I am initiating a bill to review the ban on Bitcoin in my country's parliament.

[Die_empty]

Content

1) The inspiration
2) Planning and Departure
3) The meeting
4) Practical learning on how to send and receive Bitcoin
5) Draft Proposal Committee and Departure
6) Pictures

The inspiration

When I read that Panamanian Gabriel Silva in presented a bill aimed to promote the use of cryptocurrency and other digital assets in the Congress, I was inspired to initiate a bill through my constituency’s representative in the parliament. I had to write a letter and the purpose was to persuade my representative to initiate a Bill for the review of the ban placed on banks from dealing on cryptocurrencies in my country. And I sent the letter.

The letter

Planning and Departure

After a few days, I got a call from the parliamentarian and he was eager to discuss it with me. He told me his aide would call me later and book an appointment. The next day I got a call that I would be meeting with him face-to-face in three days. Considering the cost, distance, and security, I quickly suggested that we could use zoom, Video calls, or voice calls. He insisted that I should come to the country’s capital which is a distance of about 714.8 Km from my location.

Immediately I started planning because since we were meeting face-to-face, I wanted to advertise Bitcoin. I contacted another Bitcoin believer and designed some clothing and the Nigerian national flag with Bitcoin Logo and Bitcointalk website. I also had to prepare for a bitcoin discussion and possible questions that we might be asked. Hence, before I left for Abuja, I itemized some of the reasons the Central Bank gave for the restrictions and searched different threads for possible answers.Using air transport would cost from $150 to 200 but using a bus is cheaper ($20). I and my friend got to Abuja by road a day before the meeting date. We also got good accommodation from a family friend for three night.
 

The meeting

We met with the parliamentarian the following day wearing our customized polo shirts. Immediately we started that meeting, he began to outline the all the perceived evil of Bitcoin he learnt from the Central Bank Chief. I told him that his questions would be answered but he needs to know the basics of Bitcoin. And I took him briefly through

A brief handout on introduction to bitcoin




His reservations about Bitcoin were:
1.   Bitcoin promote fraud
2.   Bitcoin promotes the loss in value of naira
3.   Bitcoin is used to fund Crime
4.   Bitcoin aids tax invasion
5.   Bitcoin transactions are anonymous
6.   Bitcoin is very volatile

I was well aware that he would raise question based on the Central Bank Chief view of Bitcoin. But I was well prepared because I am already familiar with the accusations of government against Bitcoin.  And as I expected he mentioned almost the same perceived pitfalls of Bitcoin that I had itemized and discussed. I used some vital information from these comments to answer most of his questions. Some of the question and the posts that assisted me in the discussion were:

Possible answers to his questions.
                                   

Practical learning on how to send and receive Bitcoin

After our discussion, it was very clear that most of our legislatures know nothing about Bitcoin. They just rely on the information they get mainly from the Central Bank Chiefs. He told me that he wanted to get a wallet and own some Bitcoin. I created a wallet for Honorable and he was ready to receive funds. I told him to keep his private keys very safe. I asked him if he got any cash, so we can sell to him. With few bucks from his wallet, my friend sold Bitcoin to him and he was amazed that we didn’t have to go through any middleman. He was also fascinated that Bitcoin can be gotten in bits because he was wondering how many Nigerians a buying Bitcoin at such high price. Immediately he pleaded that should download wallets for all his aides. And we downloaded Trust wallet for all the staff. I also informed them that for now they can also exchange naira for Bitcoin through Bitcoin exchange platforms since bank or investing firm cannot offer such services currently. They should only use centralized systems as a gateway to access fiat and never use them as a bank where one can keep their investment. I admonished them to keep their funds mainly in decentralized wallets.

Mass Downloading of Wallets
                               

Draft Proposal Committee and Departure

We had a good time and he promised to set up a committee to prepare the draft proposal. And he instructed his secretary that some of expenses that the committee would incurred such as wages would be paid with Bitcoin and I and my friend must be part of the committee. I sent two books on Bitcoin to him and he promised to read them.  

                         

We left Abuja the next day and arrived safely. The total cost of the journey and logistics was about $115. It might not be a very big contribution to Bitcoin but I was glad that at least I have done something.

Pictures

 

                                           


                                         

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[jackg]

This looks quite interesting! You gave him a lot of reading though, were there reasons you chose those books over the whitepaper (that'd be my concern but they're probably good at quickly reading documents anyway)?

