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0:00We’re not scared of talking about crypto in the presence of a police officer or whatsoever, unlike what we have here. But also, like, things kind of scary. This is why Bitcoin is important. Like, there’s no reason that people should live here. Like, we’ve spoken about trying to see how, going forward, we’re looking at several parts currently. If we want to pick the DAO part, if we want to pick a business empire or something.
0:41What’s up everybody? I’m Maceo. Welcome to another episode of We Them Nicas. And this past summer I traveled to Africa for the first time, specifically to Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. This journey was all about connecting with the incredible members of our We Them Media community and deepening our partnership with Creative Alchemy. a community deeply aligned with our mission to bring artists, Nigerian communities, and African communities broadly on chain.
1:09What’s up everybody and welcome to our episode of We Them Niggas. I’m out here in Gwagwalada, is that correct? Yeah, Gwagwalada Abuja. Gwagwalada Abuja. Yeah. With Sir Daniel himself. How are you doing today? I’m doing alright. I’m happy to be here. I feel like we’ve done a lot of stuff in the past few days that have been really interesting. We never left. So go ahead, jump right back in Daniel. I was talking about my experiences in Nairobi. I was saying shout out to the Kenyan government for allowing the use of crypto and supporting blockchain brands wherever they could. Yeah, so I think that’s a big plus for them. And it’s been creating employment. I went to the BitMart office location there in Nairobi. They sent their branch manager or something, which is a friend of mine too. I think that was really productive. But I was more impressed with how blockchain brands are creating employment for African countries that
2:02the, what I say, allow, like, an offline, like, area locations for staffs and then employ citizens of those countries, unlike what we have here in Nigeria, where the government is fighting, had several issues with Binance. So I think, I feel like that’s crazy because, like, crypto is something we can actually use to hedge against inflation. We’ve seen the Naira go up several percent double digits in the past four months, which is really crazy and the devolution of the Naira has continued falling against the dollar. So I think that’s crazy. So I feel like my experience there was really eye-opening to see a developing country like
2:45us, but I could see the huge acceptance and willingness when it comes to the use of blockchain technology. So I was really happy about that, and not just the Ethereum Frontiers, Africa, I attended the Bitcoin Pizza day there while I was there So I got to meet some really cool people, I met some crypto brands ambassadors while I was there also, that was really cool And I also had conversations with some of them, how their experiences have been, what some of the challenges were And I noticed some of them, they were not having issues, maybe off-ramping us, converting from crypto to local currency Yeah, and on ramping, they were not having such issues. I feel like their issues were more of knowledge gaps. Yeah, they were talking about more training and then how they could actually get benefit, more information on how they could get the full benefits of when it comes to funding or getting grants. Some of them were having knowledge gap on, okay, how do I stake, how do I farm, how do I do this, how do I do that. That’s where most of the challenges were. But they were not scared of talking about crypto in the presence of a police officer or whatsoever.
3:52Unlike what we have here. So I think it was a cool experience. And in fact, I went to a local kiosk to get bananas and some avocados. And I spoke to the lady about crypto. And she was like, she told me, why am I in Nairobi? And I said, I’m here for a crypto conference. And she was like, oh, okay. And I told her about blockchain. And she was really interested. And I said, we’ll have a different situation over there. We can’t talk about crypto or whole crypto conferences in Nigeria. It has to be tagged, blockchain, also neutralized finance, something. but not just crypto, or your event will be shut down.
4:25So if you notice our events, with a media event, with Creative Alchemy, we couldn’t be tagged like a crypto event or anything, but we spoke about crypto and NFTs and blockchain, yeah. So it was a different experience for me. I did kind of notice that. Yeah, I can actually see how it’s a different experience. I think that’s dope that you were able to go and explore and see what their conversation is in relation to this one and juxtapose those two things at contrast. I guess jumping forward from there to like being here with myself over the last two weeks How has this journey been and how is this informed like how you perceive your role in We Them Media moving forward?
4:58I would say for me Like we’ve spoken about trying to see how Going forward We Them Media can be self-funded We’re looking at several parts currently if we want to take the DAO parts if we want to take the creating a business, turning it into like a business empire or something. My role there will be whatever, whatever pass we want to take. I want to play an active role because I feel like I’ve gotten so much value from WeTheMedia and I feel like it’s the right thing to do to help it get to its next level and to be able to like onboard new members and also give them the support they need to get to wherever they are going to in that when it comes to their blockchain journey. So I see myself playing an active role.
