NAVIGATING POLITICAL SILENCE: THE IMPACT OF TWITTER BAN ON NIGERIAN YOUTH ACTIVISM

Abstract

Twitter has emerged as a vital forum for political activism and conversation,particularly among young people. It is an effective instrument for political engagement becauseof its capacity to promote quick information sharing, rally supporters, and magnify voices. Theconsequences of this ban on political participation and communication have been significant.It was extremely difficult for political movements that depended on the platform forcoordination and communication to stay visible and gain traction. It is a potent social mediatool that has transformed social interaction, communication, and information sharing across arange of industries, including politics, entertainment, news, and private messaging. The studyaims to explore how youth activism and political participation have been affected by the ban,as well as how they adapt and discover new ways to mobilise support and express their politicalbeliefs. The methodology of this study was gathered through primary data collection. The keyfindings of the study are that the bans on Twitter led to a significant decline in politicalparticipation among young people. In the absence of Twitter, young people are adopting avariety of innovative approaches and techniques for political activism. This study concludesthat while censorship may inadvertently foster creativity and resilience in activists, pushingthem to develop new strategies, the implications of this kind of ban are profound. The studyrecommends that to sustain youths’ political engagement despite challenges posed by Twitterrestriction; society must go back to the traditional route: an offline community-building effortwhere youths can engage in discussions like town hall meetings and face-to-face interactionswith grassroots leaders like the Local Government Chairman to mitigate the effects of thebanned online space.