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Arise oh Compatriots towards a Digital Nigeria

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The Nigeria we have come to cherish as the pride of Africa though with its attendant challenges is still striving to sustain this height ever since. Many years ago, we were contented with just going into our vast forest to gather food. Later, we began to save our wealth of cowries in clay pots to secure treasures of our dreams for the not too distant future.  The post independence era did exude a whole lot more changes in our financial culture.  Government began to establish agencies and firms that waved in to provide the environment suitable for financial transactions and savings. This had a bit of rejection in prospect, as our people were contented with burying their wealth undergrounds.

As if the government was not well disposed to making a better decision for citizens, the money  burying banking system leaved side by side with the then known locker/safe box banking system. Not until a time came when the people on their own volition began to trust keeping their valued currencies in the safety of these local banks. Maybe this was aroused out of the shear reason that their houses were no longer conducive to store the piling wealth. Also, they began to have expanded families which reduced their privacy largely, awake to the reality that they stood better chances of external safety for their treasures.

The journey of banking in Nigeria has a history I will not bother to narrate with its attendant successes as well as failure in the lane of our history as a nation. The last decade of the millennium has opened up tremendous innovations in our economy courtesy of our government’s financial policies as championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The consolidation era and monetization policies are still fresh in our memories. Not too recent from the first quarter of this year 2013, the cashless economy drive is gradually spreading like wild fever. Though many seem to have the urge to resist its feasible chances of operation. This is not out of the renowned culture of Nigerians at resisting change, for we always wish we don’t lose our old modus operandi.

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After the CBN supported conference on payment systems in Nigeria, it was clear to all participants that the time has come for us to evolve a workable scheme of running our financial transactions and savings. A system that will afford us the platform that agrees with the contemporary demands of our time, environment and political climate. Wishes are not sufficient, that is why all Nigerians must come to embrace the electronic reality and start to gather our artistry to learn and adjust to the digital Nigeria. If you must know, it is here already because its presence is almost subliminal to feel.

For the persons who feel Nigeria is not ready to welcome this technological feat, maybe they may be pardon on the ground of anxiety. When you weigh the consequence of not rolling out on this offer, you will agree with the obvious truth. What is this obvious truth? The digital Nigeria of cause! Here lies the Nigerian dream of quick financial transactions, low risk of misappropriation, less cost of cash transitions, 24hours access and comfort in conducting business. With these offers many still have the problem of trusting the electronic medium of financial transaction owing to fear of fraud, poor infrastructural support and high level of illiteracy in computer appreciation and awareness.

But we must know that the safest transaction on earth is the one that does not occur. Give digital economy a chance in Nigeria and await the dividend of your decision.

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Jeff Okoroafor is a leading member of a new generation of civic advocates for government accountability and democratic change in Nigeria. The Citizen Affairs Initiative is a citizen-driven governance initiative that enhances public awareness on critical issues of service quality in Nigeria. It encourages citizens to proactively seek higher standards from governments and service providers and further establishes new discussions in communities about the standards that citizens should expect and deserve from those they have given their mandates. Jeff is the Managing Director of SetFron Limited, a multimedia development company that is focused on creative and results-driven web, mobile app, and ERP software solutions. He is the co-founder of the African Youths Advancement and Support Initiative (AfriYasi), a non-governmental not-for-profit organisation that provides tertiary education scholarship for young people from low-income homes in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the United Nations World Summit Awards. A Strategic Team member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, and a member of the National Technical Committee on the Establishment and Management of Missing Persons Database in Nigeria. Jeff holds a Bachelor and Postgraduate diploma degrees in Computer Science, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA.

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