 Let me again thank the Foresight Group and their partners for the kind invitation to be here. And I must say that it's an absolute pleasure to be here with you. First because I am very interested and very invested in technology and the future of technology and what that holds for our country. And also because I know that the potential that we have is so incredible that with the right policies, with the right approach, we can actually become the world leader in digital technology and all its various ramifications. So this every gathering such as this is important because as I'm sure for me and as I'm sure for you this is a listening, learning and thinking event, introspection, thinking is what's going to get us as far as we want to go. And we are at a pivotal season in human history and every pivotal season in human history, people don't even notice. They don't think that it's that important but we are welcoming the third iteration of the web, the so-called web 3.0 or web 3. Already the changes that are and will be taking place are quite simply mind-boggling. Within three decades, we've seen some of the most astonishing transformations in the way that we work, in the way that we live, in the way that we learn and the way that we do business. Beginning with web 1.0 or web 1 between 1989 and 2005, web 1.0 was a wonder all by itself, although it didn't have the capacity to sift through internet pages and most information that was on web 1.0 was from directories, from various hard copy directories. So as a law professor in that web 1.0 era, I couldn't use the web for any useful research. I had to go twice a year to the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London to do the extra research I needed. And I came back from every trip with trunk loans or photocopies for my research. So I had to physically go to the libraries, make the photocopies. I mean, of course, there were libraries here, but the library of the institute in London is probably one of the best in the world for common law research. And so I go there twice a year, bring back pairs of photocopies at great cost as you can imagine. And my wife always teased me that people go abroad and bring back nice things, bring back nice things for themselves and for their wife, she would hint me. And I come back with loads of photocopies and all that. But between 2005 and today, the web 2 era, we have witnessed the coming into its own of the so-called social web, the revolution of the interactive internet, advanced web technologies which enable the building of platforms like YouTube, Wikipedia, and then social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, Myspace, etc. And also the distribution and sharing of data across various platforms and a plethora of user-generated content. So the web 2 has, I mean, this is where we are, but one thing that we must note about the web 2 era is for someone like me, again, a professor, I can now do research online, I can see through internet pages, which we couldn't do in Web 1, ask questions, I can actually interrogate specialized websites and visit libraries and data centers online. So I don't have to go abroad and go and bring my data and all of that. I can actually do all of my research just using my iPad, have access to an incredible amount of information, sometimes impossible then. So where my productivity as a law professor was probably 10% or 20%, now it's a thousand times, much more than my productivity then. But of much greater moment is that this web 2 also has seen the explosion of e-commerce, e-banking, and then the ground age of social networks and all the implications of the social networks. And now we are in the early days of web 3. The defining components of web 3 is what we're going to be talking about today, blockchain technology, smart contracts, decentralized financial, decentralized finance, tokens, both fungible and non-fungible, the NFTs, and the whole range of the token economy. Unlike web 2, where data is mostly centrally stored, the big advantage of web 3 is that data will be interconnected in a decentralized way and will also be machine readable. Now that's big because decentralized, I'll come to the question of machine readability, but decentralized protocols as you know is at the heart of blockchain, cryptocurrency, technology, and the whole range of defies. So these systems will be effectively integrated and they will be interoperable and automated through smart contracts. That data will be machine readable is very significant, that's a big deal, which is why web 3 is sometimes described as the semantic web. This means that users and machine and machines using AI and machine learning will be able to creatively interact with data. Before, now, I mean before this era, what we were talking about was human beings interacting with data, but now machines with their own intelligence will be able to interact with data, use data, compute, and various things by, you know, literally on their own steam. And these developments, all these developments mean a whole lot. First is what people described as the sovereignty of the user, the increasing sovereignty of the user. The user will have more control over personal data. Defies will mean cheaper and faster financial transactions as all the middlemen, middle institutions will be retired. And of course, that's happening now already. We see that with defies, middlemen, middle institutions in financial transactions are practically eliminated. So this means more room for thin text and not just for banking services, but also insurance and consumer finance. Even central banks, central banks all over the world have to rethink their roles. And we've been saying this to a central bank in various ways that, hey, look, you've got to start rethinking the role of the central bank. Blockchain will challenge the centralization of monetary authority with all its imperfections. There's no question in my mind at all that the sovereignty of central banks, the way that central banks operate, centralize monetary authority, its days are clearly numbered. It's either the central banking systems all over the world would adopt blockchain technology, or they'll be taken over by blockchain technology. We are certainly in my own view in the last days of central banking, the central banking system, as we know it, which means the space is open for all sorts of innovation in the central banking space. From a policy perspective here in Nigeria, we need to again expand the range of banking licenses that are available to enable more players in that whole financial mediation value chain. We must also set clear rules to enable crypto markets and