This is majorly me sharing my experience and opinions and should not be taken as anything more or anything less than it actually is.
You see Nigeria is known for many many things like corruption, poverty, insecurity and illetracy to mention but a few. Basic amenities and rights of the people, in reality, do not exist. But thanks to our resiliance, like water, we have learnt to flow the path of least resistance.
For example, an increase in fuel price will lead to an increase in the price of bus and taxi fares which in turn leads to an increase in the price of goods.
Flooding as a result of inadequate roads and infrastructure sees the invention of able bodied men willing to carry one across the flooded areas to your destination in exchange for a small fare. Creative much?
The average Nigerian's idea of investment is assets! It could be owning a building which he puts up for rent on a monthly or yearly basis or a vehicle used for the commercial purposes of moving people and goods but that is as far as it goes.
lt is a long and complicated story for another day.
Sometime in 2015, while I was still in university, my third year to be precise, the ponzi scheme 'Get Help World Wide' took Nigeria by storm and you can only imagine the thrill, excitement and hope that came with it. This was not the first ponzi scheme to hold us in its grasp though. (There was MMM but I didn't take part and so I can't say much about it.)
All you had to do was have $50 (approximately 25,000 naira as at then) to be willing to 'help' someone with. In fact you could even borrow it from a trusted person and be sure to get your money back plus interest in a couple of week.
That is, for every $50 help you give, you get approximately $100 (50,000 naira) help back in a couple of weeks. There was also the 10% referal bonus that comes with it for each person you are able to convice to 'render help' of $50.
I can categorically say it was the best time of our lives. Banks were crowded, ATM'S were overworked as people pulled out their house rents, profits, savings and even school fees just to get that extra couple of dollars. We didn't care what time of the day it was, we were awake and ready.
And then one glorious morning what happened? You guessed it. It crashed! That ship sailed, sunk and was set on fire.
I am surprised and grateful we didn't have more suicides than recorded.
I do know a lot of people that lost there homes, school fees, years of hardwork and savings and had to start all over again. It was terrible and heartbreaking.
Now since majority of this was done online and in dollars and also since there was no address to go and do the needful ( if you know, you know)it was somehow associated with bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Any and everything that didnt involve the naira in cash at hand or in their bank accounts was a huge NO! Even those that are well educated, enlightened and big risk takers needed sometime to recuperate.
Now this coupled with other factors, some of which i listed above and many more i may not be aware of are the reasons for the seemingly slow growth or development in the cryptoworld in this area.
It may take a while, slowly and gradually but we will spread the word.
Patience, perseverance, proper information and a little sacrifice and we will bring cryptocurrency into limelight and forge ahead and give it the attention it deserves.