5:41moving forward because I feel like the community have not just shown to be supportive but have lived up to expectation and have also done a lot shoutouts to every member of like the We Them Media community because my trip was sponsored by them yeah so I think I’m very grateful for that so I feel like having a community like that that supports I feel like it’s a community where everyone wants to be a part of so I see myself playing an actual role as we move forward to the next role of either becoming a DAO or launching businesses so I I see myself playing a very active role and being like more of a pillar of the community.
6:16It looks like in here. And I guess, how have the last two weeks been for you, like a role in the community aside? Yeah, here, I feel like, let me use the word brand ambassador for We Them Media over here. Yeah, I feel like my community members now depend on me for information and see me as a bridge. The few members we have of We Them Media over here in Nigeria has been very cordial. Our Relationship is very cordial with Josh, with Jed and a few other people that we’ve had conversations. We shout out to Jules also. We’ve had conversations and other things. Yeah, behind privately and other things. So I feel like my role would be somewhat of a guide as we go. And I want to play more supportive role. But for the past two weeks, I think the first thing we had to do, like what you said yesterday, talking about to move forward, you have to go through the past and see what’s right.
7:07and what can be done. The past two weeks have been very revealing. It has been a worthy experience. Even because you were here, I don’t think it would take me a while to create time to go see the Badagree, the Atlantic slave trade routes. It would take me a while. I didn’t have it in my to-do list, not even on my bucket list. So I think it was good that you were here. So it was a wonderful experience. The last two weeks have been very, very good. Getting to meet people you talk to online, getting to connect with them and then with Creative Alchemy, getting to have conversations with them, host a collective event. I think that was really cool and I think it’s bringing about like a stronger bond between we as community members because now I don’t see, I don’t see Joe as somebody I met online. I don’t see Jed as somebody I met online. I see them as brothers. I see them as an active part of my life right now over here. Shout out to them. I feel like they’ve become not just regular people, they’ve become like
8:07really special individuals to me, so it’s actually really cool. You’re talking about like these past two weeks and Joshua and Jed really coming to experience them as brothers and people that are active in your life, you know. Yeah. I would say I feel exactly the same way, to be honest. I talked to Jed online over the past two years, I talked to Joshua online over the past two years, but like very infrequently. We’re really just getting to spend time with them, see how they interact with me, how they interact with others, how we can interact together. I think like there was no drama ever in our Airbnb, like I like that.
8:34Yeah, yeah. That was really cool. That was very cool Yeah, we felt like we’ve known ourselves all our lives Yeah, we’re just like cool And then I had those people I was doing the dishes Shout out to me Shout out to you But I felt like everybody knew their role Shout out to Jeff for being our chef Cooked for us while we were in Lagos, in the Lagos Airbnb Cooked for us in ABJ So I think that was really cool for him I felt like he was a better cook than me So I didn’t bother trying to cook or anything He was definitely a better cook than me
9:01Yeah, so I was just focused on the dishes I didn’t like everybody that was being messed up, but I felt like that was my role and then Josh was just doing his thing lowkey and trying to be hiding when he shouldn’t be. So I felt like we understood ourselves, we had this vibe, we had this rhyme, this redeem that made everybody stay in their lane, but still kept an open mind to connect. So I think that was helped us avoid any drama. Yeah, that would be it for me. No, I would absolutely agree. I would say I would echo that 1000%. I think, like I said, it was just dope to be in community. I think like to see the media go from like an online community to people that, you know, I can meet and share space with. Normally, right, when I travel, I’m going to crypto conferences. In this instance, I was just coming here to really spend time with you all and, you know, see what the vibes would be like. And I couldn’t have been more excited and really appreciative of the vibes that I found. Getting to talk with you all about Web3 stuff in community, getting to talk with you all about the problems here in Nigeria from inflation to corruption.
10:00I know you experienced the road first time for yourself. You mean on the road? The lack of good road was definitely surprising, but I think it was also really fascinating to see how many people in this country are living without the kind of infrastructure I take for granted at home in America. People living in open air spaces, no electricity whatsoever, not in walking distance at all, but lots and lots of greenery and that’s cool. But there’s a give-and-take there which I think is in some way I think tragic and I think in other ways I think It’s nice that there’s an opportunity to maybe have less
10:34I think America is like very far from like life here because there’s so much greenery here When space has evolved too rapidly until I think a lot of the natural world can be erased Yeah And I think there’s real opportunity for this country to evolve in a way that where there’s infrastructure that enables a better quality of life but without necessarily having to erase the natural world, which I think people really appreciate here from the conversations I’ve had. And I think even building on that, getting to connect with the Creative Alchemy community, even having that event at the National Park and Zoo, just in an outside setting that’s so oriented towards preserving the natural world, presenting the natural world.
