The observed apathy towards Blockchain Technology by governments in many countries has been attributed to a lack of knowledge by authorities.
This, is according to the CEO of PVG Consult Ltd, Dr. Ibrahim Bello Dauda .
Speaking in an interview with Coinnewsextra, Dr. Dauda said that the government has caused the perceived lapse in regulation of initiatives such as cryptocurrency by refusing to keep up with the initiative during its inception.
“The government/financial institutions or regulators should have worked with the developers of this technology to get involved in building the technology, get all the footprints, that way they will be able to regulate it.
He further added “You can only regulate what you are part of building.
It is a failure from government not to initially be part of this process, allowing the process to grow become a global phenomenon and they are finding it difficult to control because they lack the knowledge on how it operates.”
Despite these lapses, however, Dr. Dauda explained that the government can still play its role in regulating the growing adoption of cryptocurrency.
“Government can regulate cryptocurrency operation. We witnessed that in February 2021 when the Central Bank of Nigeria put a restriction on cryptocurrency transactions in the country.”
Dr. Dauda, who said that Blockchain Technology is the future of FinTech, suggested that blockchain should be taught in schools and added as a curriculum in primary, secondary, and university, and be made compulsory.
Speaking further on Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the e-Naira, Dr. Dauda identified a lack of awareness of the initiative by most Nigerians as a hindrance to its growth.
According to him, “eNaira was a good concept, but it lack proper sensitization and awareness, and the time frame for adoption was too short. Sensitization and marketing of eNaira ought to have been done for a long period to prepare the minds of Nigerians. eNaira concept was launched almost immediately with little awareness and information on the public space.
“The eNaira apps didn’t see the light of the day. Both apps (eNaira speed wallet and eNaira speed merchant) were removed almost immediately from Playstore after getting negative reviews from Nigerians, who were disappointed with the tedious registration process required by the CBN,” he said