trading in other digital assets. So for policy, it's evident that you can't use the same old banking licenses that we used to have. And I'm sure many would have noticed that in the past, there was only one type of banking license. This was a banking license that cost 25 billion. So if you wanted to establish a bank, you need to have 25 billion Naira. But in the past few years, and this is excellent policy changes that took place, we don't know pressure from young men and women in the tech and entertainment space. The central bank has now modified and there are several different types of banking licenses, which is why you have the FinTechs that you have, the unicorns that you have, because they are using different cadres of central bank licenses that do not require the 25 billion Naira share capital. So for example, Cuda Bank and several of these other banks obviously have a different type of license. Even the Flutter Waves, the base banks have a different type of license, although they are in some form of banking or the other. So now within new iterations in Web 3, we're going to have to rethink that and then create other types of licenses that are even much, much, much cheaper so that more and more participants can come into that space and be able to do useful work. One of the things I've got to do is to change the regulatory atmosphere because you can't have a situation where you're insisting that people must bring light sums of money to be able to obtain licenses. Already there are people doing all sorts of work and today the way you're going to have to regulate is look more at taxes. Even that whole tax space is another big opportunity for digital technology and people who are going to be involved in digital technology. How do you really tax some of the digital companies? There's a lot of talk going on all over the world, lots of ideas, arguments and all of that, but today is not a day for all of that. Now identity in the Web 3 age is a key development. It means that the user owning his own or her own identity and personal data, that's what it means that in this Web 3 age identity is critical. So the user is the owner of his own personal data unlike what we saw all along up until now where the digital platforms that you use own the data. So all these digital platforms, obviously Facebook and all of these people own our data and they market our data as they wish, but Web 3 is going to give us more autonomy, the notion of self-sovering identity which is highly described by some of the people who comment in this area. So we ourselves begin to control our own data. With Web 3, each person online will have a unique identifier stored on a blockchain. You can then choose which applications to interact with by using a digital wallet and this wallet becomes your identity and of course you can have multiple wallets all on the same blockchain systems. The wallet then enables you to use various decentralized applications on the Internet and this is going to further disrupt financial and commercial transactions as we know it. So banks and other platforms that you are doing business with can read details of your accounts or see the digital assets that you own. So if you connect a wallet at a particular bank it can on the basis of your assets that it can see do a wide range of credit another banking business as you request. So since banks can see my assets that are held in blockchain I don't need to open accounts in different banks from which I require credit. So I mean because I have all my information on blockchain I have my wallet which identifies me. 3, 4, 5 banks instead of opening accounts in 3, 4, 5 banks but I'm looking for credit everybody has access to the information and they can make their credit decisions based on just you know the fact that I've connected using my unique identifier. So things are changing very very rapidly it's not going to be it's certainly not going to be business as usual asset transfers will be simplified credit judgments and even debt restructuring can be done seamlessly. I owe bank A something you know bank B knows that I owe bank A but they want my business but everybody can see the information at the same time and they can we can do all sorts of restructuring we can do all sorts of arrangements because it's easier for everyone to do business I don't have to go to each bank opening so long as I can I can connect with you we can all do business. So here we find yet another major opening for new and more efficient digital financial systems and products. I think Web 3 will also mean that digitization of government services will come with far more options than ever before government agencies can then be smarter faster and more efficient in delivering their services. One big area of business is the digitization of government processes and services that's a big area and this is a sleeping commercial giant of course you hear a lot of talk about yes this is online this ministry is online that agency is online but we are far from achieving actual digitization of government services because what that means is that we should be able to interact with all government websites and government services and processes using our mobile phones it should be as straightforward as simple and as intuitive as that there should be no obstacles between us and the services so passports applications or passports for driver's licenses all of those kinds of things there must be an efficient digitized way of doing it now that is a whole new area of business and I think that it's an area of business that some have already of course tapped into Mr. Tooby was talking about the GEEP which is the BOI's platform for and I think they now have a platform called the growth platform which is the platform used for trader money and market money and all of that and Yomi is here who was involved in this in the I think your company built the platforms is it I mean local company many years ago I mean it's now looking more is a much more prosperous fellow you know as you can see but many years ago his company built the platforms for trader money and market money now that is one aspect it's just one aspect of government services local companies can do there's just so much room to do so much work and so this micro credit for informal traders which is a trader money market money thing of course AOO his company was able to build that platform at the time but then there are so many other platforms that must be built so many other services that must be completely digitized so the whole range of government services will provide excellent opportunities for innovation 3d as I'm sure everyone here will agree