₦airaland Forum

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has stated that the Federal Government plans to earn $6 billion from Blockchain technology by 2030.
This was disclosed by the NITDA Chief, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, on Friday in a meeting with stakeholders reviewing Nigeria’s Blockchain Adoption Strategy Framework.
The Nigerian Government has increasingly seen the benefits of crypto adoption in its financial tech marketplace. Nairametrics reported in September that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had proposed a new set of rules that would regulate Crypto-token or Crypto-coin investments when the character of the investments qualified as securities transactions.
“SEC Nigeria has consistently shown that it has a clear understanding of her role in creating a conducive environment for the growth and development of Virtual Financial Assets, and Cryptocurrencies in general. This recent publication will act as a catalyst for mass adoption. It will also create the much needed institutional investor confidence for the Nigeria Capital Market,” the SEC said in September.
The NITDA DG said that Nigeria’s youth population was adopting new technologies and Nigeria needed to benefit from the adoption.
“In Nigeria, looking at our youthful population, which is mainly digitally native and with our position in Africa, we are looking at how we can get at least around six to 10 billion dollars by the year 2030,” he said.
He added that Nigeria could hit the milestone because of her vast IT backend and growing fintech space.
NITDA said blockchain technology adoption would be achieved through measures including provincial services, payment services, digital identity, customer engagement, contract and many others, and called on stakeholders in the crypto space to work out adoption strategies that could be executed by the FG.
Nairametrics reported earlier this week that Nigeria experienced the largest influx of activity in peer to peer transactions of bitcoin in the month of October.
Statistics seen from Usefultulips, a BTC analytic data provider, showed that Nigeria led Africa’s peer to peer transactions in the last 30 days, as it posted a monthly P2P volumes of about $32.3 million, followed by South Africans and Kenyans, each posting about $9.3 million and $8 million respectively

Nigeria on Friday confirmed 223 new cases of COVID-19, as the number of infected people in the country increased to 63,731, according to official records.
Meanwhile, one person died from the disease in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 1,154, according to an update by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC on Friday night.
The 223 new cases were reported from 17 states- Lagos (85), FCT (35), Akwa Ibom (24), Enugu (18), Plateau (13), Rivers (10), Abia (7), Ebonyi (6), Anambra (5), Adamawa (4), Bauchi (3), Imo (3), Ogun (3), Oyo (3), Kwara (2), Osun (1), Taraba (1).
According to the latest data, Lagos continues to be the most affected state, with 85 new cases reported. The commercial city is Nigeria’s coronavirus hotspot with over 21,000 infections, about a third of the country’s total.
There have been warnings including from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and the Nigerian government that a more devastating second wave of coronavirus could occur in Nigeria and much of the African continent.
Both Nigerians and the government appear to be lax about adhering and enforcing COVID-19 safety protocols.
The latest update is coming about two weeks after the #EndSARS protest, in which the youth demanded the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police ended.
Thousands of youths trooped out across the country especially from its capital, Abuja, and the commercial nerve, Lagos, defying repeated calls by the country’s infectious disease outfit, NCDC, and health experts to avoid mass gathering.
Several COVID-19 protocols including the use of face masks and maintenance of social distancing were breached as there was a mammoth crowd of protesters packed in tight spaces without face masks.

The Nigerian government announced its plans to set up a vaccine production company in Nigeria to boost local COVID-19 vaccine production.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Wednesday, during the PTF briefing.
The Minister added that the Health ministry would sign a PPP-MoU with a pharmaceutical company in Nigeria to set up the new company. The Minister added that Nigeria is working with the WHO to ensure Nigeria’s access to a COVID-19 vaccine.
He warned of the effects of the second wave in Europe and urged against traveling to high-risk nations. He also said, about 18 of the 78,000 arrivals to Nigeria were found to be COVID-19 positive during the second phase of testing.
The Nigerian government has worked with local pharmaceutical firms since the pandemic started and gave grants to Fidson Healthcare Plc, May and Baker Plc, Neimeth International Plc, Unique Pharma, Swiss Pharma, Dana Pharma, Orange Drugs, Sagar, GSK, and Emzor Pharmaceuticals.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), intervened in the sector through the provision of N100 billion credit towards managing the pandemic.
“The Bankers’ Committee took the decision to support the pharmaceutical companies, given the fact that the present pandemic was of grave public health concern, coupled with the fact that many drug-manufacturing countries planned or had already banned the export of drugs and medical supplies from their respective countries; thereby, leaving Nigeria no choice but to produce the drugs locally,” Emefiele said.