11:12Debatable, you know, that’s what zoos are for, but I think it was still nice that we were in an outdoor setting that was so beautiful. Getting to see their community come out and learn, getting to see your friend from church come and learn, Daniel, and hearing his take on the experience overall and saying it was really informative to him. I was so inspired. That was my first panel on Friday at the Creative Alchemy event that we partnered up with and just getting to document that and even going from being someone who I thought I’d be taking pictures instead of being like, let’s say you’re on a panel.
11:36I’m like, oh, I’m on a panel. This is my first time on a panel. I think it was just absolutely stunning and I’m so excited. I’ve been looking for black people in this space to connect with. That’s been my primary focus and even when I came into this space I was really oriented towards the media side of things. Music and Web3 and so getting to find a black community of people that are like like pretty much like I’m pretty sure that next is my same age as me 24 years old and it’s just like wow these are like really the people I’ve been looking for years that are musicians that care about the future of like creativity
12:02but also how can we use this technology to make a difference in terms of the socio-economic world I mean like the political economies we have to negotiate as individuals regardless of the countries we live in but we still have to negotiate some kind of political economy And so it’s just been such a blessing to be in the brilliance of all you so, so, so, so smart black people From yourself to Ebenezer, to Joshua, to Annexie, to Generic, to Koshbar, to Parker, to Bayo To anyone else whose name isn’t coming to my mind right now I think it’s just been like insane to find like a community like this one
12:33Even though I had to travel all the way across the world to West Africa to find that I think I haven’t found a community that’s felt more like home so easily in a long time Yeah If ever So I think this trip has been, to me, just so eye-opening about what Africa even is I feel like in America, they almost work hard to make you feel like there’s not any place where it’s ideal to be black It’s like, oh, you just stay in America, what are you going to do? Go to shitty Africa? And it’s like, well, what’s it actually like in Africa? What does shitty mean?
12:56What are the actual problems? We have problems in America, but I think the problems in America are more oriented around I think finance, kind of similar to here, honestly, but also I think race is a big factor I think the powers that be the same way to saying Africa is a shitty place, per se are saying like black people are shitty. So it’s like in America, it’s like, you know, you’re trying to negotiate maybe not being a prince who scammed people, but just being like a black person who might rob people. It’s like something we’re missing. You’re probably the reason it’s missing. I think like if you’re upset, you’re aggressive. I think it’s just like, it’s hard to be seen as an even peer. I think in a predominantly white space, it’s not committed to seeing your dignity and humanity every day. And so that’s what I would say is most exciting to me about entering this space. I feel like I haven’t had my dignity, my humanity, or like my integrity questioned once and
13:39I got here and that to me is just like, I’m just not used to not having to worry or think about those things and so I think for me it’s been transformative in that sense just in terms of giving me a broader perspective of what life is like here but also the inflation I’m like wow I feel like a rich guy here but also like dang it’s kind of scary this is why bitcoin is important like there’s no reason that people should be living here like wage slaves working for like you call it a shitcoin like literally a thousandth more than less less than a thousandth of a U.S. dollar, and less than 30 U.S. dollars being somebody’s
14:13monthly wages is insane to me. In the U.S., we’re fighting to even get a $15 hourly wage in some places. The cost of living being different here, I think, is reflecting more of monetary policy than the actual cost of living, because the quality of life is not the same. It’s just cost of living to have a lower quality of life. And I feel like it’s a shame to see the state here, and I’m excited to see, being that we’re We’re finding community here, what our community’s role can be here and how We Them Media can amplify the stories here. Even seeing what he’s building out in Ikoro do, I think it’s awesome to see
14:46someone focusing on trying to bring resources and education to black people here. Across Africa, he wants to be a school for software developers that are interested in building on-chain. I think it’s just like coming into this space, I call them CS niggas, the people that go to school to study computer science to find stability. I think a lot of the CS niggas are afraid of blockchain because it’s not stability. I studied computer science for stability, not for contracting work with no benefits. And it’s like, cool, you might make some crypto and really become wealthy, but what do I do now? It doesn’t even seem necessarily legitimate
15:15to people. So just saying what he’s doing to me was very inspiring. And I’m excited overall about returning to West Africa in the future. I know Eat Safari is coming up. I’m definitely super pumped to ideally be there. I know I won’t be at EtherCraw, but I’m just really excited to go back home with this experience and be able to get this content edited and start to share it with my audience and really just think more long term about how we as members now of Creative Alchemy and also as like a leadership team and we have media just thinking more and more about like what the world of artists needs, what we can do as people who are leaders
15:45in this space. The award you gave me, right, it’s like says that, you know, I am a humanitarian working hard to like bridge the blockchain gap between Africa and the rest of the world. And I think there really are, you know, like super powerful organizations in crypto already that are established and not I don’t think a single one is like really run by black people yeah and so that really has been my comment and they don’t really care they just onboard users over here we don’t get value yeah for using those products yeah sorry to cut you short but I feel like these guys just want to onboard new users over here in Africa you want just onboard like you want people
