Nigeria debuts on India's Koo after it bans Twitter
Nigeria banned Twitter citing its use for undermining Nigeria's corporate existence and joined India's Koo as it sought to expand in the West African nation.
Nigeria joins Koo after it bans Twitter
Key Highlights
- Twitter had taken down a post of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari
- Nigeria said there was persistent use of platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence
- Koo co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna tweeted Koo is available in Nigeria
New Delhi: After imposing a ban on microblogging website Twitter in the country, Nigeria joined India's Koo app. The Government of Nigeria said Twitter has made an approach for dialogue in a bid to resolve the issues that led to its suspension in the West African country.
Nigeria's Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed said he got a message from the micro-blogging platform on Wednesday morning, seeking a dialogue with the government. "They (Twitter) are now ready to hold senior-level discussions with us," he told reporters in Abuja.
The minister, however, pointed out that what is more important to the Nigerian government is "the sovereignty of Nigeria." It is insisting on the official registration of Twitter and other social media platforms.
"The cardinal thing is ... that Twitter must be licensed in Nigeria and Twitter must stop using its platform for activities that are inimical to the growth of Nigeria or to its corporate existence," Mohammed said.
Nigeria's broadcast regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission, has ordered all local broadcasting stations to suspend their use of Twitter.
Nigerian authorities were riled after Twitter had taken down a post of its President Muhammadu Buhari's as it was allegedly in violation of the company's abusive behaviour policy. They hit back with the ban citing "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence".
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After this, Koo co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna reached out by tweeting, "Koo is available in Nigeria. We're thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say?" He also shared a screenshot of the languages spoken in Nigeria.
He also said Koo is available in Mynamar, Nambia, Nepal, Senegal, Rwanda, Philippines, Peru, Paraguay, etc. too.