I really love academia. Also, what’s up with fintech and Nigeria?

I really look forward to being in school again.

Today, I saw a paper that cited one of my works! Here’s a screenshot

I’m Williams, O and seeing that was the highlight of my day.

How did I find it? I logged into my Academia.edu account after so many months and found 99+ notifications and a really sweet message waiting for me. Because I did not have a premium account, I could not see the people Academia claims may have cited my work. So, I tried to pay for premium, but between the four medium of payments I had at my disposal, not a single one worked. My journey to premium membership turned into an unexpected odyssey, with my attempts being thwarted by every turn.

My bank card was declined because, apparently, Nigerian cards can’t make dollar payments. This used to work before until the government directed that it be restricted. I then tried PayPal, but did not get an OTP, even after multiple tries. I decided to used my Chipper virtual dollar card, but was unable to fund it because my account number was suddenly no where to be found of the app. I tried to use another app, but was prompted that they were carrying out a scheduled maintenance.

How eventful these events were! It’s like the universe did not want me to pay.

Jokes aside, this escapade made me contemplate about the state of online payment in Nigeria, and how I am forced to evaluate this as a user/designer and as a Nigerian.

What I see as a user/designer is that the experience of making international payments from Nigeria has been limited to a singular narrative–a convoluted process that, to put simply, goes like this:

  • Fund your wallet
  • Fund your card from the money in your wallet
  • Make payment.

I kept thinking of how I could fund my card (and bank) directly (like it happens with banks) because I did not want to go through that entire long process. Also, only a handful of fintechs like Chipper provide reliable virtual cards services. This scarcity could be the reason that innovation is stifled among existing solution providers, leaving us users yearning for a better international payment experience. I know it would take a lot of effort and appreciate the brilliant minds in our fintech space, but I hope we get  more innovative solutions soon. I’m thinking Paypal for Nigeria?

My fruitless attempts to secure premium access mirrored the struggles endured by us, Nigerians aspiring to tap into global opportunities. The limitations on international transactions felt like the constant chains around us obstructing entry to international arenas. Whether intentional or not, this exasperation served as a symbolic representation of the broader hurdles faced by citizens striving for success.

As a Nigerian, my thought process is naturally skewed to match the dysfunctionality and expectation of same in my country. Of course, I couldn’t help but think that the restriction put on international transaction is yet another way for the government to further inhibit us from accessing global opportunities and engagements, pushing us to depend on a country that fails and frustrating citizens’ efforts seemingly for amusement.


But, I digress. I was talking about how elated i was about discovering a citation of me. That made me happy today. Some time, I’ll tell you about why my paper also makes me sad.

TTYL,

Lami.

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