Overturning a U.S. ban on Nigerians seeking immigrant visas will take “enormous resources”, but the nation is making progress, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday.
Nigeria was among six countries in an expanded version of U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban, announced in January, which blocked their citizens from obtaining U.S. visas that can lead to permanent residency.
U.S. officials cited issues such as sub-par passport technology and failure to sufficiently exchange information on terrorism suspects and criminals.
Nigerian Interior Minister Ogbeni Aregbesola asked the U.S. ambassador in Abuja to drop the ban, but also chaired a committee to address U.S. concerns.
In a statement on Thursday, Buhari said that after suggestions from a report by the committee, they had “fully resolved” two out of six U.S. concerns, “substantially satisfied” two others and had made “some progress” on the last two.
But he said they were still drafting a “workable plan” for the report’s full suggestions, which require “enormous resources.”
“I am delighted that this progress, especially the uploading of Lost and Stolen Passport and Travel Documents, has been acknowledged by the United States Government,” Buhari said.
A U.S. embassy spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Buhari said Nigeria would harmonize citizen identification data held by different parts of government, create a national criminal management system modelled on INTERPOL and start a national criminal DNA laboratory.
His statement did not specify what Nigeria had done already. A spokesman for Buhari directed questions to Aregbesola, who could not be immediately reached.
Nigerians can still obtain visas for study, work and travel in the United States, but, in the 2018 fiscal year, just 8,000 Nigerians obtained immigrant visas.
Reuters
Friday, August 14, 2020
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Nigerian Foreign Affairs minister Geoffrey Onyeama recovers from COVID-19
The Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama recovered from the coronavirus after three weeks of isolation, the ministry said on Wednesday.Onyeama had announced on July 19 that he had contracted the virus thereby becoming the first member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet to test positive for COVID-19.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted a video showing Onyeama being welcomed back by staff to his office as he resumed his duties.
“The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Geoffrey Onyeama resumes duty after testing negative for COVID-19. Welcome back Your Excellency!”
Onyeama took to social media to thank all those who wished him well during his recovery period.
“By the very special grace of God my latest COVID-19 test result came back NEGATIVE after three weeks isolation. I am eternally grateful to my family, the C-in-C and VP, the medical team, relations, friends, colleagues, religious leaders and numerous well-wishers, who through their care, prayers, fasting, messages of support and encouragement never let me walk alone,” Onyeama tweeted.
The news of Onyeama’s recovery will be welcomed as he has been instrumental in overseeing the evacuation of Nigerians abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic and working tirelessly to address Nigeria’s diplomatic matters.
CGTN
Nigerians Are Using Bitcoin to Bypass Trade Hurdles With China
In return, he receives spare auto parts, construction equipment, and juices for a family business his father started more than 30 years ago. Ezike works full-time at Singapore-based crypto exchange Huobi as its community manager but helps with his family’s business on the side.
He says bitcoin is faster than exchanging currencies the old-fashioned way. And he can use it to leapfrog bank limits of $10,000 a day, which he often needs to do.
Ezike doesn’t pay the manufacturer directly. Over WeChat, he works with a middleman named “Allen” who exchanges Ezike’s bitcoin for renminbi, China’s national currency, and then passes it on to the manufacturer. Ezike couldn’t divulge which companies he deals with, saying, “The Chinese are sensitive with the data that’s shared.”
He’s one of several Nigerians using bitcoin for this purpose. Ezike even helps other Nigerian companies make similar cross-border transactions with bitcoin.
Using bitcoin for global trade
In several ways, bitcoin makes sense for global trade. The currency jumps borders with ease, where other currencies encounter friction. If the counterparty is willing to receive bitcoin on the other end, it’s often faster and cheaper than legacy payments. But this can be a big “if,” since bitcoin is a newer way of transferring money and people aren’t exactly used to it quite yet.
While bitcoin has these nimble properties, it hasn’t disrupted international trade and value transfer just yet, especially given the currency’s current limitations. If more people use bitcoin at once, the network becomes congested and payments slow down.