Did you keep communication channels open or does it not work like that there? If you did there were lots of promising reports you might be able to dive into and see if they're worth sending - on the scale crypto is used for illegal activities but some of those quotes do cover it very well.

[masterrex]

Kudos to all of you and your works thats the spirit of a true Bitcoin believer, just continue fighting for what you believe is right. Anyway, I think your country's Central Bank officials, mindset is moving backward. Based on their arguments I can say that they just focus on the negative side and didn't consider the whole picture, luckily my country's Central Bank officials are innovators and not backward-thinking people. 

[Mr. Magkaisa]

- From my understanding of your topic, do you know an official in your government in congress, who sent a letter of proposal to a congressman? is that right? that the content of your proposal is regarding the subject concept of Bitcoin? And the good thing about what you did was that an official or politician showed interest in the proposal you sent.

I hope you will be successful in your pursuit, and I think you will have many connections there because just having contact with a politician will not be easy to get if you are an ordinary person in the country you are in now.

That's a good step you've taken and we'll wait for the chapter you started about that bitcoin proposal dude, God bless.

[Rruchi man]

... it was very clear that most of our legislatures know nothing about Bitcoin. They just rely on the information they get mainly from the Central Bank Chiefs.

You didn't speak to them all, so you can't assume that "most of them in the legislature" know nothing about bitcoin. I think that apart from the set of them that just accepted the bias information passed on to them by the central bank chief, they actually know the benefits that this new technology holds but because of selfish interest and being that it directly poses a threat to their centralized system, they choose to ignore it and focus on these alone;

1.   Bitcoin promote fraud?
2.   Bitcoin promotes the loss in value of naira?
3.   Bitcoin is used to fund Crime
4.   Bitcoin aids tax invasion.
5.   Bitcoin transactions are anonymous
6.   Bitcoin is very volatile.

[Davidvictorson]

You are taking the bull by the horn. Truth be told I always love small actions like this because they have the potential to yield massive results in the long run. What are your plans for using this connection you have or better still working with this representative of your constituency to engage other members of the parliament? Do you plan to engage with other like-minded influential individuals, civil societies to organize a townhall meeting in respect to this?

[Upgrade00]

As a Nigerian, I am mightly inspired by what you did. It's a giant step regardless of the outcome or result of the meetings.
This was also a well thought out approach, as you were ready with answers to the expected questions.

It's also great to see you got such a response from your constituency's representatives, shows he is a listening politician who is open to learning new things.
Great job all round.

[GeorgeJohn]

From this i picked number four (4). From my way of understanding thing's even though a country does not embrace cryptocurrency or Bitcoin in particular in such domain at least learning the rudiments of cryptocurrencies and especially bitcoin is very acknowledge. i do like people who brings out their precious time to educate people cryptocurrency. Because i know vividly that in future time Bitcoin will be use for global currency and it will be part of academic curriculum.

[bocyaj]

It’s very good initiative from your side,being a crypto citizen.The people who had invested their money in crypto currency will become the crypto currency citizen.We should fight for our coins.then only it will be survive in all our country.Since it’s based on economic,many countries try to ban crypto currency.

[aoluain]

Very bold move by Die_empty and quite amazing that they got to meet face to face with
the government representative and kudos to that representative to make the meeting
happen. There must be an appetite among some people in government to review the central
bank bill.

It will be quite something if it gets reviewed and then overturned in favour of allowing
people the choice of getting involved with Bitcoin.

Best of luck to Die_empty

[Die_empty]

This looks quite interesting! You gave him a lot of reading though, were there reasons you chose those books over the whitepaper (that'd be my concern but they're probably good at quickly reading documents anyway)?

Thank jackg, I am very grateful. The handout I uploaded was just my teaching guide and I didn't give it to him.  Skipping the Whitepaper was a personal blunder. I forgot the most important book about Bitcoin. I accept my fault and I promise to send him a copy.

Did you keep communication channels open or does it not work like that there? If you did there were lots of promising reports you might be able to dive into and see if they're worth sending - on the scale crypto is used for illegal activities but some of those quotes do cover it very well.

It was an interactive section and not a teacher-centered style of teaching. He was the one that itemized some of the assumed pitfalls of Bitcoin. It was like a small group instruction class and I am expecting a positive response from honorable and our bill proposal drawing committee would resume and do a good job.  

