Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, Mr Jack Dorsey visited popular Information Technology Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) in Yaba, Lagos, yesterday morning, as part of his tour of four African countries- Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and South Africa.
Dorsey, who arrived Nigeria on Thursday night, had announced via his twitter handle in October that he was “headed to Africa for all of November- Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa; going to spend a lot of time with entrepreneurs.”
On arrival in Lagos, he twitted, “So grateful to finally be in Nigeria.”
After meeting with tech-startups at Yaba CcHub, Dorsey shared pictures on his verified handle, and added: “Talking with the entrepreneurs of @Cc Hub!”
Dorsey is visiting Nigeria for the first time and he was billed to spend few days with tech-startups using Twitter handle for broadcast, and also to understudy the Nigerian tech space that so much have been said about in the area of technology innovation.
The Twitter CEO heaped praises on the Nigerian tech-startups in Yaba and urged them to dream big.
Having spent less than 24 hours on Nigerian soil, Dorsey has already picked up a greeting in Yoruba, ‘Bawo ni’, meaning ‘How are you?’ He was also hosted to a welcome dinner on Thursday night, where he met the likes of media personality, Tolu Oniru-Demuren, popularly called Toolz, former government official, Joe Abah, among others.
Toolz, Abah and Dorsey shared photos on their respective Twitter handles. Toolz also shared a video, where the Twitter CEO spoke in Yoruba. Captioning the photo, he tweeted, Jack said: “Great dinner with some new friends.”
However, Dorsey gave the Nigerian media a shocker when he declined to talk to the press.
Before his arrival, journalists were on ground at the CcHub, waiting as early as 7.30am, but as soon as he arrived at about 9.30am, he was quickly taken in for breakfast, where he was informed that he would be addressing the media, but it was gathered that he declined.
Although he eventually came out to see the journalists, he still refused to give even a brief on the purpose of his visit to Nigeria.
After a photograph session with some dignitaries, the Twitter boss left without addressing the journalist, leaving them visibly disappointed and confused.
However, Twitter’s Communications Manager in charge of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Sarah Harte, who is based in Dublin and who was part of the visiting Twitter team, in an emailed message, apologised for Dorsey’s inability to speak with the press.
Part of her email read: “My name is Sarah Harte and I’m Twitter’s EMEA Communications Manager based in Dublin.
I’m contacting you as you were in attendance at CcHUB this morning, where Jack was visiting as part of his trip to Africa this month.
“I believe there was a misunderstanding around Jack’s visit today, and sincere apologies for any time lost on your part due to this. Jack is in Nigeria to learn more about how people are using Twitter and to meet with tech entrepreneurs, however we would be happy to meet and speak with you on the occasion of his next visit to Nigeria.”
Facebook CEO and Founder, Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria in 2016, where he had good time with tech-startups and the media.
Zuckerberg was even seen having fun during his early morning jogging on the street of Lagos, and his visit was well received and appreciated by all, including the Nigerian government.
Thisday