Behind the scenes, developers around the world are working on the Lightning Network to fix these problems, so that more people, maybe one day even millions, can all use bitcoin regularly without seeing a spike in fees and sluggish transactions.
All that said, some Nigerians are becoming reliant on using bitcoin as a way to trade internationally, and are finding bitcoin has significant benefits over legacy financial systems.
Foreign exchange woes
Nigerian bitcoin entrepreneur Chimezie Chuta has another theory for why some are using bitcoin for trade with China and beyond.
Like most other countries in an increasingly globalized world, Nigeria imports a significant percentage of the goods that it uses. As Chimezie Chuta put it: “Nigeria is a very import-heavy country. Food industry, drugs, you name it, construction equipment, cars.” Much of these goods are bought from Chinese manufacturers. “Nigeria’s economy is heavily import dependent and China is a major import partner to Nigeria,” Chuta adds.
Nigerians have to struggle with this process, though. “Access to [foreign exchange (FX)] for importation by Nigerian business owners is highly limited because the [Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)] has limited liquidity to cater for everyone,” Chuta told CoinDesk.
If Nigerians want to reap the benefits of trade, they need to hunt down a way to exchange their naira (Nigeria’s national currency) for other currencies. In Nigeria, finding U.S. dollars or Chinese remnibi is not an easy task. “Importers typically rely on the black market for the additional FX needed and that comes at a very high price,” Chuta said. This phenomenon has been covered in Bloomberg, for instance.
This is one of the other reasons Ezike has turned to bitcoin as an alternative. “The hustle for [the] dollar and all that is quite a thing I love to avoid,” Ezike told CoinDesk.
With bitcoin, he can “take out all international banking routing processes,” he said.
Others are reaching the same conclusion.
“Chinese exporters have expressed willingness to accept bitcoin payments for their goods; hence, many business people in Nigeria find it more convenient to make such payments with bitcoin for obvious reasons,” Chuta said, adding that bitcoin is speedier, open and trustless.
More naira problems
Entrepreneur Monyei Chinazaekpele was able to buy clothes, COVID-19 masks and tests from House of Trippyin China, to resell to customers in Nigeria.
He decided to use bitcoin after experiencing mounting frustration with current banking limitations, especially their impact on global trade. “I was enlightened about the monetary policies on the ground. I was shocked to my nerve,” he told CoinDesk.
Chinazaekpele reiterated Chuta and Ezike’s point that foreign exchange is tough in Nigeria. “You can’t easily switch to other currencies,” he said, adding that he’s hopeful it’s just “a matter of time” before this situation improves.
“Basically, bitcoin is stress free to use and honestly, the naira is not a good store of value,” Chinazaekpele said, pointing to the naira’s 12% inflation rate, which means the value of the currency depreciates by that much value every year.
Bitcoin’s price fluctuates, and sometimes the price goes down. But Chinazaekpele argues that bitcoin generally doesn’t have this inflation problem, since over the long term the price has been going up.
Chinazaekpele’s also looking to buy a cashew processor with bitcoin, but he’s still working out the details with the factory, which is also located in China.
Keeping it on the down-low
All this trade with bitcoin is happening behind the scenes. Businessmen and women on the ground aren’t exactly eager to publicize that they’re using bitcoin for international trade. For one, the legality of cryptocurrency is fuzzy in the region.
The CBN has issued several warnings to banks. The latest in 2018 advised banks “not to use, hold or transact in any way with the technology.”
“In the bitcoin space we don’t know what reaction to expect, so we try to be a little bit discrete,” Ezike told CoinDesk. That’s why he doesn’t want to reveal the name of his father’s importing business. By only revealing his individual name, he’s less fearful that the Nigerian government will “attack” the business.
“We have had accounts frozen at some point due to bitcoin transactions,” Ezike said. “We had to appeal to re-open them.”