16:15to use their product and we don’t get value for it there’s no corporate social responsibility where we use this product and some part of the revenue whatever is generated comes back here for some Some projects, funding like I discussed with you, funding to end open defecation, to create literacy, blockchain, education, all these are things that we can look into and there’s more of these crypto brands can say, use our products and some part of this revenue comes back to Africa to do this and these things are verifiable and done. I think that would actually help policy makers beginning to look, okay, if these people who
16:48we think don’t want to be controlled, we don’t have control over them, because there are five the centralization is that they want to keep control so if we can if this crypto brands can bring some control that can bring some value from the users they from boarded over here in Africa I feel like when we get value say this road or them center this event center or this blockchain center or whatever is made by let’s say Polygon for example more people the government policy makers will be like if we’re fighting these guys and these guys have done something like these are benefits of our people benefits our communities how much more if we’ll bring
17:20If we bring them here, give them license to operate here, they will do much more. So I think it’s a disconnect. And I feel like they also must have to be willing to stretch a hand of friendship. They don’t want to keep ignoring, keep quiet, as when the governments of African nations said they don’t want crypto, they don’t want blockchain brands, and they just keep quiet and just avoid the country elsewhere. I lost money when Coinbase shut down in Nigeria, and I lost some money. It wasn’t millions, but it was something. But I had nobody, no government was going to fight for me, no one was going to get my money back, so I just had to just bear the loss and just move on.
17:55You get it. So I feel like we need to, like, the blockchain brands have to be willing to stretch your hand of friendship to the government, but most important to community members. Almost be diplomats. Yeah, yeah, and then use that to build cordial relationship and then be able to, like, give value from what they’ve gotten to communities over here in Africa. And when they do this, it will create acceptance and publicity for them Yeah Yeah, obviously, if something is done by, let’s say the Airtron Foundation, for example In the project, a pipe-bound water, a solar-powered pipe-bound water It’s created in a community What’s that? A solar-powered what?
18:32A solar-powered pipe-bound water What’s that? Like drinkable water Yeah, clean water in environments Most communities, like the trenches we went to, they don’t have, most of them don’t have pipe-bound water So, private You were talking about Guaco, that’s Guaco village Guaco village? Yes Yes, so it is private citizens that have this pipe on water and then sell to the general public. There is no government-owned free pipe on water. So when blockchain brands can do things like this that benefits the community, open for all, free for all, they can tag this Ethereum Foundation or donated by Ethereum Foundation. It has been done with Bill Gates and his wife’s foundation.
19:09So that automatically gives free publicity to them and they’ll be like, okay, and then somebody People will say, okay, what’s this? Who is this blockchain brand? Who are these people that give us this free water this and that? Do you understand? And they want to know more about them. That automatically gives them free publicity. Yeah. Yeah So they must see, I want them to see, especially Nigeria, I want them to see Africa, especially Nigeria as the future And not just the future, but as a big market that no crypto brand should ignore Yeah, I feel like we’re the giants, we’re behind on so many things, but our population, like I have to do before now, makes us the China of Africa. And with our large population, I feel like if we can get the next, if I have had so many blockchain brands and crypto seminars I’ve attended, say, looking for the product, the product or the brand or whatever that we onboard the next billion users.
20:03Yeah, I think that next billion users will never happen if the Nigerian market is ignored, yeah, it’s never gonna happen because I feel like over 300 million people with 60% being kids and teenagers and young adults being most of the population, I think if the market is ignored 60% of the population here is people under 18, yeah, that’s pretty interesting Yeah, not 18, like let’s say on that downwards, yeah, yeah, so if we ignore that market I don’t think you’ll be able to onboard like a billion users for any brand and I can take this anywhere Yeah, and I think it’s interesting right because people are already like like using like here
20:43Yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely. What the issue is we can’t pay for goods and services with it That’s the issue. Yeah, we can’t pay a car I was having a joke at the event at the National Parks and Zoo with a lady I wouldn’t want to pay for something. I can’t remember that’s like maybe soda or something And then she said she would check Bitcoin. I was like if you take Bitcoin, I want a discount And she needs to say, nah, she doesn’t take Bitcoin. I was like, why? You should? And then we laughed about it because obviously we know it’s not allowed. Yeah. In fact, you can be arrested for saying that shit out loud. Oh yeah. Did you accept Bitcoin? Yeah. Yeah. The feel is calm or you’re trying to scam people or you just take payments in crypto from your, from defrauded so that it cannot be tracked. Yeah. That makes sense. Yeah. I’m curious what your perspective was on the, the Nsars protests and things like that that were breaking out a few years ago. Yeah. I feel like the Nsars, I didn’t really, I was not out, unfortunately.
