Nigeria Abroad
Microblogging website Twitter announced Monday that it will open its first Africa office in Ghana—a choice that seems to indict Nigeria’s human rights records.
Twitter, which disclosed this alongside job openings in a statement, said its growth mission was to broaden access to its services around the world—this time in Africa.
“We are looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications. Full details on current job openings can be found on the Twitter Careers site.”
On why it chose Ghana, Twitter said: “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, Ghana’s 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.”
The statement noted that Twitter already partners several communities in Africa—Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana—and will do more to strengthen communities and enhance public conversation.
Meanwhile, Twitter’s description of Ghana as a haven for freedom and democracy flies in the face of a recent state crackdown on the LGBT community in the country, during which the government shut down a gay rights office in capital city Accra.
This story first appeared in Nigeria Abroad
