Nigeria eyes national Nigerium blockchain for data sovereignty

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Nigeria is eyeing a new indigenous blockchain network to protect the country’s data sovereignty.

According to local media, a team from the University of Hertfordshire proposed the new blockchain, Nigerium, to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Chanu Kuppuswamy, who leads the team, argued that relying on blockchain networks whose developers are in other regions poses national security risks for the Nigerian government. She further stated that Nigerium would allow the West African nation to customize the network to suit specific needs while promoting data sovereignty.

In her presentation, Chanu cited the recent Ethereum migration to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus as an instance in which no Nigerians were involved but whose impact is far-reaching.

“Developing an indigenous blockchain like Nigerium is a significant step towards achieving data sovereignty and fostering trust in digital transactions within Nigeria,” she stated.

While receiving the proposals in Abuja, NITDA’s Kashifu Abdullahi acknowledged the benefits that a local blockchain would give Nigeria, including enhanced safety of citizens’ data.

However, a spokesperson for NITDA later clarified that Nigerium is at the proposal stage, and the government has not decided whether to proceed with it.

“The committee is still in discussion with stakeholders on the possibility. Even if a decision is finally made, there is no assurance that the name will be Nigerium,” the spokesperson told media outlets.

Nigerium’s reception in the country was mixed. Some, like financial analyst Olumide Adesina, say the network “is dead on arrival.” He believes that the Nigerian government’s poor record of following through with its grand tech plans will claim yet another victim. He pointed to the eNaira as a failed opportunity whose chances of success were much higher than Nigerium.

Others welcomed the proposal. Chimezie Chuta, who chairs the revamped Nigerian Blockchain Policy Committee, is “extremely optimistic” that Nigerium will fare better than the eNaira.

Speaking to a local news outlet, Chuta noted that the eNaira failed because the central bank embarked on the project alone and didn’t involve any stakeholder.

“They just cooked it and expected everybody to enjoy it. [With Nigerium], there’s going to be a lot of collaboration,” he stated.

Land title registration, digital identity and certificate verification are among the use cases that Nigerium is expected to initially target. However, Nigeria has already made progress in some of these fields through public blockchains.

SPPG, a leading governance and policy school, announced in May the country’s first blockchain certificate verification system. Built on the BSV blockchain, it was developed in partnership with blockchain data record firm VX Technologies and local lender Sterling Bank.

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