In his compelling piece “Remita: A Fundamental Case for Legislating Indigenous Participation and IP Ownership in the Fintech Ecosystem,” Chris Uwaje, a tech visionary, makes a clear and urgent call: Nigeria must assert control over its digital destiny.
Using the story of Remita and the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as a shining example of what homegrown technology can achieve, Uwaje warns against continued dependence on foreign software. We bring you five key takeaways from the article.
1. Indigenous IP is a national infrastructure
Homegrown technologies like Remita are not just software. They are foundational to national operations. These systems manage critical financial processes, secure vast data assets, and support the daily functions of government and business. As such, they deserve the same protection, investment, and prioritisation as roads, power grids, and telecommunications networks.
2. Foreign tech dependence is a sovereignty risk
Continued reliance on foreign-owned software weakens Nigeria’s control over its data, its policies, and its economic levers.
Sovereignty in the digital era means owning and controlling the tools that power our systems. When key infrastructure is operated through black box solutions developed abroad, Nigeria’s autonomy is compromised.
3. Indigenous innovation needs legal protection
Nigerian tech innovators need legislative frameworks that protect their intellectual property and reward their contributions to solving national problems.
Without robust legal backing, local creators are left vulnerable, overlooked for procurement, underfunded by investors, and unrecognised in national planning.
It’s also important to distinguish between solutions that are merely built in Nigeria and those that are owned by Nigerians.
4. Economic value must stay in the ecosystem
When indigenous platforms like Remita succeed, the economic value they generate, including revenues, taxes, jobs, and knowledge transfer, stays within Nigeria. By contrast, reliance on foreign solutions often means recurring license fees, outsourced talent, and capital flight.
5. Penalising Local Innovators Sends the Wrong Message
A recent call by the House of Representatives for penalties of almost two hundred billion Naira to be imposed on the indigenous company, Remita, on account of a yet to be concluded reconciliation process in respect of transactions processed over the past 12 years is bizarre.
When indigenous tech solutions are unfairly targeted or publicly discredited, it weakens confidence across the entire ecosystem.
Builders begin to wonder: if Remita can be treated this way after years of national service, what hope is there for others?
*Chris Uwaje, the “Oracle of the Nigerian IT Industry,” is the Past President of both the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (IPSON) and the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN).
