YENAGOA—A tech and enterprise developer, Harry Porbeni, has reacted to the recent ban of Twitter by the Nigerian government.
In an exclusive interview with mangrovepen.ng, Harry described the ban as unfortunate, stating that Twitter as an integral part of the society has created lots of opportunities.
“The ban is unfortunate. Twitter is one among a few social platforms that have become an integral part of society—from information dissemination to the creation of opportunities and much more.
“I wish things didn’t come to this but it is what it is,” he said.
He reiterated that “the ban will affect every entity that has made the Twitter platform its primary channel of communicating with the target audience, promoting products and services, transacting businesses and the likes.”
Read Also: My Take On The Recent #TwitterBan
Harry further stated that the “government is not exempted from this,” because according to him, “Twitter remains the most active social platform for updating the citizenry.”
The digital media branding strategist, who narrated that both the government and corporate organizations will continue to lose money as long as the ban continues, pointed out that the ban has also rendered a lot of persons jobless, at the moment.
“Nigeria has been losing money since the ban and will continue to do so unless otherwise. Whether we realize it or not, Twitter is not just a microblogging platform.
“To a lot of young people, it is a source of income through which they have become micro and small employers of labour and also pay tax.
“A lot of corporate and nonprofit organisations rely on the Twitter platform to reach their primary audience. It is about the quickest means to get anyone’s attention from any part of the world.
“The Twitter ban has rendered a lot of people jobless at the moment. This will have a ripple effect on different levels.”
He charged individuals and businesses affected by the ban to be innovative and devise more strategies to be in touch with their audience.
“People and businesses affected by this should begin to review their social media strategy and devise more sustainable ways of staying in touch with their audience and market.
“On the flip side, this just shows that we need to start developing the digital assets that can’t be taken away from us, for example, website, email list, to name but a few.”
