Tweet and repeat

Nigeria: How Musk’s plan for less regulation could set Abuja & Twitter on collision course

By Akin Irede

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Posted on April 26, 2022 15:08

Man reads a newspaper at a newsstand in Abuja
A man reads a newspaper at a newsstand in Abuja, Nigeria June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who just acquired Twitter for $44bn, plans to expand free speech and reduce regulations on a platform that was banned by Nigerian authorities for seven months for allegedly failing to regulate its content effectively. Along with Twitter failing to open an office in Nigeria as directed by Abuja, the new Twitter management may soon run into problems.

The world has been abuzz with the news of billionaire, Elon Musk, acquiring arguably the world’s most radical social media platform, Twitter, with a view to expanding free speech and reducing regulations.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he tweeted just moments after purchasing the micro-blogging site.

“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means,” he stated earlier.

And with Musk’s free spirit set to be completely internalised by Twitter, there are reports that former United States President, Donald Trump, who was expelled from the platform for reportedly prodding his supporters to invade the Capitol in January 2021, is about to have his account reinstated in the spirit of free speech, a move which has been welcomed by

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