Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, has blamed the media for Twitter’s decision to cite its African Headquarters in Ghana.
Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey had made the announcement via his Twitter handle on Monday, describing Ghana “as a champion for democracy, a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.
But, Mohammed, in an interview on Thursday in Abuja, said the development would serve as a lesson for Nigerians to be patriotic in managing the image of the country
“The reasons cited by Twitter for citing the headquarters in Accra, Ghana is that Accra is a champion of democracy and there is rule of law in the country, among other reasons
“This is what you get when you de-market your country.
“The media is more to blame for this which most times exaggerate the challenges in the country.
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“At no time was this worse than during the EndSARS protest when Nigerian journalists both traditional and new media were trying to outdo themselves in painting Nigeria as a hell where nobody should live.
“When they all conspired to vilify not just the government but the people of Nigeria,’’ he said.
The minister said he was pleased with the U.S. report which vindicated the Nigerian government that no single life was lost at the Lekki Toll Gate as opposed to what the majority of the media reported.
“We are not saying that you should not criticise the country but be fair and patriotic.
“When you destroy your own house, where are you going to live?
“You can imagine the kind of job opportunities that citing that headquarters in Nigeria would have generated, the kind of visibility it would have given Nigeria but we destroyed it,’’ he said.
