From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Tech Experts have recommended that the federal government establishes its own blockchain to enhance national security and safeguard citizens’ data.
During a courtesy visit to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) headquarters in Abuja recently, a delegation from the University of Hertfordshire Law School proposed the initiative to the Director General, Kashifu Abdullahi.
The group advocated for Nigeria to engage the private sector in developing a domestic blockchain called “Nigereum,” aiming to ensure that Nigerian data and citizens’ information are not reliant on decisions made by foreign developers.
Speaking, head of the delegation Dr. Chamu Kuppuswamy, said: “It is like actually having a completely new product bespoke for Nigeria and we decide on how we customise it and how we make the product work for us.
“What we are saying in essence is that you have to plan ahead. They say technology is always ahead and laws are always lagging behind but here we are thinking ahead; we do not want problems of seeing the people and government helpless about all their information being put on a particular product over which there is not a degree of control. As you can see Ethereum is already “forked” it is a term they use when the co-developers decide to change the direction. Because they lost a lot of money on their digital currency which they intend to recover through this process. And now you have two groups of Ethereum users “the classic and the forked”.
This is an ongoing collaboration, so we want to achieve the next milestone in this collaboration, which is for some of the research recommendations to be taken forward for implementation.
In response to their recommendations, the DG expressed his intention to consult with the agency’s steering committee and present the white paper to them for review and approval.
He emphasised the importance of obtaining buy-in from the committee to ensure collaborative decision-making and avoid unilateral actions within NITDA.
According to him, “We have the steering committee which you have consulted. It is good you present this research to the steering committee; get their buy in, and let the committee adopt it for implementation.”
“We do not want it to be seen as NITDA to be working within a silo, or you impose something on other members. So we can schedule a meeting with the steering committee members and you present the white paper to them. And when it is adopted you can bring it to us for implementation. I want us to strengthen the partnership”, he added.
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