Several days earlier, the Nigerian government had suspended Twitter’s operations citing double standards and the persistent use of the platform for activities that were capable of threatening Nigeria’s corporate existence.
Despite this ordeal, Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey on Sunday, June 13, 2021, tweeted in response to an open letter written by American footballer Russell Okung in Bitcoin Magazine to President Muhammadu Buhari stating that Nigeria will lead the way for the largest cryptocurrency –Bitcoin, despite the ban by the Central Bank of Nigeria on financial institutions participating in its trade.
In his letter, Okung asked the government to adopt a national Bitcoin standard or stand the risk of falling behind in achieving economic independence and financial stability . His letter had gotten a lot of positive comments and retweets.
“It is no secret that the current global economic environment is worrisome and unsustainable. Sadly, the fate of the Nigerian economy is in the hands of the global central bankers who do not represent the best interests of the Nigerian people. Despite the challenges we face, the resilience of Nigerians continue to inspire”, he wrote.
Okung also stated that Iran, Russia, China and Kenya are already mining and utilizing Bitcoin as a means to circumvent U.S sanctions which prevent them from full participation in the global financial system. Currently, El Salvador, a country in Central America is the first nation in the world to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender.
Despite the government’s action in relations to the ban many Nigerians still found alternative ways of buying and selling cryptocurrencies. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had recently announced that it will launch its own digital currency before the end of the year.
Saturday, June 12, 2021, Nigeria celebrated her Democracy Day and a protest was held in several states across the country to plead against bad governance by its leaders. The protest, therefore, gained worldwide attention from world leaders and celebrities who tweeted showing their support. Dorsey showed his support to the protest and proposed donations to protestors in bitcoin.
Also, Ray ‘Uwaifo’ Youssef, Chief Executive Officer-Paxful also tweeted saying “the energy in Nigeria will transform the world. The youths have already begun building a pan African financial settlement layer using bitcoin and nothing can stop peer to peer. Africa is leading the new world of finance and crypto adoption”
