By Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Correspondent Lagos
Co-founders of leading Cybersecurity and Consultancy firm, DigitalEncode have advised Nigeria not to road into the crypto currency market late as was the case in adopting the internet and other technologies in the past.
Chief Visionary Officer Dr. Wale Obadare, and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, respectively at DigitalEncode, who are apostles of Cyptocurrency and the benefits that could accrue to Nigeria by embracing the technology, said that as was the case during the emergence of the internet when not a few persons spoke against it as an unnecessary disrupter, it was baseless to fight technology because those who did so later would realize they could not win the war.
Both Drs. Obadare and Akindeinde said that, while several governments, in the advanced world, are now embracing cryptocurrency, Nigeria is inexplicably resisting it. They argue that Nigeria monetary and fiscal policymakers are currently fighting the trend because it is potentially disruptive coupled with the fear money would migrate from the traditional banking system to the crypto world and thus reduce the control of financial system regulators and banks.
They duo spoke to ICT journalists, recently at a one-day Capacity Boosting training on Blockchain Technology under the aegis of the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, south west Nigeria, wherein they took the newshounds through Digital Currency, Blockchain technology, Cybersecurity and further engaged the participating journalists with practical engagements on Blockchain trading while simplifying the modus operandi of the new financial transaction, insisting that crypto currency is not mere a financial transaction but an asset.
However, they explained that “before you learn blockchain, learn bitcoin; before you learn bitcoin, learn economics.” The experts identified four categories of entrants in the digital world namely the digital champions, digital followers, digital adopters and digital latecomers, adding that while blockchain is a beautiful technology, Nigeria cannot continue to be a laggard in the scheme of things in this space.
Instead of resisting blockchain technology, Drs. Obadare and Akindeinde advise that government should regulate digital ecosystem players like Luno and Binance… who are bound to not only employ Nigerians but pay taxes and boost the economy.
The United States, Canada, European Union, Australia and El Salvadore are some of the countries that have legalized cryptocurrency, while China, Russia and Vietnam are some of the countries that have discouraged the system.
The Co-founders of DigitalEncode raised a rhetorical question: “If the investment system was bad why didn’t US and the European Nations ban it. Why have they accepted it?”