He added that it’s the same situation in China, which is why the people he transacts with there “ensure they [keep] a low profile.”
As for the relationship between the government in Nigeria and crypto, Ezike said that “they are really confused about what to do with it. But hopefully they will embrace it.”
By Alyssa Hertig
Coindesk
Related stories: Nigeria Among Countries With Highest Crypto Usage Increase
Video - Nigerian returns bitcoins worth $80,000
Nigeria court fines pirates for seizing ship in Gulf of Guinea
These are the first convictions in the West African state since a new anti-piracy law came into force last year.
Nigeria has been under pressure from the shipping industry to curb piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
It accounts for more than 80% of maritime kidnappings globally, the International Maritime Bureau says.
The three, who are believed to include two Nigerians and a foreign national, pleaded guilty to two counts of piracy during their trial in the High Court in the oil hub of Port Harcourt.
The director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Bashir Jamoh, welcomed the verdict.
"This will serve as a deterrent to other criminal elements who are still engaged in the nefarious activities on our waterways," he said.
Asked whether financial penalties alone were enough of a deterrent, he told the BBC:
"Absolutely - now we have a legal instrument to prosecute effectively and put the pirates out of business legally speaking."
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) also welcomed the men's conviction.
"It is the deterrent which was lacking," IMB spokesman Cyrus Moody told the BBC.
Another six men pleaded not guilty and their trial continues.
They are accused of being part of a gang that seized a vessel off Equatorial Guinea's coast in March.
They are alleged to have demanded a $2m ransom for the crew's release, but were paid $200,000.
The Nigerian navy arrested the men.
Almost 50 crew were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea in the first half of this year, compared with 27 last year, according to the IMB.
BBC
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Nigeria Among Countries With Highest Crypto Usage Increase
“In July we saw a number of countries increase their fraction of total Blockchain wallet transactions, most notably Peru, India, and Indonesia,” the company described. Other countries that made the top 10 list of increased transactions are Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Japan, the Philippines, Venezuela, Bangladesh, and Bulgaria.
“Japan is once again in the top 10, while Hong Kong and Morocco haven’t been as active in the past two months,” the firm continued. The top countries with a decrease in Blockchain wallet creation are South Korea, Denmark, Morocco, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Kenya, Moldova, Brazil, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates.
The firm’s data science team highlighted Nigeria as the most trending country since April, coinciding with Google search data which pointed to Nigeria as the country with the most relative interest in bitcoin. Blockchain.com provides a Bitcoin block explorer service, a cryptocurrency wallet, and an exchange supporting bitcoin, bitcoin cash, and ethereum. The team revealed:
"Nigeria has been the most trending country in recent months. It has increased by 60% its usage of Blockchain.com web wallet since April 2020."
Last month, Nigerian media reported that the Ministry of Justice had tabled before the National Assembly the bills that will provide the legal framework for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, citing the country’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami. “The expected bills will prepare Nigeria for emerging realities relating to digital cash, bitcoin and e-currency,” Malami was quoted as saying.
News.Bitcoin.com recently reported that Nigeria led sub-Saharan Africa in peer-to-peer (P2P) bitcoin trading but the country is still laden with crypto scams.
Meanwhile, India ranked second on Blockchain’s list of increased wallet creation but the country still does not have crypto regulation and there are reports of the government considering a ban on cryptocurrencies.
Local lawyer Mohammed Danish explained that the “Supreme court judgmenthas helped big time in increasing the curiosity around crypto.” He added: “Even in legal fraternity I see lot of people taking huge interest. But this curiosity is of course limited to a certain age group.” Policy 4.0 CEO Tanvi Ratna commented on Blockchain’s data:
"Despite the uncertain regulatory climate, India ranks second in a global survey of rise in crypto usage for July vs June."
By Kevin Helms
Bitcoin.com
Related stories: Nigeria becomes eight African nation to welcome bitcoin ATMs
Video - Nigerian returns bitcoins worth $80,000
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