ASSESSING THE POPULARITY OF TWITTER USAGE AFTER the BAN LIFTING IN NIGERIAN: A STUDY OF UNIBEN STUDENTS

ASSESSING THE POPULARITY OF TWITTER USAGE AFTER the BAN LIFTING IN NIGERIAN: A STUDY OF UNIBEN STUDENTS

​​​​​​​Background Of The Study

People have long recognized social media as a means of human interaction in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual groups and networks. Because of the increasing popularity of social media platforms, new digital social networks have emerged in which individuals can participate and exchange information, news, and ideas at an unprecedented rate and ease. As a result, it appears that the adoption of such technologies has the potential to alter present social arrangements and relationships (Zhang, Johnson, Seltzer, & Bichard 2020).

The arrival of the internet as a new media environment and opportunity has resulted in an alarming increase in the creation of social relationships that transcend geographical and cultural barriers. Twitter, a free-access website that allows its users to join networks, connect, and communicate with other people, is one of the current social networks that link people over the internet. According to Hanaysha (2016), with the growing popularity of social networking sites (SNSs), one can only begin to imagine the rapidly increasing population of the internet as a way to communicate with others around the world contends that today, a large majority of university students, who were unlikely to have heard of the internet a few years ago, cannot easily. Twitter, like other social networking sites, has become a popular destination for young people looking for amusement, education, purpose, identity, and connection. According to Boyd (2007), as cited in Eregare and Afolabi (2019), social networks provide young people with a feeling of community and access: Youths are attempting to carve out a public young zone for themselves, separate from adult society. They are doing it online since their bodily movement and control are severely limited and monitored.

Importantly, the centrality and advantages of Twitter cannot be overstated; Twitter promotes conversation and public engagement in a wide range of human-interest themes. According to Copp (2016), corporate owners and cooperative groups have utilized Twitter to sell their services. It has served as a platform for reaching out to clients and targeted audiences, resulting in increased company growth for small and medium-sized businesses. Furthermore, it is apparent that Nigerian citizens are utilizing Twitter for legitimate objectives, most notably to express ideas and exercise free speech on societal and political concerns, among other things. Thus, when Twitter has an unlimited participation nature in a country like Nigeria, it is capable of obstructing various opportunities for the public to join in discussions, posing a range of environmental challenges.

​​​​​​​Statement Of The Problem

Nigeria has recently faced social and political crises ranging from separatist agitations to poor performance of public officials and unfavorable policies. According to BBC (2021), on June 4, 2021, the Nigerian government officially banned Twitter from operating in Nigeria after the social media platform deleted tweets made by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warning the south eastern people of Nigeria, predominantly Igbo people, of a potential repeat of the 1967 Biafran Civil War due to the ongoing insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria, even as the government cited persistent use of the platform.

Prior to the prohibition, there were strong precedents that compelled the offended head of government to act for a ban, like the 2020 EndSars protest, in which the young expressed their disgust with police brutality and torture via a Twitter hashtag and a march (Ajazeera News 202). Also failed was the Social Media Bill, for which the President was chastised from his first term in office for being obsessed with digital dictatorship using social media as a springboard, as well as increasing insecurity and community violence, which appeared to have steered separatist movements across the country. Anyim claims that (2021). Following the suspension, the Nigerian government, through the information minister, called Twitter's actions "suspicious." Twitter was also accused of having double standards, claiming that the firm overlooked violent tweets from a separatist leader. As a result, after seven months of Twitter ban in Nigeria, the federal government issued clearance to withdraw the suspension with specific conditions that must be followed by the firm, which include: Nigerian office in the first quarter of 2022, Nomination of a country representative Compliance with appropriate tax duties, access to control 'prohibited' information in Nigeria, and respect for Nigerian laws, national culture, and history Following the government's announcement on the restoration of Twitter Public Policy on Thursday January 2022, there was criticism about how the ban was never justified, leading to skepticism about whether the bird app will retain its popularity among the youth, with references to the university community.

Although there have been various studies on the social, economic, political, and bilateral effects of the Twitter ban in Nigeria, little or no attention has been paid to the popularity of Twitter once the ban was removed. Upon this gap, the researcher seeks to assess the popularity of twitter usage after  ban lifting in Nigerian with reference to UNIBEN Students.

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