from the slogan started in 2017 as a Twitter campaign using the
hashtag #EndSARS to demand the disbanding of the unit by the Nigerian
government.[4][5][6] After experiencing a revitalisation in October 2020
following more revelations of the abuses of the unit, mass demonstrations
occurred throughout the major cities of Nigeria, accompanied by vociferous
outrage on social media platforms. About 28 million tweets bearing the hashtag
have been accumulated on Twitter alone.[7]"...
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FULANI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_people
"The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people (Fula: Fulɓe, 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫;
French: Peul; Hausa: Fulani or Hilani; Portuguese: Fula; Wolof: Pël; Bambara:
Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa,
widely dispersed across the region.[2] Inhabiting many countries, they live
mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa but also in South
Sudan, Darfur, Eritrea, and regions near the Red Sea coast."...
-snip-
A number of tweets in the trending Nigerian hashtags note that Nigerian President Buhari is Fulani and that Fulanis have been involved in a number of recent village/city attacks in Nigeria such as the one in Igangan [read below] without any federal goverment arrests.
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IGUNGAN
A lLocation in Nigeria where more than twenty people were killed by people who were reported to be Fulani herders.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/updated-gunmen-kill-20-in-igangan-in-fresh-attack/
-snip-
"Igangan" was trending at #10 in United State top trending hashtags at 7:00 AM ET.
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T, B. JOSHU
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._B._Joshua
"Temitope Balogun Joshua (12 June 1963 – 5 June 2021) was a Nigerian charismatic pastor, televangelist, and philanthropist. He was the leader and founder of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN),[3] a Christian megachurch that runs the Emmanuel TV television station from Lagos. He was one of Nigeria’s millionaire church pastors who fly private jets.
Joshua was known for his popularity across Africa and Latin America[4] and his social media presence with 3,500,000 fans on Facebook.[5] His YouTube channel, Emmanuel TV, had over 1,000,000 YouTube subscribers and was the world's most viewed Christian ministry on the platform before it was suspended.[6] He was described as the "Oprah of Evangelism"[7] and "YouTube's most popular Pastor".[8]"...
-snip-
The tweets about the sudden death of popular and controversial televangelist T B Joshua serves as examples of the ways that twitter is used to inform, show support, and share opinions.
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LEKKI MASSACRE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Lekki_shooting
"On
the night of 20 October 2020, at about 6:50 p.m, members of the Nigerian Army
opened fire on peaceful End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos
State, Nigeria.[5] Amnesty International stated that at least 12 protesters
were killed during the shooting, however it is said the number is definitely
higher.[3]"...
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SEYI MAKINDE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyi_Makinde
"Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde (born 25 December 1967) is a
Nigerian businessman, politician and philanthropist. He is the current governor
of Oyo State.[1][2]"...
-snip-
According to a number of tweets, Makinde is the first (and the only?) Nigerian governor to speak out against the Nigerian federal government's ban on twitter.
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ABUBAKAR MALAMI
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abubakar_Malami
"Abubakar Malami SAN (born 17 April 1967),[1] is a Nigerian
lawyer and politician who since 2015 is serving as Minister for Justice and
Attorney-General.[2][3]
Background
Abubakar Malami ,a fulani muslim ,was born on 17 April 1967
in Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi State, Northern Nigeria."...
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LAI MUHAMMAD
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_Mohammed
"Lai Mohammed is an active politician and was the National
Publicity Secretary of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Nigeria. He was on 11
November 2015 sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari as Minister of Information
and Culture following his appointment and successful screening by the Nigerian
Senate. On 21 August 2019 he was again sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari
as Minister of information and culture.[8]
He has been accused by some local and international news about giving contradictory accounts of events in his country. This is evidential in his #EndSARS accounts, which were at first, different from those claimed by the Lagos State government and the Nigerian Army....
He had accused CNN of being "desperate", after the
international media released several footages, to prove the massacre of the protesters
at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos, Nigeria. However, the CNN had requested for
substantial proofs, to prove that the media outlet had reported "Fake
news", as he claimed. [10]"...
