Tech News
Why Nigeria must invest in digital technology – El Rufai
Nigeria needs to look for a way to move from the agrarian and industrial into the services sector, and ICT is a way to do that.

Published
9 months agoon

If Nigeria is to join the richer countries of the world, she must invest aggressively in technology, improve local production, and cut cost of governance.
These were some of the opinions presented by experts during a virtual colloquium tagged Government Unusual: Innovative Economic Solutions to Unlock Mass Prosperity held on Saturday afternoon.
While making a presentation at the Rauf Aregbesola colloquium, Governor Nasir El Rufai noted that investment in digital technology must become a priority if Africa hoped to join the league of developed countries. He said,
“Investing aggressively in digital technology is the only way Africa can preserve its growth and continue to lift people out of poverty. We must invest in the digital because henceforth, every sector of governance and living will depend on the digital.”
READ ALSO: FG sets committee to support tech start-ups with affordable internet access amid lockdown
He added that one of the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need for Nigeria to embrace technological advancement so that Nigerians could benefit from the numerous opportunities that came with it; and pointed at the recent decision to crash right of way charges as the first way to go.
In agreement with his position, CEO Lotus Capital, Mrs Hajara Adeola, added that investment in technology was the best way to get Nigerian youths to take advantage of global opportunities without migrating to other countries.
“Nigeria needs to look for a way to move from the agrarian and industrial into the services sector, and ICT is a way to do that. Our youths are innovative and capable, so if we can train our youths in technology, then we can get homegrown solutions to some of our issues without them having to migrate” she said during the panel discussion.
Infrastructure for business
Unless infrastructural developments are shaped and directed towards business developments, the country will continue to invest in infrastructure which have no benefits.
“You don’t shape infrastructure as how you think it makes sense. you do it in a way that follows the money because ultimately that is where prosperity comes for everybody,” Chairman of Citibank Nigeria limited, Yemi Cardoso said.
The global terrain continues to change and Nigeria must develop a framework to align its growth strategy with the changes, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks as we go forward.
The colloquium, which was held online (via zoom), had over 700 participants across several countries, and was also streamed live on Youtube.
Panelists at the colloquium were Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor, Kaduna State; Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, Governor, Kebbi State; Mrs. Hajara Adeola, CEO, Lotus Capital Limited; Mr. Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives; Dr. Joe Abah, Country Director, Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI); Dr. Yemi Cardoso, Chairman, Citibank Nigeria, and Boason Omofaye, the Moderator.
Dr Yemi Kale, Statistician General of the federation and CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was also present.
Ruth Okwumbu has a MSc. and BSc. in Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Delta state university respectively. Prior to her role as analyst at Nairametrics, she had a progressive six year writing career.As a Business Analyst with Narametrics, she focuses on profiles of top business executives, founders, startups and the drama surrounding their successes and challenges. You may contact her via [email protected]


Tech News
Twitter CEO auctions his first-ever tweet on Twitter, bidding at $2.5 million
Jack Dorsey is auctioning his first-ever tweet on a website that sells tweets as non-fungible tokens.
Published
15 hours agoon
March 7, 2021
Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey is auctioning his first-ever tweet on Twitter “just setting up my twttr” on a website that sells tweets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The tweet was listed for sale on ‘Valuables by Cent’ – a tweets marketplace that was launched three months ago. The tweet was first made in March 2006
The tweet received offers as high as $88,888.88 within minutes of Jack tweeting a link to the listing on” Valuables by Cent” on Friday.
Currently, bidding has reached $2.5 million (€2.1 million) indicating the potential in selling virtual objects that have been authenticated through blockchain technology.
The highest bid for the tweet — $2.5 million — came from Bridge Oracle CEO Sina Estavi. It topped cryptocurrency pioneer, Justin Sun’s $2 million bid.
The final buyer of the tweet will receive a certificate, digitally signed and verified by Jack Dorsey, as well as the metadata of the original tweet. The data will include information such as the time the tweet was posted and its text contents. Most of this information, however, is already publicly available.
According to Valuables by Cent’s terms, 95% of a tweet’s sale will go to the original creator while the remainder will go to the website.
What you should know
- NFTs is a unique digital certificate that states who owns a photo, video, or other forms of online media.
- Dorsey’s 15-year-old tweet is one of the most famous tweets ever on the platform.
- Bidding had reached $2.5 million (€2.1 million) on Saturday, indicating the potential in selling virtual objects that have been authenticated through blockchain technology.
- More people are currently bidding their tweets on the platform.
Stock Market
Bamboo’s current rate for buying U.S Stocks weakens to N492/$1
Bamboo is currently offering its users a premium of more than 20% compared to the official exchange rate.

Published
19 hours agoon
March 7, 2021
The fast-rising Nigerian stock broking application, Bamboo, is currently offering an exchange rate of N492 to the dollar.
About two weeks ago, the Nigerian stock trading app offered an exchange rate of about N484 to $1.
The green-colored trading app known for allowing local-based Nigerians to invest in stocks listed on the world’s biggest stock market (New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ) is currently offering its users a premium of more than 20% compared to the official exchange rate set by the Nigerian apex bank.
READ: Nigerian Bitcoin P2P surges by 15% since CBN Crypto ban
That being said, Nairametrics’s most recent research observed Chaka. ng offers the lowest exchange rate charge of N480 to 1$, other Nigerian-based stock trading apps that include Trove and Risevest currently offer their clients N491.68 and N486 to $1 respectively.
In addition, other leading fintech platforms reviewed by Nairametrics also presently offer exuberant rates as high as about N519 to a dollar, thereby adding more transaction costs on a significant number of Nigerians hoping to trade such financial assets.
A growing number of Nigerians are currently increasing their exposure to the U.S stock market taking to the current bearish trend that is being witnessed in the Nigerian Equity market and growing urge in hedging against the weakening local currency.
Consequently, a lot of Nigerians are flocking the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the account it has about 2,800 companies listed, while the NASDAQ has about 3,300 stocks listed. This gives Nigerian investors numerous options where they can invest their money. It is also why the US economy attracts billions of dollars in portfolio investments annually.
READ: Many Nigerians are trooping into foreign stock markets
Bamboo is an investment platform that gives Africans real-time access to invest in or trade over 3,500 stocks listed on the American and Nigerian exchanges right from their smartphones or personal computer.
In partnership with US-based Drive Wealth LLC, Bamboo provides seamless, secure access to US and Nigerian securities.
Nairametrics | Company Earnings
Access our Live Feed portal for the latest company earnings as they drop.
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