The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has berated the government of Canada and Twitter company over their support of the EndSARS protest while meeting out the same treatment to Truckers who are protesting over the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine imposed by the government.
Cross border Truckers in Canada has blocked the major roads over the imposition of a mandatory COVID vaccine by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for two weeks counting now. The blockade of the Ambassador Bridge which connects to Detroit, Michigan, Windsor and Ontario has been the most disruption as there are no good alternative routes.
Mr Lai argues in a press conference with newsmen that the measures the Canadian government and Twitter are taking in curbing the crisis like tagging the protester’s terrorists, freezing their account, suspending the GoFundMe account of the Truckers which they used in raising funds for the protest were the same method the Nigerian government adopted but was heavily criticised about it.
Mr Lai, who has not revealed the address of the Twitter company in Nigeria following it’s deletion of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘genocidal’ tweet and the subsequent suspension of Twitter bashed Twitter for attempting to distance itself from the truckers’ protest and the use of their platform.
He called out the hypocrisy of the Canadian and American governments while appealing that the double standards should not be lost on Nigerians.
The press conference titled ‘News Briefing on Canada Truckers Protest Vs EndSars by Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed’ reads below;
I am sure you journalists are watching with keen interest the events unfolding in Canada, where truckers are protesting over Covid-19 vaccine mandates and other Covid-19 restrictions.
The Canadian protesters, who have blockaded roads and resorted to inconveniencing others, have been branded as terrorists or insurrectionists and subjected to a number of clampdowns by government and private organizations.
The crowdfunding company GoFundMe has shut down the campaign to raise funds for the truckers, after they raised over US$10m, Twitter has suspended the truckers account while the Ontario government has frozen access to millions of dollars donated through online fundraising platform GiveSendGo to the protesters.
Jim Watson, the Mayor of Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, has also declared a state of emergency in the city in response, saying the protests posed a threat to residents’ safety.
Recall, gentlemen, that during the EndSars protest, which culminated in the blockage of public roads and massive destruction of government and private property, Canada was one of the countries that spoke out in support of the protesters.
Recall also that Twitter actively supported the EndSars protesters and even helped them to raise fund while GoFundMe was used to raise funds for the protests.
These are the same entities that are now rushing to distance themselves from the protesters in Canada and even denying them the use of their platforms.
This is similar to what played out during the January 6th 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol In Washington, D.C. where those involved are either still being investigated or have been charged to court. I don’t blame them. Nobody wants their country destroyed under the guise of protests.
Don’t misunderstand this intervention. We are not gloating over the unfortunate development in Canada. But we are only calling attention to the double standard involved in the way protesters deemed to be violent are perceived in Nigeria and in the West.
Those who referred to the hoodlums who destroyed public and private property in Nigeria under the guise of EndSars as peaceful protesters have tagged similar protesters in their own countries as insurrectionists and terrorists. This glaring double standard should not be lost on all Nigerians.
We have always said that you must have a country before you can even enjoy the freedoms guaranteed by your country’s constitution. If there is no Nigeria, no one will be talking of freedom of expression or freedom of association and the likes.
This realization explains why every country goes the extra mile to protect and preserve itself. And this also explains why we have continued to insist on the regulation of social media to ensure responsible content. In this area, I can confidently say we are far ahead of most countries in the world, who have now realized that social media must be regulated in the interest of their own people.
In this regard, our successful negotiation with Twitter to fashion out measures to ensure a responsible use of that platform which, by the way, will also apply to other social media platforms, has made us a global trail blazer in efforts to prevent harmful content from social media platforms
Gentlemen, we must not allow anyone to destroy our country under the guise of protest or unbridled freedoms. We all must put Nigeria first at all times.