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NIGERIA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria
"Nigeria (/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/ (About this soundlisten)), officially
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It borders Niger
in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the
west. Its southern coast is on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.
Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital
Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. Lagos, one of the largest
metropolitan areas in the world, is the largest city in Nigeria and the
continent of Africa.[7]
[...]
[...]
Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250
ethnic groups speaking 500 distinct languages, all identifying with a wide
variety of cultures.[10][11][12] The three largest ethnic groups are the
Hausa–Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east, together
comprising over 60% of the total population.[13]
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa
and the seventh-most populous country in the world, with an estimated
population of 206 million. Its economy is the largest in Africa, the
27th-largest in the world...
[...]
Internet freedom
According to the National Bureau of Statistics in 2020,
Nigeria has about 136,203,231 million internet users out of an estimated
population of 205,886,311.[259] This implies that as of 2020, 66 percent of the
Nigerian population are connected to the internet and using it actively.
Although Nigerians are using the internet for educational, social networking, and entertainment purposes, the internet has also become a tool for mobilizing political protests in Nigeria. Its effectiveness was felt during the 2019 #RevolutionNow and the widespread 2020 #EndSARS protests that started from social media. However, the Nigerian government has become threatened by how its citizens are using the internet to influence governance and political changes. Using various measures including but not limited to Illegal arrest, taking down of websites, passport seizures, and restricted access to bank accounts, the Nigerian Government punishes citizens for expressing themselves on the internet and working to stifle internet freedom. Omoyele Sowore, the convener of the #RevolutionNow protest was arrested in 2019 for 'threatening public safety, peaceful co-existence, and social harmony in the country.' [260] Modupe 'Moe' Odele passport was seized in November 2020 for being a strong #EndSARS advocate online.[261] On grounds of treason, about 20 #EndSARS protesters' bank accounts were frozen for months.[262]
On November 5, 2019, an Anti-social Media Bill entitled, 'Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill 2019' was introduced by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to criminalise the use of social media in peddling 'false' or 'malicious information.'[263] The bill proposed huge fines and incarceration for up to three years for hate speech, fake news, and the use of parody social media accounts. ...
Due to how the Nigerian government is responding to internet
freedom among other things such as limitations to intenet access and violations
of users rights, Nigeria ranked 26th out of the 65 countries evaluated for
internet freedom in the Freedom House 2020 Index.[266]
****
YEMI OSINBAJO
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemi_Osinbajo
"Oluyemi Oluleke "Yemi" Osinbajo GCON (born 8 March 1957), is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is currently serving as the Vice President of Nigeria, since 29th May, 2015."...
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TWITTER
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
"Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking
service on which users post and interact with messages known as
"tweets". Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets, but
unregistered users can only read them. Users access Twitter through its website
interface or its mobile-device application software ("app"), though
the service could also be accessed via SMS before April 2020.[13] Twitter, Inc.
is based in San Francisco, California, and has more than 25 offices around the
world.[14] Tweets were originally restricted to 140 characters, but the limit
was doubled to 280 for non-CJK languages in November 2017.[15] Audio and video
tweets remain limited to 140 seconds for most accounts.
Twitter was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in March 2006 and launched in July of that year. By 2012, more than 100 million users posted 340 million tweets a day,[16] and the service handled an average of 1.6 billion search queries per day.[17][18][19] In 2013, it was one of the ten most-visited websites and has been described as "the SMS of the Internet".[20] As of Q1 2019, Twitter had more than 330 million monthly active users.[10]"...
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VPN
From https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/what-is-a-vpn
"VPN stands for "Virtual Private Network" and
describes the opportunity to establish a protected network connection when
using public networks. VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and disguise your
online identity. This makes it more difficult for third parties to track your
activities online and steal data. The encryption takes place in real time.
How does a VPN work?
A VPN hides your IP address by letting the network redirect
it through a specially configured remote server run by a VPN host. This means
that if you surf online with a VPN, the VPN server becomes the source of your
data. This means your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other third parties
cannot see which websites you visit or what data you send and receive online. A
VPN works like a filter that turns all your data into "gibberish".
Even if someone were to get their hands on your data, it would be useless."...
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