21:32But I see myself actively participating in the next one, which happened on August 1st, 2024 I feel like I want to participate in that because I feel like the government have ignored the cry of people for so long And we seem to be a sleeping giant, or I would say a giant in a coma or something Because we’re called African giant, but I don’t know where we’re giant at Like, I don’t know one thing we’re giant at Exportation of agricultural produce, I don’t think we’re on the first ten in Africa Having electricity, stable electricity, I’m not sure we’re on the first five When you talk about security and for land and property, respect for land and property, I don’t think we’re on the first stand.
22:12So I don’t know why we’re giants. So I think that the government have to listen and put their needs last and that of the citizens first because they were elected into offices. But we have crazy politicians. Recently, the Senate, the House of Reps and the senators and the representatives of the local governments, the national representatives, the different counties, they slashed us recently. But I think they make up for that through constituency projects and in a whole lot of other way, contracts and back channels, bribery and a whole lot of other stuff. So they’re not fooling the average engineer who’s educated and experienced. They’re fooling people who just read headlines.
22:52But I know they make the most money they slashed. So I think that if they want to actually, and the executive have refused to slash a salary. That’s crazy. And some of these people, including the president himself, have been in power for being a governor. Yeah, and now he’s the president and he’s been very old. And then these are people that have been looting the country and have put their needs and their friends and their cabals and godfathers and their party members before the needs of the country. So it’s crazy that the average man cannot afford a square meal, but they’re living in a luxury
23:26And I don’t think the Kenyan is taking laws into their hand I don’t support violence of any form, but I think that sometimes if you’re silent for too long You’ll be taken for granted You’ll be seen to have adapted I think one thing we as Nigerians have is that we say this in suffering and smiling We adapt to every situation We adapt to almost everything If I can’t make three square meals, I can do it too If I don’t care, I afford two, I just go with one, whatever goes, and I keep paying tax, both direct and indirect tax, any form of, what I call it, a stipend from the government at the end of the month, nobody gives a fuck if you’re dying or living, nobody pays hospital bills, there’s no health insurance if you’re not employed by the government, no health insurance for you, no car insurance if you’re not employed by the government, in fact, no car insurance whether you’re employed by the government or not, nobody cares.
24:13Then we had a security situation I had they’ve posted a policeman to the capital just to be able to like stand against people that were protesting Yeah, yeah, but ask where are they, where are they, why are they redeployed to the capital? Yeah To ensure that the rights of the citizens are trampled upon during the protest But what happens when Boko Haram strikes? Why are these people not taking, are redeployed to those particular locations and then Boko Haram is squashed and squashed forever? Why is that not happening? But they have this security on a lot when citizens want to protest, a very peaceful protest, with just placards.
24:49So I think it’s crazy. So I was not a participant of the ENSAT, but I think it’s really crazy. I feel like the government had been lying to the rest of the world, saying nobody died, but people really died. And they uttered a shooting of people and then hide the corpse of these people that died. And there are family members, for a fact, who can attest that their relations, their sons and others, so went out to protest and never came back yeah so but the government have covered this up and lied that nobody was nobody died this is wrong video yeah so but if like the rest of the world because they don’t want sanctions from the US from the UK or whatever they’re getting their money from China yeah I think it’s I think it’s crazy it’s crazy yeah that the government actually like um there’s one of the community one of the um the musicians said some few years back he said there is freedom of freedom freedom of speech there is freedom of speech but freedom after speech is not guaranteed
25:41You understand the irony of that right? So you can say what you want, but after saying what you want, something can happen to you. Yeah, yeah. And then, yeah, and there have been several people, so-called people mobilizing people to protest, that have been arrested, even before the protest. And this will have no criminal records. So that’s crazy. So we have the government not doing the right thing, but pushing, excuse me, pushing their efforts to ensure the rights of citizens.
