Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has said that the ban placed on microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria by the Federal Government indicates that the present administration is an enemy of democracy.
Soyinka spoke in an interview on Arise TV on Monday.
Recall that Lai Mohammed, the Minister of information and Tourism, had earlier this month announced the indefinite suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria.
Mohammed said the Federal Government was forced to act because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The suspension of Twitter has continued to spark widespread outrage, with many Nigerians condemning the move.
Speaking on the development, Soyinka said, “In truncating various channels of expression open to any populace, you are actually abrogating the very essence of democracy. Democracy is not a sequence or symbolic gestures of June 12 as Democracy Day.
“When you truncate any channel of self-expression of people, you literally become an enemy of democracy. ”