I just read that Adamu Garba’s Crowwe or whatever he calls that cheap and unsightly reverse engineering, has been yanked off Google Play Store.
Even though that social networking app he attempted to sell as an alternative to Twitter seems like an intellectual property theft lawsuit waiting to happen, it has the potential to evolve. But he wasted an opportunity to stir up neutral or unifying national sentiments in marketing his brand.
He chose toxic politics to market what requires the public, especially the youth he persistently antagonizes, to sustain. And that’s quite a pity. Not sure I’ve ever come across a businessman this guileless. You’ve built a product that seeks sensitive data of your potential users, and yet frighten your target customers by your fiercely polarizing political views that justify their distrust for, and suspicion of, your app.
Tech firms all over the world build integrity by demonstrating their invulnerability to government dictation, even if unsuccessfully in some cases, but the reverse seems to be the case with Adamu. He strikes potential users as one likely to forward their data to the DSS if they ever dissent with the government.
Adamu Garba probably didn’t follow the conversations around the burden of trust and ethics in the management of users’ data that trail Apple’s refusal to grant the FBI backdoor access to shooting suspect Syed Farook’s iPhones that year. That was a teachable moment for all tech executives.
“At stake is the data security of hundreds of millions of law-abiding people and setting a dangerous precedent that threatens everyone’s civil liberties,” said Apple boss, Tim Cook.
Unfortunately, even the government, to whose sentiments Adamu appeals shamelessly, has not acknowledged his product and it’s embarrassing that government officials aren’t only snubbing that Nigerian-made product in the spirit of patriotism, they’ve chosen to patronize and promote an obscure Indian-made social networking platform, Koo, of similar quality.