26:12I think that’s terrifying and I think it also means like, you know, like I think when I was talking to Jed who’s saying something that really stood out to him from your conversation with Ayo Deji, Daddy Ayo, from Web3Bridge was like the importance of how we can start to create solutions to a lot of these problems. And I’m curious, like what would you personally like your role to be, you know, in this country? I’ll start again. I’m curious, you know, what would you really like your role to be in this country? Yeah, I think I would like to speak more. I feel like I’ve been silent for so long. Everybody who speaks to me know that I am not happy with what happened in the country. I talk to them about it and I just say, okay, let’s do what we can with whatever we have. But I think that would not solve our problem. Yeah. I think the government has to understand that we as the people, they owe us accountability. It is our right as a people. Yeah.
27:01So I think that we as a people, we want to speak up more, demand for accountability, demand for our rights, demand for freedom of speech, demand for social amenities, because this is our rights. People get into power, people are voted into power, and when they get into power, they want to add more wives, they want to get new cars, they want to invest in other countries, they want to loot in other countries. So it’s crazy. And we as citizens who pay these taxes are quiet. Yeah, I left to starve and left with just crumbs. So I want to speak out more and I want to see how I can use blockchain. I can encourage my community members to use blockchain against inflation. Yeah, some of the members from Creative Alchemy and we’re talking about like creating a smart contract for savings in corporate society. I belong to society where I save money weekly if one or two dollars but it’s in Naira.
27:52So, if I’m able to save 200 Naira at the end of the year, the purchasing power, I will have 200,000 in cash, but this purchasing power will be less because of inflation. It’s as good as I have 160 or 170,000. So, it’s crazy. You’re burning money. Yeah, I’m burning money, but I’m saving, so that defeats the purpose, because I don’t get bailouts, people that get bailouts are big companies, big brands, to start companies or to build houses or whatever, so it’s big brands that get these bailouts or get these laws from the government, so if me as an individual cannot get the government, I shouldn’t be affected, I shouldn’t be affected by their lack of intelligent policies that affects, that they’ve refused,
28:41to propose that would actually help economic growth. Yeah, I shouldn’t be affected by that. I should be able to use blockchain, crypto, stable coins to hedge against that. So we’re discussing that. So I want to encourage more people to save in stable tokens and maybe stake them to a little interest at the end of the year. So I want to come more into that. I also want to see how I can also use blockchain activism, holding leaders accountable for voting. I want to also see how I can also encourage youth and teenagers to learn blockchain technology as a means of getting out of poverty, do what I want to do going forward. And hopefully in the long run, get funding for some social projects like the public education I told you about. Yeah, this is something I want to do going forward.
29:30There are even things like at your church, which you mentioned to me as well. You said? There are even things like in your church community, like you mentioned to me as well. Yeah. They’re trying to appeal to people regardless of cost. $10 for the first prize, $7 for the second, and $5 for the third prize, yeah. Then going forward and see for offer scholarships, some of them come from very low-income homes, single-parent homes, and then some of them take it too far. They should be really accommodating to everyone, but some family, my father will say, if you go to church, if you become religious, I won’t pay your fees anymore.
29:57So we want to see how we can support them and get them through schools doing all this. Yeah, I think it’s beautiful, I think, like, kind of going back to what you were saying about, like, the hedge against inflation stuff, like, I feel like when I first started learning about Bitcoin and crypto through my friend Drew, he was claiming inflation to me, and my grandma my whole life was always just like, save money, save money, save money, save money Yeah, my mom too I realized that he was telling me that, and I said, my grandma’s just been burning money by saving money, even telling me to burn money by saving my money, and I was like, wow, if you’re not invested in, like, the stock market per se, then you’re really kind of not even able to hedge against inflation in a reasonable way, and it seems like Bitcoin
30:31It’s kind of the first time that anybody in the world can hedge against, like, any centralized currency inflating, which I think is such a beautiful thing, especially, like, I can’t, like, how real, like, the concerns of inflation became when I got here. Yeah. Because it’s super hard to get out of it. I think once it’s run, it’s really far gone. And I think a lot of people were happy in the U.S., you know, when they started giving out money during the pandemic. Yeah. I was too slow. I didn’t get any, but there would have been thousands of dollars in my pocket, so I feel kind of dumb to this day.
