How Jack Dorsey’s romance with young Nigerians and tech community led to Twitter ban
On Monday, November 29, 2021, Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, announced that he was leaving as CEO of the tech company.
Since it was founded in 2006, Twitter’s user base has grown to more than 180 million daily active users. From its formative years to its rise to become one of the biggest tech companies of the last century, Jack Dorsey played a significant role in its astounding growth.
Now that he is stepping aside from the corporation after almost 16 years, Jack’s memoir as CEO of Twitter, if he ever were to write one, would indeed feature his Nigerian journey prominently.
This informs why the Nigerian online community and the tech ecosystem have been filled with the news of Jack’s exit from Twitter; he was the only big tech CEO who openly fraternised with Nigerian tech companies and its young population.
Appointment of Okonjo-Iweala to Twitter Board
In 2018, Jack tweeted that Nigeria’s former minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala would be joining the Twitter board of directors as an independent director. The appointment was commended by the tech community due to Okonjo-Iwela’s experience and track record. For Nigerians, it was much more than at as it was seen as a recognition of one of their own. Many Nigerians tweeted about it commending Jack for appointing a Nigerian to Twitter’s Board. The social media platform soon became personal. It was perceived as part of the Nigerian community and Jack being the face of the platform was considered ‘one of us.’
Jack’s Visit to Nigeria
Jack first visited Nigeria in 2019 in what many considered a statement of intent from the Twitter boss to the ‘Giant of Africa’ to establish its first office in Africa. In a series of Tweets, he expressed his delight in being in Nigeria. In the three days the Twitter founder spent, he visited the CCHub in Lagos and met with some members of the Nigerian tech community.
Jack alongside Parag who would later be announced as the new CEO also met with Okonjo-Iwela in Nigeria where they discussed tech growth in Nigeria and how to create digital jobs in the country.
When he left, he tweeted that he was glad he came and would return to Nigeria in 2020. That planned trip never happened, perhaps partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic but also because, since he visited Nigeria, things have not been the same. While his relationship with Nigerians has gotten better, the same cannot be said of his relationship with the Nigerian government.
EndSARS
Jack Dorsey has repeatedly expressed his love for Nigeria. If you ask any of the over three million young active Twitter users in Nigeria, the feeling is likely to be mutual. After all, In 2020, the platform became the rallying point for young Nigerians in the EndSars protest. His public endorsement of the protest by providing an emoji for the hashtag and tweeting about it further gave it visibility and attracted global attention. This further endeared Nigerians towards him and perhaps laid the foundation for the Nigerian government’s silent animosity towards Twitter, which eventually snowballed into the ban on Twitter in Nigeria in June, 2021.
According to Twitter, “the amount of attention ads receive increases by almost 10% when branded emojis are included in the ad.
“Further, campaigns with branded emojis extend a brand’s presence across Twitter in a way that is personal and authentic to the brand. In fact, the median number of earned media generated is 5.3 million Tweet impressions, representing a 420% increase compared to the earned media baseline.”
By giving the EndSars hashtag its emoji and verifying those who were at the forefront of the movement, Jack demonstrated that he was on the side of Nigerian youths in their protest against police brutality and, by extension, the government.
Ghana Office
In April 2021, Twitter opened its first African office in Ghana. Many had expected the office to be in Nigeria. After all, Nigeria was one of the first African countries Jack visited, and the country also has one of the highest Twitter users in the continent. Twitter explained the choice of Ghana in a blog post in what many saw as a subtle indictment on Nigeria. It said that it selected Ghana because “as a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.”
Cryptocurrency
Beyond supporting the EndSars protest and helping to spread its awareness, Jack went a step further by encouraging his millions of followers to donate to the cause. He provided a link to the Feminist Coalition page encouraging people to donate via Bitcoin. This form of cryptocurrency payment which uses peer-to-peer payment is impossible for the government to track or freeze.
In early 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria sent a circular to all financial institutions announcing a ban on the usage and transaction of cryptocurrency. There is speculation that one of the reasons for the ban on cryptocurrency in Nigeria by the CBN was its usage during the EndSars protest. Despite this, some Nigerians still circumvent the ban to continue to use the service. Unsurprisingly, Jack tweeted about it, saying Nigerians would ultimately lead in the use of cryptocurrency.
Deletion of Buhari’s Tweet
For Jack and Twitter in Nigeria, the last straw was the deletion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet where he warned that his administration would deal with those responsible for insecurity in the Southeast in the language they understand while also making reference to the Nigerian Civil War, which led to the death of 2 million Igbo people.
The deletion of the tweet led to the government announcing an indefinite ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria. The Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation also sent a memo to all broadcasting stations to uninstall the Twitter app and desist from using the social media platform as a source of information.
It’s been six months since the government announced the ban, and at the moment, things are at a stalemate as no one knows when the ban on Twitter will be lifted.
Until then, young Nigerians seem to have resigned to using VPN to access Twitter.
As for Jack, he remains a reference point in Nigeria as the tech CEO who was passionate about young Nigerians and openly defended their cause.
