NITDA, National Information Technology Development Agency, has declared the intentions of the Nigerian government to create a blockchain branded “Nigerium.” These intentions are mostly fueled by the belief that foreign-made blockchains do not necessarily have the interest of Nigeria at heart.
The Idea Behind Nigerium
The government’s interest in developing the Nigerium was sparked after a presentation by a delegation from the University of Hertfordshire Law School, led by Chanu Kuppuswamy.
In his presentation, Chanu asserted that the creation of the Nigerium, which would be a homegrown blockchain for Nigeria, would facilitate the alignment of the technology according to the country’s needs. Essentially, it’d be tailored to suit the country’s laws and regulations.
Going further, Chanu expressed and thoroughly hinted at the dangers of adopting expatriate or foreign-made blockchains, which involves difficulties in influencing key decisions surrounding the blockchain. To support this theory, he mentioned the scenario that occurred previously with Ethereum making changes to its blockchain in the absence of consultation with its users.
Additionally, he proffered the idea of setting up a Data embassy that’d serve the purpose of shielding the country’s data from adverse events like Natural disasters, cyber-attacks, and other threats and providing digital continuity as well. The data embassy, according to him, would comprise a server hosted in a third-party country.
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Chanu and his team went on to highlight the perks that’d come with harmonizing blockchain technology across government agencies which are the promotion of interoperability and interdependence.
After the presentation, the NITDA chief, Kashifu Abdullahi, agreed with all of their theories, especially in terms of an improvement of national security and the safety of citizen’s data. Kashifu also mentioned that the supposed project will have collaboration from the private and public sectors.
All these sync perfectly with the plans of the NITDA as divulged last week to establish research centres for blockchain technology and other emerging technologies across the six geopolitical zones in the country.
What You Should Know
Nigeria has made moves in the past to jump on emerging technologies like the blockchain in the past. For instance, in May 2023, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy announced a national blockchain policy.
The policy document hopes to “facilitate the development of the Nigerian digital economy and enable citizens to have more confidence in digital platforms”. Subsequently, an implementation and steering committee of blockchain experts, professionals, and bodies was set up.
In August 2023, Kashifu, the NITDA chief, revealed the issuance of the National Youth Service Corps certificate on blockchain technology to minimize the risk of forgery.
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