FG moves to develop home grown blockchain technology

The Federal Government, on Thursday, said it is set to develop a home grown blockchain technology that will ensure protection of the national database for enhanced security.

Malam Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), when he received a delegation from the Law School of University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom in Abuja.

Part of the proposal of the group was engagement of the private sector to develop a home grown blockchain ‘Nigerium.’

Inuwa recalled that the agency reconstituted the National Blockchain Policy Steering Committee (NBP-SC) in May to domesticate the technology according to the country’s needs.

“Blockchain technology is evolving and have increasingly transformative application and we are leveraging its dynamic potential.

“We have the steering committee which you’ve consulted. It’s good you present this research to the steering committee, get their buy in for adoption and further implementation,’’ he said.

Ms Chanu Kuppuswamy, lead of the delegation, said an indigenous blockchain technology system would ensure the interest and decisions about the country’s national database, were not compromised by foreign co-developers.

Kuppuswamy said an indigenous blockchain was like having a completely customised new product that is for the Nigerian terrain.

“The product in this case happens to be a new blockchain itself, which you can either take an existing blockchain and do a smart contract on it.

“In this case, the smart contract is controlled by Nigerian government on behalf of the Nigerian people.

“In the situation where the underlying blockchain is not controlled by the Nigerian government or written with the interest of people at heart, it is basically a commercial product,’’ she said.

According to her, interest of the developer will always be considered to benefit the commercial developers.

She recommended for Nigeria to develop an equivalent of Ethereum.

According to her, we hope that NITDA can consider developing an indigenous blockchain whereby we can collaboratively enlist all the public service and the land registries of the 36 states and the FCT.

Dr Bukola Faturoti, a member of the delegation, said the country was due for a data embassy to back up her national data.

Faturoti explained that a data embassy was a server hosted in third party country, likened to Nigerian embassies in different countries.

“This time, Nigerian data is located in foreign countries, whereby the law of your country is what is operational in that place.

“A data embassy will ensure digital continuity because the data of your country is susceptible to attack and it can also be affected by natural disaster and other activities such as cyber-attack.’’

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