Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has described the suspension of Twitter in 2021 as a painful decision, saying he took the step with full awareness of the hardship it would cause many Nigerians.
Mohammed made this known in Chapter 14 of his 601 page book titled Silencing the Bird: The Story of Nigeria’s Twitter Suspension, where he reflected on the circumstances that led to the action taken by the Federal Government at the time.
According to him, the decision weighed heavily on him because of its direct impact on Nigerians who depended on the platform for their livelihoods, especially business owners, advertisers and influencers.
“The decision to suspend Twitter, now known as X, was one of the toughest and most painful decisions I made as a minister,” Mohammed wrote.
He explained that beyond the economic implications, the suspension also raised serious concerns about how the government would be perceived in relation to freedom of expression and the openness of Nigeria’s democratic space.
Mohammed, however, maintained that the concerns did not override what he described as threats to national security, which he blamed on the careless and irresponsible use of social media platforms, particularly Twitter.
“In governance, public interest must always come before individual interest,” he stated, adding that security considerations ultimately influenced the final decision.
Reacting to the widespread backlash that followed the suspension, the former minister said he was not surprised by the public outrage.
“I was under no illusion that the decision would be popular. The condemnations were fast and furious,” he said.
Mohammed also recalled how angry Twitter users flooded the official handle of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, @FMINONigeria, expressing their displeasure through various posts and comments.
The Twitter suspension, which generated intense local and international criticism at the time, remains one of the most controversial policy decisions of the Buhari administration.
