Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, on Saturday faulted the ban placed on cryptocurrency trading in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
They said contrary to the expectations of the government, the measure would end up hurting Nigerians the more as they would have to brace for more economic hardship in months ahead.
While Atiku expressed regret that with the order Nigeria had denied itself the opportunity to avail itself of one the measures that could assist in pulling her out of the current economic quagmire, Ezekwesili lambasted the CBN for pushing the country deeper into a corner where it would look more unprepared unprepared to embrace the future in running its economy, in the eyes of the rest of the world.
The former VP and the ex-minister stated their positions in separate statements on Saturday.
CBN had on Friday issued the order shutting down cryptocurrency buying and selling amongst Nigerians, directing all banking institutions to close the accounts of customers with cryptocurrency transactions immediately.
The apex bank further warned the banks that breaches of its directive on the ban on cryptocurrency transactions in the country would attract severe regulatory sanctions.
But, in his reaction, ex-VP Atiku said rather than outright shutdown of the cryptocurrency transactions in the country, the government should have taken steps to regulate the sub-sector and prevent any abuse which may constitute threats to national security.
He argued that Nigeria needed help to overcome the current economic crisis, adding that it must therefore explore all available measures to achieve this and get out of the doldrums.
He stated this in a personally signed statement titled, ‘We Need To Open Up Our Economy, Not Close It’, and made available to journalists on Saturday.
According to him, “The number one challenge facing Nigeria is youth unemployment. In fact, it is not a challenge, it is an emergency. It affects our economy, and is exacerbating insecurity in the nation.
“What Nigeria needs now, perhaps more than ever, are jobs and an opening up of our economy, especially after today’s report by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that foreign capital inflow into Nigeria is at a four year low, having plummeted from $23.9 billion in 2019, to just $9.68 billion in 2020.
“Already, the nation suffered severe economic losses from the border closure, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is definitely the wrong time to introduce policies that will restrict the inflow of capital into Nigeria, and I urge that the policy to prohibit the dealing and transaction of cryptocurrencies be revisited.”
Atiku added, “It is possible to regulate the sub sector and prevent any abuse that may be inimical to national security. That may be a better option, than an outright shutdown.
“There is already immense economic pressure on our youths. It must be the job of the government, therefore, to reduce that pressure, rather than adding to it.
“We must create jobs in Nigeria. We must expand the economy. We must remove every impediment towards investments. We owe the Nigerian people that much.”
Ezekwesili on her part, stated that the decision of the CBN to ban cryptocurrency transaction at a time when Nigerians were already celebrating the possibility of the former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, emerging the director-general of the World Trade Organisation was inauspicious.
She argued that the CBN shutting down of cryptocurrentcy trading in Nigeria would portray the country as very unserious and not prepared to move along with the rest of the world.
Ezekwesili tweeted, “Frankly, CBN, all you needed to do was map all the legitimate risks associated with #cryptocurrency and gather a subset of the super brilliant Nigerian young minds in #FinTech so you listen and learn more. Learning is the greatest asset of the policy-maker. Never late.
“Our country’s DNA for irony is uncanny. At the same moment, as we celebrate one of our own leading a global trade institution, we have a memo from our Central Bank making country appear unprepared to embrace the future.”
