Twitter ban: Nigeria loses N24.72bn in 10 days

Nigeria has lost N24.72bn ($60.14m) in 10 days to the Twitter ban that took effect on June 5.

According to NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool, Nigeria loses N102.9m ($250,600) every hour to the ban.

The Federal Government had on June 4, 2021 announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, had cited ‘the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence’ as the reason for the suspension.

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

When asked what the ban meant to businesses in the nation, the Director General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, Ayoola Olukanni, said, “Communication is a significant part of sales and marketing in this digital age.  Consequently, the Twitter ban will likely impact negatively and disrupt businesses especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises who rely on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram including Twitter to conduct business.

“It will therefore most likely negatively impact the IT sector of the economy which is already facing several other challenges.”

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