is a big part of web3 it is the so fiber if you like of metaverse in a few short years metaverse would enable me to to sit and study virtually in the library of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London where I used to go and bring all these photocopies for research back home so it would be possible for me to virtually you know actually you know sit toward the library see for myself expressly immersed as it were in in in that whole library experience if I wished so there are things that will happen that are just going to be completely astonishing in the way that they're going to transform the way we research for those of us who are interested in research the way we do commerce the web would do a practically everything and the way we work it's impossible today to imagine what web3 will mean for education for agriculture for medicine for industry just take education for instance there's a lot of talk now about look how are we going to improve science and technology as a government we're thinking in terms of steam science technology engineering and maths which are very very important building blocks for the digital economy and for the future of our country but then laboratories are in short supply a lot of equipment and all of that is in short supply but think what metaverse will do think of what virtual reality can do you know for laboratories for training medical personnel for training scientists and all of that you will not need to have the actual physical laboratories so there's so much that can be done now so much that will be done virtually so much that can be so education even tertiary education is not going to be the same it's very very unlikely that for a country this size 200 million people with a shared number of people going to universities every year that we're going to be building brick and mortar universities in the next 10 20 years impossible it wouldn't even make sense already we're arguing about paying for the you know public universities or the public institutions we're arguing about paying lecturers paying staff online university is the new virtual universities of various kinds and the depth that metaverse will give it is the new direction for education tertiary education and whether we like it or not or whether you know traditional people like you and i like me for instance not you like it that's the direction is going to go lecturers working into into theaters and speaking to in crowded lecture theaters it's it's going to be gone in a few years and people practically all over the world will be able to get into an immersive experience in in in listening to lectures from practically anywhere in the world so a whole new world is unfolding before our very eyes unlike web one and two where we can write it where we were relatively disadvantaged and were quite disadvantaged because in 1989 for example we didn't have mobile phones so we couldn't take advantage of the rich and depth that mobile telecoms gave digital innovation digital innovation for example financial inclusion we didn't have the rich and i mean 1989 i there was no way that even with web one and of course the beginnings of you know of web two we didn't have an any i mean nobody could say that uh you could even use the internet from your home because you didn't have any you didn't have access very few people had even the work stations at the time very few people even had but now with mobile technology we can we can now do a lot more in web three we have much better positioned to be significant players in web three i've already shown that we have the talent we have the creativity and we have the argument to build and grow major tech companies at the last count i think we have about six unicorns and there are so many on the way but we must spend time on the development of digital skills and that is so important this digital skills gap is a serious business a big deal we must spend time doing that and of course it will come with government investment but the government public sector and private sector must sit down at meetings like this and elsewhere to try and think through these issues we did that with with changing the whole regime of banking licenses we had a sub a subgroup of our industrial and competitiveness council which was on technology that subgroup had very about five or so young men and women in technology and we're able to think through how to license fintechs which is where we have what we have today it's not it's not rocket science thinking of how to make progress thinking of how to change policy thinking of how to make sure that policy is way ahead of developments and these developments are taking place every day it just involves sitting down and thinking and i think that that we absolutely need to do we must develop appropriate policies regulations that promote rather than inhibit innovation and commerce we must look at how do we promote commerce how do we promote the digital economy not how do we regulate it to a point where it's difficult to do business we can we can be world leaders in the web three revolution the only limit is our vision and i'm sure that all of us who are seated here are men and women of vision these are no summits i must say is a testimony to the joint commitment of the government and private sector to the rapid and value driven development of nigeria and i must again commend the foresight group and the numerous local and foreign partners who have sustained this partnership by putting together this summit and driving conversations on how best to shift our country and systems into the next phase of the digital evolution the outcomes of these past summits they and there have been two previous summits have contributed positively to an improved policy environment and better governance in the areas of innovation and investments over the years amongst other things the summit has over the years helped to foster better understanding between the public and private sector on the realities and opportunities in ij and the realities and opportunities for the future and i think that we must continue to work these summits and perhaps do a few more things in between summits a few more thinking a few more thinking sessions a few more thinking through innovation sessions we shouldn't wait from one summit to the other groups small groups can think through so many many issues and there's so much to do so much to think about and so much information so i'd like to again thank you all very much for making the time to attend this event but also because you are part of the future the great great future of our country in the digital space thank you very much god bless you