I'm not really sure what 'access to electricity' actually means.
Would it still count as access if the electricity was only available for an hour a day on average? Or would it count if said access comes mostly from privately-owned diesel generators?
If the answer is 'yes' to either question then those numbers are quite accurate.
Excepting COVID, where the line went flat, it seems to be consistently improving. Compared to the other countries in Africa, I'd say they are on par or much better off.
Not a great situation, but seemingly improving at a steady clip, so maybe it isn't as bad as the bare number would imply. To steel-man the government's motives, I might hazard a guess they are hoping that a digital currency will attract more investment in technology. It's very much a "rising tide lifts all boats" plan that historically ends up with a lot of inequalities, but given their economic reliance on oil production, diversifying makes sense.
Or, it's just another corrupt scheme that is lining a few pockets.
By introducing a CBDC, the Nigerian government hopes to attract revenues that come from remittances, which have mostly shifted to crypto channels because of poor international trade policies. Today, getting USD liquidity as an importer/exporter is challenging, as there are two market rates - one for banks & few institutions, the other for individuals & the vast majority of the economy. To find competitive rates, people resort to P2P markets. Furthermore, the Nigerian government banned licensed money operators from transacting with any crypto entity - essentially shutting down revenues from fiat deposits. Restrictions like withdrawal limits on USD accounts ($10k per month) makes it highly unfavorable for such high-volume merchants to transact in USD via the banking system. A CBDC is a way of the Nigerian government looking at all that activity with the hopes to attract the revenues that flow within crypto, but they miss the fundamental step of favorable trade & monetary policies that increase USD liquidity and opens up crypto officially to capture remittance revenues.
Not discounting the value of the other facts you shared, but how does digital currency change the status quo if the problem preventing remittances through official channels?
Isn’t it yet another official channel that lacks the same international trade connections just like regular bank accounts?
The government is just looking for a way to save face for their failed economic policies. They’re setting up this law in a country where digital banking is unreliable; it’s not uncommon for bank networks go down for hours.
Because of how reckless they’ve managed our economy, banks are finding it difficult to access foreign exchange. One consequence is that I can no longer spend the equivalent of more than $20 per month from my local debit card on payments, so I have to resort to using cryptocurrency to pay for my websites and domain names…this is a horrible law set by a clueless government that just wants more control over citizens but won’t fix simple things like electricity and roads.
> I have to resort to using cryptocurrency to pay for my websites and domain names
How do people typically convert from local currency to cryptocurrency? Is Bitcoin the most popular cryptocurrency? Are there not relatively high fees for conversion from cash to crypto, or to use crypto as payments for smaller transactions?
Not that I support this program, because I don't know much about it to decide, but I know from where I live now if you don't have electricity then you are living a very simple life and probably aren't using that much cash each week anyways.
So, the amount allowed to be withdrawn sounds small but it might not affect those without electricity. Plus, if they don't have electricity there is no ATM and therefore they have all their cash on hand as I know many stories of remote island villages where people just keep money in their house. The best stories are of those who are truly remote but making absolute bank selling kava roots and they come down to the major town and buy new Toyota trucks in all cash stuffed into 25kg bags of rice.
Would it still count as access if the electricity was only available for an hour a day on average? Or would it count if said access comes mostly from privately-owned diesel generators?
If the answer is 'yes' to either question then those numbers are quite accurate.