SIN 3

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It is heartwarming to have AkwaIbom host
SIN 3 and today we have made history seeing the Grand Unveiling of Nigeria’s first cryptocurrency ATM Card.

Akwa Ibom in the last 4 years has witnessed overwhelming growth in all sectors of the economy thereby giving birth to the New Akwa Ibom where Akwa Ibomites are rising to the faith of their resources, beyond what others see, human and intellectual.

Nigeria has been pre-exposed to Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, but only few people are fully integrated into this fast growing sector.

If you look around the world today, what you often feel is a deep sense of gloom. You read about terrorism, armed conflicts, fake news, slow rates of growth, unemployment amongst young people in many parts of the world.“It is doom and gloom out there.

But I would like to submit the otherwise and the answer does not lie in right-wing or left-wing political ideology but a longing for advancement of humanity as a whole. The reality is that we are now living through a technological revolution.

Industries are increasingly shifting to blockchain technology because it is already transforming certain industries - like banking and financial products and indeed entire industries.

Nigeria, however, is lagging behind most countries, especially with the government and legacy financial institutions sore-footedness and refractory approach to this undeniably ingenious invention.

Blockchain, is one of the most amazing technologies of the Industrial Revolution (4RI), whose architecture underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but its potential applications go much further and Indeed, promises to revolutionize the business and financial environment by reinventing processes, improving productivity and quality, reducing costs, and enhancing transparency.

Interestingly, Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention in 2008 has truly served as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Therefore it is factual that when we fully integrate Blockchain in Nigeria, we will have a change in the digital paradigm of our country. Financial Institutions, Schools, Private and Public Enterprises will adopt and introduce Blockchain and cryptocurrency in their Various Units. Elections can also be conducted in the state with the use of Blockchain.

Finally, I want to end by making this point. I started off by saying the world is going through a tough time. There seems to be a lack of opportunities and anxieties about fairness but the real diagnosis is that we are living through a digital revolution. This revolution will give huge opportunities to the people who get it and who understand it early.
What we are trying to do in Akwa Ibom State is create the most conducive environment for people who get it, to be able to build it so that in the future people will come to Akwa Ibom and they will say ‘I have seen the future, and it works!’.

We must embrace a dream-and-do combination that soars with high vision and yet walks on earth with practical results. History is marked by the rise of new technologies and the ingenuity and creativity they unlock. That is our challenge and I hope that everyone in this room, and indeed this country, will rise to it. So today let us ask ourselves when our children live to see the next century. What change will they see, what progress will we have made… This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time.This is a digital solution in turning NIGERIA into a digital country where she competes with states in United Kingdom, United States and other top countries of the world.

Welcome to a wonderful future. It is a privilege to be alive and to be at the front seat of this revolution.