Muhammadu Buhari - The African Mirror

Jul

20

2021

Nigerian regulator tells TV stations to curb reporting on violence

NIGERIA’S broadcasting regulator has asked TV stations to curb their reporting of insecurity in the country by withholding details of incidents and victims, in what a leading civil society group described as a “sweeping gag order”. Africa’s most populous nation is facing multiple security crises, with the northeast in the grip of a decade-long Islamist insurgency, the northwest hit by a wave of mass abductions of schoolchildren, and kidnappings for ransom rife in many states. Some experts say the surge in criminality is partly driven by economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 shock in 2020, while the World Bank has…

Jun

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria president asks lawmakers for funds for COVID-19 vaccines, military

BUSINESS

Nigeria's president has asked parliament to approve 895.8 billion naira ($2.18 billion) as an extra-budgetary provision to fund the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and military equipment, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The government in February said it will draw up a supplementary budget to cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations, for which no provision was made in the 2021 finance bill adopted in December. Nigeria had planned to spend 13.6 trillion naira ($33.10 billion) in 2021, a 21% rise from the previous year. "The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the procurement terms were still uncertain at the time…

Jun

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian police fire teargas to break up protests

NEWS

SEUN SANNI and AFOLABI SOTUNDE POLICE fired teargas and detained several demonstrators in the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja on Saturday during protests over the country's worsening security situation. Anger over mass kidnappings-for-ransom, a decade-long Islamist insurgency and a crackdown on protesters in Lagos last October has fuelled demands for the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to do more to tackle violence and insecurity. There was a heavy police presence in the country's two major cities as several hundred people gathered to protest on Democracy Day, which marks Nigeria's move to civilian rule more than 20 years ago. Reuters…

Jun

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s Twitter ban is part of a larger attack on civil society

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NELSON OLANIPEKUN FOUR years ago, Omoregie* and his friends were arrested without cause and taken into custody. When they got to the station, Omoregie watched as the police began to beat his friends. Afraid, he began to discreetly tweet about the attacks as they took place. I and many other Twitter users could read his fears while he called for help through his tweets. Taking action as a lawyer, I was able to secure his release within a few hours with the help of other activists through the police unit responsible for citizen complaints. I had been thinking of Omoregie…

Jun

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Buhari tells youth to ‘behave’ if they want jobs

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has told young Nigerians that they must "behave" in order to attract jobs and investment. Buhari, speaking on Arise TV, said security was essential in order for investment in the country, where unemployment rose to 33.3% in the fourth quarter. "Nobody is going to invest in an insecure environment. So I told them, I said they should tell the youth that if they want jobs, they will behave themselves," Buhari said. "Make sure that the area is secure. So that people can come in and invest." Nigeria has struggled with high unemployment and rapid population…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Twitter ban will harm Nigeria as a technology investment destination

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN recent years Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, has become Africa’s most attractive tech hub for investors. But that could be imperilled by the government’s decision to suspend Twitter’s operations in the country. TOLU OLAREWAJU, Lecturer in Economics, Staffordshire University Although no direct connection has been drawn, the ban came two days after Twitter took down a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari. Twitter claimed the message had been deleted because it violated its rules against “abusive behaviour”. The ban could be in retaliation. A new chill entered into the relationship between Nigeria and Twitter in mid-April when the social media platform…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerians fight government’s Twitter ban with legal action

NEWS

KIM HARRISBERG ALMOST 200 Nigerians filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to lift a ban on Twitter, describing the government's decision to block the site as stifling "any dissenting voice" and digital rights. The ban was announced on Friday, two days after the social media giant removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists, and the government said those who continued to use Twitter would be prosecuted. "The (suspension) negatively impacted millions of Nigerians who carry on their daily businesses and operational activities on Twitter," said Kolawole Oluwadare of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP),…

Jun

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian telecom firms block access to Twitter

NEWS

NIGERIAN telecoms firms have blocked access to Twitter following a regulatory directive aimed at suspending the U.S. social media giant indefinitely, a move criticised by rights campaigners and diplomats as a gag on free speech. Nigeria's government said on Friday it had suspended Twitter's activities indefinitely, two days after the platform removed a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists in the West African country. The country's main telecoms industry body, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), confirmed the suspension. "Based on national interest provisions ... our members have acted in compliance with…

Jun

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria suspends Twitter in tit-for-tat action

NEWS

NIGERIA has announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter's activities, two days after the social media giant removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists. Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government had acted because of "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence". Mohammed did not spell out what form the suspension would take or give more details on the undermining activities. His ministry also announced Twitter's suspension on Twitter. https://twitter.com/FMICNigeria/status/1400843062641717249 When asked about the details of the suspension, a ministerial aide told Reuters: "Wait and see…

Jun

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Twitter removes President’s ‘abusive’ civil war post

NEWS

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM TWITTER has removed a post by Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari threatening punishment for regional secessionists blamed for attacks on government buildings. The social media firm said Buhari's tweet, referring to the 1967-70 civil war in the southeastern Biafra region that killed 1 million people, violated its "abusive behaviour" policy leading to a 12-hour suspension of his account. Buhari, who served in the army against the secessionists and was Nigeria's military ruler in the 1980s, tweeted on Tuesday that many people misbehaving today were too young to remember the deaths and destruction from the civil war. "Those of us…