After Nigeria’s Twitter ban, India’s Koo Eyes Nigeria’s Social Media Scene

After Nigeria blocked Twitter on Friday, two days after the US-based platform erased a message from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules, Indian social networking company Koo is mulling a focused push into the African country.

“@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We’re thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say?” wrote the company’s co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna on Twitter.

Twitter users responded to his tweet with a slew of ideas for the business.

Take a look:

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@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We’re thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say? pic.twitter.com/NUia1h0xUi

— Aprameya R (@aprameya) June 5, 2021

Last year, Mr. Radhakrishna, an Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad alumnus, and Mayank Bidawatka established Bengaluru-based Koo, a yellow-colored Twitter imitation.

Two days ago, Nigeria’s information ministry said Twitter was “suspended, indefinitely,” because of “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

The decision was swiftly denounced by rights groups. “This repressive action is a clear attempt to censor dissent & stifle the civic space,” Human Rights Warch researcher Anietie Ewing said on Twitter.

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