Bakare Mubarak, a model, youth ambassador and cultural ambassador, criticises the Nigerian government over the indefinite suspension of micro-blogging and social media platform, Twitter.
In an exclusive interview with entertainment journalist, Adeyinka Oluwamayowa, Bakare said through social media, the youths have been able to checkmate the government.
He added that social media has augmented the voices of the Nigerian youths despite the government’s attempts to restrict media operations. “Social media has amplified our voices; it gives almost no limit to our voices even as much as the government tries to gag it. I would say it’s a fantastic instrument.”
“It has helped us, to an extent, checkmate the government and that has been one issue with the government – the fact that the average citizens are one way or the other saying how they feel, expressing their plight and checkmating the government to make sure they do as much as they should do,” Bakare said.
The humanist pointed out that the suspension of Twitter by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has affected everyone, including the government because their messages don’t get to the public as fast as they used to anymore.
He said; “Twitter ban has affected everybody directly or indirectly. The world is a digital world, so many things go down in the media space and social media engines daily. It has affected a lot of businesses as well.
“Recently I was looking at some statistics, stating how much Nigeria has lost, and it is so pathetic.
“It affects my business personally, because I am the creative director of African Market Hub, and we have a twitter space where we sell our goods, and this has, to an extent, limits the capacity of our sales.
“Even the government themselves, the Twitter suspension has affected them, their messages don’t get to the populace as fast as possible.
Bakare Mubarak is the tallest model in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the most notable tallest men in Nigeria. He stands at 6 feet 9 inches.