As a Nigerian, one of my biggest goals is to save enough to invest in a second passport. Since the last administration took over, their policies have been spectacularly bad - and that's coming from me, a Nigerian (and African) who has only known bad government all his life.
When COVID-19 kicked in and oil revenues dried up, the government turned on the printing presses and churned out an awful amount of Nairas. Like anyone who has a basic knowledge of economics would have expected, the Naira tanked - aggressively. From around N365/$1 to N740/$1 as of today (i.e., on the black market).
Instead of facing up to the problem, the government has created multiple exchange rates, demonized bureau de change operators, and generally restricted how much FX you can access.
And as presidential elections are coming up in 2023, millions of citizens are still eager to vote for the clowns that will just crank the lever to 11.
At some point, you just feel trapped. Most citizens don't even recognize it and the CBDC was launched without no opposition.
Come to think of it, it was launched after a series of anti-government protests in OCTOBER 2022. So, the government started tying SIM cards to personal ID numbers and trying to force a CBDC. So, if such a protest should repeat itself, you just get cut off from the financial system without fanfare.
That's what pains me: those who were protesting government brutality in October 2020 have said nothing about this and they see it as just another step towards a digital economy.
It's so discouraging being a libertarian and knowing how this will end.
When COVID-19 kicked in and oil revenues dried up, the government turned on the printing presses and churned out an awful amount of Nairas. Like anyone who has a basic knowledge of economics would have expected, the Naira tanked - aggressively. From around N365/$1 to N740/$1 as of today (i.e., on the black market).
Instead of facing up to the problem, the government has created multiple exchange rates, demonized bureau de change operators, and generally restricted how much FX you can access.
And as presidential elections are coming up in 2023, millions of citizens are still eager to vote for the clowns that will just crank the lever to 11.
At some point, you just feel trapped. Most citizens don't even recognize it and the CBDC was launched without no opposition.
Come to think of it, it was launched after a series of anti-government protests in OCTOBER 2022. So, the government started tying SIM cards to personal ID numbers and trying to force a CBDC. So, if such a protest should repeat itself, you just get cut off from the financial system without fanfare.
That's what pains me: those who were protesting government brutality in October 2020 have said nothing about this and they see it as just another step towards a digital economy.
It's so discouraging being a libertarian and knowing how this will end.