30:54But I think it kept the fire on my butt that I didn’t have all that money, I think. So, I think it’s okay. Yeah, but over here, nobody was giving that money in the pandemic Yeah, yeah, well, I hear that, but you guys already had everything devalued But I think, like, the... Okay, well, thank you I was just going to say that, you know, like, I think it is a very real possibility You know, I think the wealth gap in the U.S. is continuing to grow The U.S. is already, like, the reserve currency for so many other countries Yeah And the U.S. is in debt so much
31:21It’s just, like, it’s, like, a lot of drama ready to happen already Yeah, yeah, so Around the U.S. economy and its role in the global economy Yeah I think so many people are not informed to understand where that positions them if anything does happen. And so I’m really eager to continue to use this platform to, I think, kind of do all the things that you mentioned, but also really just to hammer into people all around the world, you know, how it important is for us to understand the monetary policies, the governments that, you know, that they’re democratic, you know, how they actually operate when it comes to how they value our labor and how they value the quality of our lives.
31:52Because I think the monetary policies that they implement are a direct reflection of those things. Yeah, yeah And I think like being here like that has become like paramountly clear and like there’s nothing else I should be more invested in learning than like understanding monetary policies that surround me Yeah, the political economy that determines my life and I’m just very eager to continue to go down this new rabbit Okay, yeah
32:17We’ll talk about filming and changing narratives through capturing and getting interactions with people who are already doing really good things on the chain. Some of the crypto brands that have been doing this. I got that. After we had a conversation with that EIO. Alright. And I guess as we move towards closing out the interview, I guess some of the final things that we did early on in this trip, You know, we went to the Fallow Shrine and we went to go see the Web3 bridge out in Ikoro, as we mentioned I’m really curious like if there’s any other things that you feel inspired to do after being on this trip
32:52Yeah, yeah, I want to talk I like I would also want to like Shine a spotlight on some African brands crypto brands or three brands are really doing big things as we went to The Web3 bridge. Yeah, I feel like after having a conversation with him Before now, you know, we’re talking about changing narratives of talking about, like, how do we shine this spotlight on crypto brands that are, or three brands that are doing really well, doing amazing stuff. Shout out to the 3Bridge team. They’re doing an amazing job. Yeah. So shout out to them. But I think that we don’t have them. We don’t have them on spotlight. We don’t have them from magazines on Forbes and everywhere in front of people talking about it. What they talk about is a scam.
33:35I had a meta, meta, meta, meta, shut down about over 30k, Facebook pages such as there with scams and fraud very recently. So I think that while we’re doing, while we’re combating this negative publicity, we can combat it not just by ensuring they’re arrested or whatsoever, we can also combat it by ensuring that we shine the spotlight of the right, people doing right, people doing the right thing, people building on chain, people supporting Web3 or Crypto Brands, we put people working in top places, when we talk about one of the most Nigerian, you can talk about when you talk about like people representing us properly, it’s um, you talk about, um, um, I think Dr. Yink, I can’t remember his name, um, working in an African agricultural bank or something, talk about Okonjo Iweala, talk about Chimamanda Adichie, you talk about this, but they’re really doing big things as Nigerians, so when you talk about, when you meet a Nigerian who is intellectual, who is smart, and then you say Nigerians are scammers, you tell you what about Chimamanda Adichie, what about, um,
34:35Linda EKG, about this person. So you talk about people who are doing right. So we need to do that on Web3. Mm-hmm. Do you understand? Yeah, yeah. We need to do that on Web3. So I want to shine a light as the resources come, as I was able to get funding. I want to be able to shine a spotlight on the, on the, on these Web3 brands doing big things, doing the right thing, making us proud. I want to shine a light on Nigerian brands and also African brands also. Yeah. You know, I think that’s a beautiful thing. I think, you know, highlighting where innovation is happening.
35:03I think just as much, you know, so the narrative has shifted as much as so that young people can be inspired, that people here are finding resources, finding traction, you know, doing real things that impact the quality of, like, little experience for people, that can impact the little experience for people around them. I think it’s so important for people just to know that there’s hope, I think, all the time. And if this technology can be a source of that, I think it’s so exciting just to know that there are people actually working to bring that to life and to preserve that. So I think those stories are so important.