The November 3 presidential elections in the United States has, sadly enough, progressed along lines many in its run-up had feared. At the time of writing, no clear winner in a surprisingly tight race has emerged. Incumbent President Donald Trump – in an astonishing break with U.S. political traditions – falsely and prematurely declared victory and demanded that the count of mail-in ballots be stopped. Challenger former Vice President Joe Biden earlier in the evening expressed optimism that he will prevail in the end. At this point, it is quite likely that it would take days, if not weeks, for a clear winner to emerge, with the possibility of litigation and possible involvement of the U.S. Supreme Court lurking in the background. There is also fear – not quite unjustified – that the United States may face civil unrest and possible violence in the intervening period. All in all, this has been an election quite in sync with how 2020 has progressed thus far.
But whatever be the eventual outcome, one thing is clear: the forces that led to Trump’s victory in 2016 – nativism, xenophobia, and ethnic nationalism – are far from being spent. In fact, the close race indicates that the Republican Party’s bet on Trump has paid off handsomely for it. Even if Biden – aided by the U.S. legal system and constitutional checks and balances – does emerge as the victor, and is sworn into office come January, the tallied effect of 2016 and 2020 will bring pause to many, both in the United States and abroad, about the long-term future political trajectory of the country and what that means for U.S. foreign policy in the long run. Increasingly, it seems Trump is not a bug but a feature of U.S. political life.
America’s international engagements will likely, and perhaps subtly, be shaped by forces behind the outcomes of both elections. As Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass tweeted earlier today, “Whatever the ultimate outcome of this election, this is a deeply divided country along political and cultural lines alike. Bodes badly for governing at home and for building a consensus as to the country’s role in the world. Sobering by any and every measure.”

The Federal Government generated N424.7 billion as Value Added Tax (VAT) in the third quarter of the year (Q3'20). This represents a rise of 30 per cent in VAT revenue when compared to N275.12 billion in Q2'20.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, VAT Report for Q3'20 released yesterday also indicated that this is the third consecutive quarterly rise in the VAT revenue occurring throughout the period of the Coronavirus (COVID-10) induced lockdown of commercial activities across in the country.

The Bureau said the "other manufacturing sector" category generated the highest amount of VAT amounting to N47.07 billion while pharmaceutical, soaps & toiletries sector generated the least amount of VAT with N386.2 million.

Some Nigerian-Americans and other immigrant voters in the US revealed that immigration, healthcare and stability were their determinant factors in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday.
They disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), as the presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden gets tense.
Chairman of the Organisation of the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN), Mr Olayinka Dan-Salami, said the choice was obvious for him: Biden.
READ: Nigeria needs $5billion for National Broadband Plan – Chairman, BISC 
“A president who doesn’t like immigrants, who just wants to send everybody back home, is not a president we should be voting for.
“Trump is waging an immigration war against Nigerians that is borne of out of jealousy of the accomplishments of Nigerians in this country.”
He also criticised Trump for downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed no fewer than 230,000 lives in the U.S.
READ: Why Nigeria is Africa’s biggest Crypto market
A Pakistani immigrant, Mr Nasir Raza said although he liked Trump’s performance on the economy, he voted for Biden’s liberal stance on immigration.
Mr Basil Njoku, a leader of the Nigerian community in New York, decried Trump’s “poor handling” of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said would make the election difficult for him.
Njoku, who disclosed that he lost seven members of his community to the virus, wondered why the president politicises wearing of masks.
“Something as simple as wearing a mask is being politicised (by Trump). What is the big deal in wearing a mask?
We have all expressed our opinions about this election. As far as immigrant visas and COVID-19 are concerned, I will not support Trump. Because President Trump has only himself in his heart. The sudden attack of COVID-19 completely exposed many shortcomings of the federal government under President Trump.

