By Habeeb Olokooba
When Idris Suleiman ( Pseudonym) returned for his second year of university in February, the sudden hike in tuition fees left him bewildered and despondent.
Orphaned since the age of thirteen, Idris faced the challenge of raising over #100, 000 to cover his school fees, accommodation, and other essential expenses.
With his hope dwindling to nothing, the 22-year-old man from Ilorin began his first semester with barely any food. An angel in the form of a friend offered him a lifeline by securing him a place to stay–sparing him the immediate worry of finding a hostel.
“ God blessed me with my friend. He stood by me. When I was about to drop out, a friend of mine informed me that Notcoin, a mining project I did, had been listed on all trading platforms,” said Idris.
“I cashed out 230 thousand naira. Paid my school fees and bought enough foodstuffs that could last me till the session ends,” he explained with a look of Joy on his face.
Abdulqadri Salman, another UDUS student relies on crypto airdrop mining for his livelihood.
According to him, If not for the mining, this session would be really difficult for him to survive.
“ I struggled to pay my school fees when the session began. However, other school finances would have been impossible, thanks to the projects I benefited from,” he explained to The News Digest press.
Cryptocurrency: The Future of Finance
A renowned professor of Finance, Prof Malami Maishanu, explained that cryptocurrency is the future of finance. He went further by emphasizing the significance of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in shaping the future of finance, according to a report by Gamji Press.
Professor Maishanu highlighted the need for governments to ease sanctions against crypto and invest time in understanding its benefits. He pointed out that embracing crypto and blockchain technology can yield substantial revenue and drive economic growth. The professor also advised investors to allocate a portion of their portfolio to crypto, even if it’s a small amount, as the market can be volatile but potentially lucrative in the long run.
For UDUS to profit from this cutting-edge technology, Professor Maishanu lastly pushed the university to create blockchain and cryptocurrency-based departments. The audience was prompted to think about the enormous potential that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies provide to completely transform the banking industry by his talk.
Setback Facing Cryptocurrency in Nigeria
In February 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria put a restriction on cryptocurrency transactions in the nation.
“Further to earlier regulatory directives on the subject, the bank hereby wishes to remind regulated institutions that dealing with cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited,” the directive read.
The central bank ordered banks and other financial institutions to identify persons and entities operating cryptocurrency exchanges and close all such accounts.
In April 2022, the apex bank imposed an N800m fine on three Deposit Money Banks in the country for violating regulations barring customers from transacting in cryptocurrencies.
The three banks are Access Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC, and the United Bank for Africa Plc.
However, it’s not only commercial banks in Nigeria that face challenges in relation to crypto mining, trading platforms also have their own shortcomings too. The recent examples include how OKX a crypto trading platform officially announced its departure from Nigeria. Another chummy one is placing a ban on P2P on the Binance trading app.
What Expert Think
In an interview with Raji Toheeb Shola, a 300-level law student and User Interface and experience designer, he maintained that the evolution of Airdrops mining is a result of the need to promote new start-ups, tokens, etc, therefore it’s a marketing strategy. In his words,
“You know, I’m convinced that it indirectly compels people to learn more about a project, be it a start-up or existing one. Therefore the more spread out the airdrop tokens are, the more decentralized and secure the system becomes, and this serves as a means for people to be sure that it’s not a scam (mostly),” Toheeb opined.
He further pointed out that on the other hand, the evolution of airdrop will also serve as an opportunity for scammers to perpetrate their illegal activities through fake crypto airdrops and phishing.
“ I believe that not everyone will research the origin of most airdrops to know which is fake and which is not, thereby ending up being victims of these scams,” explained Toheeb
“ Talking about the setbacks that pervade the crypto world, he explained that poor project management is one of the causes of these setbacks.
“This is a result of inadequate resources, planning, and execution. Many of the founders of these airdrop projects don’t define their projects well and sometimes don’t stick to their plans, thereby causing them to manage their projects poorly.
“ Also ignorance of their community meme era is another cause. Most People who engage in airdrop farming don’t seek to understand and comply with the dos and don’ts laid down.” Toheeb said.