Popular rapper and talk-show host, Michael Stephens, aka Ruggedman, has advised the government to stop acting based on emotions and put the people first.
Sharing his thoughts on the recent Twitter ban, he told Saturday Beats, “The government needs to stop acting based on emotions or sentiments.
A former USA President, Donald Trump had his tweets deleted and was even blocked on Facebook for two years. Yet, those social media platforms were not suspended, though their headquarters are in that country. The Nigerian government needs to put the people first but that did not happen in this case.”
He also stated that if he were to be the President, he would rather go after people using the social media for criminal purposes, rather than banning it outrightly. He said, “What I would have done differently is to go all out to find and prosecute people who use the app to commit crimes. I would not suddenly suspend an app because they took down my tweet. I would first check my tweet and cross-check it with the rules and regulations of the platform, to know whether I violated them or not.”
Sharing his thoughts on the planned prosecution of anyone that uses the micro blogging app, the ‘Baraje’ rapper said, “How do they want to do that? Talks like that make me feel they (Federal Government) don’t even know how the app works. That is why they need young people with them that would educate them on a lot of things.
“I am an entertainer and I need every platform available to promote my work. Many Nigerians have lost their source of livelihood due to the ban on the social media network.
“There are many positive activities that go on on Twitter. For example, through the app, I have helped a lot of innocent Nigerians who got into trouble with police officers. The police complaints’ unit on Twitter acts very fast to help innocent people get justice. Did they (government) stop for a second to think about what would happen to people who cannot reach out to the police complaints unit via Twitter? I think young Nigerians should look for ways to get the government to lift the unnecessary suspension.”