Before the pandemic began, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration had outlined a vision for his second term, which includes reducing stunting rates as a priority to improve the quality of Indonesian human resources.
Stunted children tend to find studying harder than their peers who enjoy sufficient nutritional intake. They are also likely to endure slow physical and mental development, reduced productive capacity and poor health, as well as a higher risk of developing noncommunicable diseases.
Nearly 7 million Indonesian children under the age of 5 affected by stunting, but the rate has declined from 30.8 percent in 2018 to 27.6 percent in 2020. According to the National Medium-term Development Plan for the 2020-2024 period, Jokowi aims to reduce stunting to below 20 percent in the second term of his government.
However, the unprecedented pandemic greatly affects the plan. The Indonesian government, just like others, is forced to pivot and pay full attention to addressing COVID-19. In response to the sudden crisis, the government has rearranged budget spending to handle the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, many people living on the edge suffered hunger. Lurking behind COVID-19 is news that is potentially even more devastating for those with the fewest resources and options. More and more Indonesian children are becoming malnourished due to the deteriorating diets, family income loss and overburdened health facilities due to efforts to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.
Unless swift action is taken, it is extremely tough to even maintain the current rate of stunting within the next four years of Jokowi’s era. The good news is, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has affirmed that the program related to the elimination of stunting will remain a priority amid the pandemic. The government plans to encourage stunting prevention through improving protection programs run by the Social Affairs Ministry, such as the Family Hope Program (PKH) and noncash food assistance (BPNT). The government has allocated Rp 695.2 trillion (US$47.48 billion) for its COVID-19 response, of which Rp 203.9 trillion has been set aside for social protection, including the PKH and the staple food program, which is part of BPNT.
The government disbursed Rp 32.65 trillion through the PKH to 10 million families last year and will continue to increase the allocation to anticipate the economic impact of COVID-19.
The beneficiaries now can claim the cash every month, unlike in the past, when the aid was transferred every three months.
The BPNT is given to beneficiary families every month through an electronic account mechanism.
The non-cash assistance can only be used to purchase food at e-warung merchants. The number of beneficiaries in the staple food program will rise from currently 15.2 million to 20 million households, and the aid is raised from Rp 150,000 to Rp 200,000 per month in anticipation of the impacts of the pandemic.
However, there are still numerous issues to tackle. As many as 25 million children under-5 are deprived of basic immunization, vitamin A supplementation, growth monitoring and other limited routine services due to limited health services during the pandemic. This could undermine efforts to bring down the rate of stunting in children. For this reason, the economic recovery program should be accompanied by the direct provision of maternal and child health services.
First, basic health facilities, especially integrated health services posts (Posyandu), should remain open while enforcing strict health protocol. In this pandemic, 83.9 percent of basic health services in the country are not running optimally. Maternal and child health services should be the main priority of local governments, in accordance with the World Health Organization’s recommendations for the maintenance of essential health services. Pregnant mothers and children under 5 need access to key health services, including basic immunization, breastfeeding, dietary diversity, drinking water and sanitation and early childhood education. Even before the pandemic, convergence of these key services was low in Indonesia.
Second, mobile Posyandu can be a good alternative. Community health workers can be the heroes of this program; doing door-to-door visits to fulfil all maternal and child health services. Mobile Posyandu intervention includes the provision of counselling on breastfeeding and on feeding infants and children.
Third, the media could take part in the fight against stunting amid the pandemic. While all eyes are on how to beat COVID-19, people may neglect other equally important issues, like stunting in children. The media can remind the public of the unsolved malnutrition problems and encourage all stakeholders to act to save the future generations.
From where we stand, improving public health will not be easy, but if we do not act and invest in children’s health now, the vision of developing a high-income nation will remain a dream.
In the context of the fight against COVID-19, providing essential healthcare services to protect our young generation from malnutrition is equally important to developing a vaccine that will protect the entire nation from the novel coronavirus.