Topic: I am initiating a bill to review the ban on Bitcoin in my country's parliament. - page 2. (Read 613 times)

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. 

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.

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


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



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.
 


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.
                                   



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
                               



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.