Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweets Nigerian flag on country’s Democracy Day

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Post created on June 12, 2021

Co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey tweeted the flag of Nigeria, a gesture many online users have attributed to the celebration of Democracy Day in the country.

Twitter had been in a face-off with the Nigerian government after deleting a tweet posted by President Muhammadu Buhari which evoked the memories of the Nigerian Civil War.

The platform said the tweet violated its “abusive behaviour” rules and the Nigerian government responded by suspending the platform indefinitely in Nigeria. Nigerian authorities said Twitter was suspended in the country because it was often used for activities that threaten the “corporate existence” of the country.

Nigeria’s minister for information and culture Lai Mohammed said during the week that Twitter has approached the government for negotiation.

Mohammed, however, described Twitter’s approach as “tepid”, noting that there has been no follow up from an initial message from Twitter received through a foreign mission that the social media company was opened to negotiation.

Twitter insisted on Friday that it was ready for an “open discussion” with the Nigerian government.

“We have informed the Nigerian government that we are ready to meet for an open discussion to address mutual concerns and see the service restored,” Twitter said.