Bolaji Ojo: Government should have addressed technology issues before naira redesign policy

Bolaji Ojo, managing editor, The Ojo-Yoshida Report, has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address technology issues to alleviate the adverse impact of the naira redesign policy on citizens.

Ojo gave the advice while speaking on Tuesday at the Technology Times Digital Transformation Thought Leadership Series.

He said there is a need for Nigeria to invest in its infrastructure to power the digital economy by ensuring stable, reliable, and affordable electricity.

He said telecommunication networks must also be strengthened to foster digitalisation which is essential to achieving a cash-free system.

Ojo said Nigeria can learn from other economies that have already achieved a cash-free system, and also take advantage of the experiences of countries such as the UK and Switzerland that have made significant progress towards a cash-free system.

“A key question is how do you implement it in such a gradual way that it doesn’t negatively impact people the way this one has been done. And you’re right. There are technology tools that can be used,” he said.

“But first, let’s start with the most basic things. You go to some economies, and you find that those economies have already achieved what Nigeria has achieved.

“So we asked the question what made it possible for them to do this without necessarily promulgating a decree or a force of law to say, ‘this is where we are headed.

“However, in order for that to happen, you need to have power. If I’m returning to an old topic for Nigerians, it is because that is something that is fundamental to anything that we want to do in the economy. We need to have stable, reliable and I would say, affordable electricity. That is fundamental. That has to be a priority to the Nigeria system.

“It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about financial technology or the rest of the economy, industrial or whatever it is that we are talking about. That underpins everything. In order for you to have a cash-free or reduced cash system, you need to be able to have the infrastructure in place.”

To find sustainable solutions, he recommended public-private partnership that would involve all levels of government working together.

“In essence, this goes beyond the Central Bank. It cuts across the economy. It involves the Federal Government; it involves State Government; it involves Local Governments. We tend to load most of these on one arm of the Government. The Federal Government should provide electricity. They should do this, they should do that. It has to be a public-private partnership.

“Local Government, if empowered, can also be involved. There are Local Governments elsewhere in the world that actually offer wireless, Wi-Fi services to their citizens in precisely defined areas. When you have that, when you have the backbone in place, you can do what we are talking about.”