Kudos to all of you and your works thats the spirit of a true Bitcoin believer, just continue fighting for what you believe is right. Anyway, I think your country's Central Bank officials, mindset is moving backward. Based on their arguments I can say that they just focus on the negative side and didn't consider the whole picture, luckily my country's Central Bank officials are innovators and not backward-thinking people.  

Thank you. We would continue to do our best to promote what is good for our community and country. You are lucky to have such positive minded CBN official, ours blame Bitcoin for everything.

- From my understanding of your topic, do you know an official in your government in congress, who sent a letter of proposal to a congressman? is that right? that the content of your proposal is regarding the subject concept of Bitcoin? And the good thing about what you did was that an official or politician showed interest in the proposal you sent.

Mr. Magkaisa I like your comments. That was exactly what happened. He picked up an interest in Bitcoin after he saw my letter and invited me to have a hat about Bitcoin with him.

I hope you will be successful in your pursuit, and I think you will have many connections there because just having contact with a politician will not be easy to get if you are an ordinary person in the country you are in now.

I don't need to have any connection in government for me to have access to my representative in the national assembly. They represent us, hence they need to always listen to us. You can reach them, you would never know until you try.

That's a good step you've taken and we'll wait for the chapter you started about that bitcoin proposal dude, God bless.

Thank you and I would furnish the forum with news of the latest key development.

You didn't speak to them all, so you can't assume that "most of them in the legislature" know nothing about bitcoin. I think that apart from the set of them that just accepted the bias information passed on to them by the central bank chief, they actually know the benefits that this new technology holds but because of selfish interest and being that it directly poses a threat to their centralized system, they choose to ignore it and focus on these alone;

Thank you Rruch.  All your comments are valid.

You are taking the bull by the horn. Truth be told I always love small actions like this because they have the potential to yield massive results in the long run. What are your plans for using this connection you have or better still working with this representative of your constituency to engage other members of the parliament?

Thank you for responding Davidvictorson. We are expecting a positive development from this meeting. My intentions are clear. I want to make this member of the house of Representatives like or love bitcoin. Until he appreciates bitcoin, he might not openheartedly promote it. Proposing a bill for the review of crypto restrictions on commercial banks in Nigeria would be easy if he likes bitcoin.

 

Do you plan to engage with other like-minded influential individuals, civil societies to organize a townhall meeting in respect to this?

The first stage is to produce a document that would giude the bill. Yes we would like to engage individuals, NGOs professional bodies in any form just to ensure we promote bitcoin.  

As a Nigerian, I am mightly inspired by what you did. It's a giant step regardless of the outcome or result of the meetings.
This was also a well thought out approach, as you were ready with answers to the expected questions.

It's also great to see you got such a response from your constituency's representatives, shows he is a listening politician who is open to learning new things.
Great job all round.

Thanks boss. I am very grateful.

From this i picked number four (4). From my way of understanding thing's even though a country does not embrace cryptocurrency or Bitcoin in particular in such domain at least learning the rudiments of cryptocurrencies and especially bitcoin is very acknowledge. i do like people who brings out their precious time to educate people cryptocurrency. Because i know vividly that in future time Bitcoin will be use for global currency and it will be part of academic curriculum.

GeorgeJohn, thank you for your additions. Bitcoin education is quite essential to people that are interested.

It’s very good initiative from your side,being a crypto citizen.The people who had invested their money in crypto currency will become the crypto currency citizen.We should fight for our coins.then only it will be survive in all our country.Since it’s based on economic,many countries try to ban crypto currency.

Thank you bocyaj. We are bitcoin nationalist and it is a coin worth fighting for. Gradually nations would accept it.

Very bold move by Die_empty and quite amazing that they got to meet face to face with
the government representative and kudos to that representative to make the meeting
happen. There must be an appetite among some people in government to review the central
bank bill.

It will be quite something if it gets reviewed and then overturned in favour of allowing
people the choice of getting involved with Bitcoin.

Best of luck to Die_empty

I appreciate you dear aoluain. We are hoping that before this government winds up on 29th May, 2023, the bill would have become law.

[NotATether]

Merit cannot compensate for donations, but I sent you +20 of them for your efforts to legalize bitcoin in Nigeria. And hopefully, you can get some lobbying for this bill from some exchanges. Good luck!

