Twitter’s decision to site its African headquarters in Ghana despite having a Nigerian, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on its board is generating conversations on the platform.
CEO Jack Dorsey started it all when he took to his verified handle to make the announcement, congratulating Ghana and its President, Nana Akufo-Addo.
He tweeted:
đŹđ Twitter is now present on the continent.
Thank you Ghana and @NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana https://t.co/tt7KR3kvDg
— jack (@jack) April 12, 2021
Explaining the choice of Ghana, the company said in a blog post on Monday:Â “As a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.
“Furthermore, Ghanaâs recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa. ”
President Akufo-Addo reacted, describing Dorsey’s announcement as “excellent news”.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitterâs Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govât and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
Well, many Nigerians are not happy with the news, querying the choice of Ghana wiith a little over two million Twitters users (Jan. 2021) compared to Nigeria’s over three million users.
As always, there are a lot of bants in-between.
Read comments monitored on Twitter:
The 3 Biggest Achievements in Ghana since 2020 till date;
– Wizkid minding his business in Ghana as Davido and Burna Boy fought.
– Temi allowing Mr Eazy to use the Ferrari Daddy Otedola gifted her with.
– Twitter Using Ghana as its HQ for Twitter Africa operations.
— Dankyđł (@CaptDanky) April 12, 2021
Iâm not sure Nigerians can win any Ghana vs Nigeria twitter war again đ
They moment they move to us weâll just show them the Twitter HQ in Ghana thatâs all
— KELEWELE JOINT đ (@ANKAMAGYIMI__) April 12, 2021
Ghana twitter 1
Nigeria twitter 0#TwitterGhana
— KALYJAY đ» (@gyaigyimii) April 12, 2021
Can you even imagine Twitter having a Nigerian office? AGF will serve them papers to delete accounts daily. DSS can show up to intimidate the hapless staff. Nah imagine it?? They chose Ghana and rightfully so. Love that for them
— Bisola (@Bisolaaa) April 12, 2021
Please note that Nigeria was in the running to HQ the AfCFTA until the President decided to rethink out joining.
By the time he changed his mind and we agreed to join again, Ghana had taken the HQ.
Now Jack says the AfCFTA HQ is one of the reasons behind their decision. https://t.co/cs1MWa1KWW
— Andy Obuoforibo (@andyRoidO) April 12, 2021