Nigerian Presidential, one of the fifteen presidential aspirants, Bukola Saraki, recently stated support for the industry of cryptocurrency. In an interview, Saraki was asked if exploring the digital currency industry would benefit the economy or not. He said clearly that digital currencies would not wreck the economy of Nigeria. He further stated that the digital market has the potential to create ample opportunities for the country’s youth. However, he insisted that sound policies and legislations are the viable solutions to avoid any harm to the economy because of the digital market. Moreover, he thought that the youth requires a guide to invest, work, and explore the sector. Accordingly, governmental policies and legislations appropriately put in place are surely going to help the youth to acquire the benefits of the digital world.
Cryptocurrencies have been a hot topic in Nigerian politics for some time now. Financial institutions, including banks, are not permitted to trade in cryptocurrencies. However, saying that cryptocurrencies are illegal in Nigeria would be false. As far as the digital world is concerned, cryptocurrencies are merely unregulated, and no official legal document states them as unlawful. The Nigerian central bank insists that privately issued cryptocurrencies have no place in the conventional financial system of Nigeria. As the world is progressing and trading in cryptocurrencies, their legal status and regulations in Nigeria have become a debating point among the presidential.
Consequently, Bukola Saraki thinks of cryptocurrencies as the way forward. He supports the belief with pure logic that the digital market has helped the young generation around the globe in creating jobs and providing opportunities. Cryptocurrencies offer such an environment for the people, which was not possible before. Businesses are thriving because of it. Moreover, he believed that cryptocurrencies could lead to a much higher employment rate and help the businesses in Nigeria grow. Towards the end, he reiterated that he supports cryptocurrencies as they will benefit the economy of Nigeria.
However, despite the full-fledge support, Saraki failed to give his plan of action regarding the regulations of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. Similarly, he also did not provide any recommendations or a strategy to enable cryptocurrencies to operate and help the people of Nigeria. Nevertheless, at the time of the writing, Saraki has lost the race to become the People’s Democratic Party candidate for the President. He lost to Atiku Abubakar, whose plans regarding cryptocurrencies are yet to be found.