35:31Yeah, I think you’re right. And I’ve been doing that with my community on WhatsApp. I’ve been trying to abort new users. When I told you that I’m trying to combat the whole idea where people think that where some of these youths and young people think that the only way that they can make money through internet fraud. Do you get it? Like most people feel like the only way they can actually make money is through internet fraud. So I’m aborting them, telling them that you don’t have to get money. Once you have a phone, you can get it to Web3. You can begin to do blockchain. You can begin to mine. You can actually end by using your digital skills to work remotely for some of these
36:01crypto and web 3 brands, you can learn blockchain development, you can learn, you can begin to mine with your phone, you can learn digital marketing, you can learn this stuff, and I’m trying to tell you that, okay, you can end without having to be a fraudster. So I’m trying in my own little way, offering, not as sophisticated as what Shifa is doing, but something similar. And I have a cohort coming up very soon, probably in August. Yeah. Nah, it’s not going to be here. Hifa is on WhatsApp, nothing too fancy, just onboarding new members and teaching them the basics of blockchain and then the basics
36:33of crypto and trying to let them see that there are opportunities over here in crypto. And the good thing, why I feel like crypto is better than forex is that you can actually start even without a dime in your pocket once you have a phone in your palm. Yeah. Stop playing with him. I think you said that so effortlessly and so clearly, you know. I think you are so brilliant. I think you’re so smart. I think what Mr. Baio said, you were born a journalist, but I think many things. I think you’re a very multifaceted guy. and I feel so blessed once again to have you as my peer on this journey. I feel like in the song we made last night, I was saying I didn’t do this alone. I feel like I found community which made this a lot easier and you’ve definitely been a huge part of that yourself. Julian, absolutely see why. I think like without the three of you, I feel like where I am right now wouldn’t be real and many other people as well. But I think the three of you primarily have been, you know, really like not just holding me accountable, just checking in on how things are going. Shout out to Russ as well. Someone that’s, you know, been a mentor in some ways to me as well.
37:28and SirSoo, the FWB community for helping us with our first grant to go to Denver this year. But I think this has been such an incredible journey so far and I’m so excited to be on this next chapter. I feel like even being here is a milestone in my journey and looking forward at the role that we can play in supporting Africa and further establishing themselves in their and I guess our financial sovereignty in the world so that we can actually have innovation that’s like unstifled, like there’s nothing to stifle it. We could be on the moon next year. I appreciate you so much for being with me on this trip, making sure that I’m safe, acting like a big brother or a daddy even at times
38:00I think church today was beautiful, everything about being with you has been beautiful I’m excited to return and continue to collaborate and brainstorm on what the next year can look like for us and what we can accomplish Yeah, I feel like the future is bright for the media We’ve crossed the anonymity stage, you know like the crypto and blockchain Gives this so you can have a working relationship with somebody that never meets them for ten years or even forever but I feel like we’ve been able to like bridge that gap, we’ve moved past that stage, we’ve been able to push faces to names and name tags on Discord and Twitter and everything.
38:30So I think that’s a big milestone. I feel like we’ve moved past that and we are not just a community, I feel like we’re more like a family. Yeah, I feel like we’re a closely knit group that wants to be able to support each other and help each other. When we’re in competition, we’re trying to like use our collective strengths to go far. So I feel I feel like we’ve not done much. I feel like we’re like a rocket, we’re like a speed train just taking off. So I feel like we’re going to go places, we’re going to do big things. Flight straight to the moon.
38:59Yeah, yeah. I was thinking about what Joshua said in the song. Yeah. Got a call from Danny, bro, it’s poppin’. I’m so excited just to be in this with you all, I think. Once again, I’m super remiss that Julian couldn’t join us being here. Shout out to Jules, by the way. Shout out to Jules, huge shout out to Jules, but I’m so looking forward to when we can all be in the same room Yeah, yeah. Be in conversation. Maybe eat Frontiers. Yeah, sorry, maybe eat Safari. Yeah, that’s what I’m going to say. Yeah, I think that would be incredible. Yeah. So I’m eager to see what it all looks like and see things come together over the next few months and over the next few years for sure.
39:34Yeah. In God’s timing, everything comes to fruition. Yeah. That’s what’s in my space. Yeah, I believe that. And shout out to everybody that I supported with the media from Mr. CY, to Ross, to Juice, everyone. We really appreciate you guys and we don’t take your efforts for granted. Shout out to every member of the community. We really appreciate you guys. Thank you everyone of you. You guys are really important to us and we couldn’t be here without you guys and we couldn’t do this journey without you and we appreciate you all. Peace out from me. Peace out from Dan. I agree. Thank you for listening. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for sharing with people. Thank you for letting people in your life know this is important to you. This is so important to us and just like I hope that you are coming to us.
40:15coming to community calls, engaging and let us know what you think because we have to want this to be of service and of value to you and if you’re finding it to be that, let us know how we can further support you and add value because we’re out here trying to find stories to tell, trying to figure out how we can really make a real world impact with these stories and with the resources at our disposal. So thank you again for tuning in. I appreciate your time and energy. We feel blessed to be in your company even through these screens and yes, as we close
40:38out, I’d like to say booyah, so three, two, one, booyah!