[Accardo]

You did a good job, many people neglect things like emailing a Government representative believing they may not get a reply. But, you took the step and it turned out positive. My advise to everyone from what I learnt in this thread, send that mail, don't relent or feel that you may not get a response it could turn out positive like the OP did. Keep it up your effort is not a waste!

[Lucius]

I have to admit that lately I have been pleasantly surprised with what some members from Nigeria have done to promote Bitcoin in their country, and @Die_empty has gone one step further and is trying to change the opinion of politicians in his country. So far this is an excellent job, but it is known that if a person wants to achieve something serious, then he must be persistent and determined, and not be discouraged if he encounters obstacles.

I hope that people from your central bank will decide to change their opinion in the future, even though most central banks in the world do not have a very positive opinion about Bitcoin, even here in the EU.

[Z-tight]

Wow, you have made a bold step and it is a great and interesting one, people may think and tell you that it would not produce anything, do not listen to them, it may not produce something now, but with more concerted efforts from other bitcoin users in Nigeria, then it may end up being productive, and you Die_empty can be proud of yourself then and even now that you were the pioneer of this movement. If there are going to be further meetings between you and your parliamentarian i do hope you would share them here with us, Good Luck!

[dkbit98]

I was inspired to initiate a bill through my constituency’s representative in the parliament. I had to write a letter and the purpose was to persuade my representative to initiate a Bill for the review of the ban placed on banks from dealing on cryptocurrencies in my country. And I sent the letter.

You are doing a very good work, but I would suggest that you find support from other Bitcoiners from your region and country, because it's not easy to fight this battle alone.
Find other like minded people, business people who would accept bitcoin payments, and look for politicians who are pro-bitcoin or at least not anti-bitcoin.
I hat to say it, but you would probably need to have some funding support, so posting this information on twitter would get  attention from more people, that could help you collect donations.

[Davidvictorson]

You are doing a very good work, but I would suggest that you find support from other Bitcoiners from your region and country, because it's not easy to fight this battle alone.
Find other like minded people, business people who would accept bitcoin payments, and look for politicians who are pro-bitcoin or at least not anti-bitcoin.
I hat to say it, but you would probably need to have some funding support, so posting this information on twitter would get  attention from more people, that could help you collect donations.

This is my point exactly. You can never go wrong if you have sort of like a coalition of pro-bitcoin folks with you. I have seen bills supported by a coalition Civil Society Organizations, NGOs passed in parliament because they were simply more and their voice were amplified. Political leaders  like to be lobbied and that is one feat that will be exhausting if you attempt to do it alone. So get on the Nigerian Twitter, Facebook and Instagram space and invite those who are interested to join you. Wishing you the best once again.

[Detritus]

Despite the stress it may have cost you, you still took it upon your self to move this motion.  I will like to say thanks for this move and I hope that Bitcoin can be considered and given a free access for a wide adoption in Nigeria, I hope they can see the good things in Bitcoin and lift the ban. As a Nigerian, I have been relying on P2P since bank limited the use of crypto but it would  be much better if the bank restrictions are all cleared.

[Oluwa-btc]

Man you put some effort I'm not gonna lie, leaving your comfort all way down to Abuja by Boss bwith this high level of insecurities in the country especially with the festival periods approaching real fast.
My problem with them Nigerian political representative is that they barely take them time to go search for first class information about something, rather they tend to Fvck with the crowds decisions. Bitcoin stand's as a store of value and everyone has every chance of becoming his or her own bank. I hope your enlightenment would put some sense into them head's.

The Bitcoin Standard is a must read, I hope they don't find that too cumbersome and boring bringing back the history of money and how they moved from year to year tryna upgrade the money. Reading that book would tell you since history of money, Bitcoin is the best form of money ( Sound Money ) but you'll bring truth and all they love is a liar all for them selfish desires.

Bravo Man! I know how we do it as Nigerians especially when we want something. Push this till the end Broooooo 🖤

[Asiska02]

You did a great job, OP. You are a wonderful enthusiast of bitcoin even though you never mind on the difficulties you will face traveling to the nation's capital by road. By convincing the government official of what he needs to know about bitcoin and convincing him not to believe in misleading information spread about it in the media, you have done your part and performed effectively. He has accepted what you have proposed; the issue now is getting the support of others to submit this idea to the higher government officials so that the country's restriction on the usage of cryptocurrencies in banks can be abolished. I hope he finds the proper people who will support him and pursue this amazing course with him. We’re all hoping to hear good news from them soon.