Abuja — The Integrity Friends for Truth and Peace Initiative (TIFPI) has blamed Twitter preference for Ghana over Nigeria in citing its African headquarters, as a sign of the persistent leadership failure, characterised by poor governance, which has affected Nigeria negatively in the eyes of the international community.
The executive director of TIFPI, Livingstone Wechie said this in a statement he signed and issued to reporters, stressing that Twitter’s decisions was based on practical realities.
He said “our organisation views the position of Twitter owner Jack Dorsey as pointed and factual. This is to the effect that the choice of Ghana as Twitter headquarters in Africa speaks negative volumes on the perception of the global community on Nigeria in terms of consular and diplomatic relations, including international politics.
“It is a caution to the Nigerian state to either address its internal political, structural and constitutional disputations and faultlines which have severally and adversely damaged its potential development in all ramifications.”
Twitter in its statement issued by Kayvon Beykpour and Uche Adegbite, Twitter’s Product Lead, and director, Product Management, Global Markets, respectively, in reaction to its choice of Ghana, christened Ghana as the champion of democracy. It said its decision was informed by Ghana’s “support for free speech and online freedoms.”
Wechie said that without any controversy, Nigeria falls short of these democratic virtues in the face of bad governance and the agitation for restructuring which has now degenerated into the wide push for disintegration or breakup of the biggest black state which styles itself as the giant of Africa, which claim has come under scrutiny.
“Yet government continues to play rhetoric and threaten those who speak up on these issues unnecessarily. The issues in the lower Niger, South East states, North East, Middle Belt and South West are facts that stare us in the face and demand urgent attention.
“The counsel to Nigeria today is to avoid the temptation of justification or defence against this twitter rebuke, but look inward in conscience and in truth to address its problems. The growing cases of institutional corruption, witch hunt of alternative voices and attack and death of the human rights space should serve as a clarion call for either a new Nigeria or a Nigeria that will become history.
“Global rating and index as contained in international reports are worthy of reference here. The biggest consequences will be the loss of Nigeria’s place in global investment and economic growth resulting from consular and diplomatic blacklist if we do not hurry to do the needful. Environment is key if economy must thrive,” he said.