Nope, that isn't insider trading

Also, you don't need electricity to have AI policy

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We talked a lot about B2B e-commerce startups on Friday, and one day later, Kenyan startup Twiga cut 300 jobs in a “corporate realignment.”

Everything is Securities Fraud. But This? Not Insider Trading.

If you read Matt Levine long enough, you know in your sleep that everything can be securities fraud. But even he would agree that not everything is insider trading.

This week, SaharaReporters claimed Fidelity Bank’s MD, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, engaged in insider trading after buying ₦366 million worth of Fidelity shares, despite disclosing it on the NGX.

I struggled to understand if it was an honest mistake or mischief. But I eventually decided maybe this was a situation to ascribe to Hanlon’s razor.

Insider trading isn’t “insiders buying stock.” It’s trading on material, non-public information. Buying shares during an open trading window with your own money, and then filing a notice with the Exchange, is literally what you’re meant to do.

If this is insider trading, half of corporate Nigeria is headed for jail.

Bonus: Banks are typically aggressive about false press. Yet Fidelity stood by as its stock took a hit from misreporting. So here’s a Matt Levine-style hypothetical: Is it securities fraud to not push back on bad press if it depresses your stock price?

Just a thought experiment.

“Nigeria Doesn’t Need an AI Policy” and associated takes

There’s a lot to knock Minister (Dr) Bosun Tijani on (I hear he’s not thrilled when you drop the honorific). But tech policy, especially around AI and blockchain, isn’t the stick to beat him with.

When his ministry shared the National Blockchain Policy whitepaper this week, some of the responses were depressingly familiar: “We don’t need AI, we need electricity!” Or “Focus on research!” Or the classic “Who is this policy even for?”

Last week, a certain bank chairman made the same electricity-before-AI argument in a panel interview so uninspiring it deserves a room in the Museum of Mid Takes.

But here’s the thing: policy is what government is supposed to do. Not code LLMs. Not launch wallets. Just build rails, data governance frameworks, regulatory sandboxes, ethical guardrails, and R&D incentives.

And to be fair, the blockchain paper does some of this well. It name-checks 21 local researchers, includes implementation timelines, and attempts to define use cases in energy, health, and identity systems. That’s not nothing.

The problem, as always, is follow-through. The last time we got this much digital policy enthusiasm, the outcome was the eNaira and we know how that went.

Still, saying “Nigeria’s not ready for AI” sounds a lot like “we weren’t ready for mobile phones.” The future’s coming whether we’re ready or not. Might as well show up with a rulebook.

Is There Private Banking in Nigeria?

In April, Nnanna argued that Nigerian banking is so subsidised and tier-flattened, we don’t even recognise the premium bits anymore.

Here’s part of his argument:

“The banking services you’re unimpressed by: relationship officers, premium lounges, CNN in branches, no queues, access to mint notes, fast transfers, zero balance accounts, and even internet banking—these features weren’t always standard; they were tiered perks reserved for ultra-high-net-worth clients who subsidised the rest of the banking system.”

A regular reader responded: if everyone gets premium banking, does private banking still exist? If Zenith Bank’s app is down for Olumuyiwa the journalist, is it also down for Mr. Akin Wellington of Kinikan Oil & Gas?

Someone who knows these things offered an answer I’ll paraphrase:

Banks serve wealthy clients differently, but not with better tech. With better insulation. Dedicated account officers. Private branches. Phone calls instead of queues. Systems that don’t go down.

“When I worked at a bank, my GTWorld app never failed,” one ex-banker said. “I only experienced downtime when I moved to the civilian server after I left.”

“Some dollar cards—the kind the really wealthy use—can never fail. Ever.”

But wealth is relative. Tier-1 banks target the Dangotes of this world. The MD of Kinikan Oil & Gas gets routed to the app like the rest of us—unless they walk into a tier-2 bank offering the VIP treatment. Big loans, though? Still coming from GTB or Zenith.

So yes, private banking exists. But it’s less about more features and more about fewer headaches.

It’s not innovation. It’s insulation.

That’s it from me. See you on Friday.

N;B: Don’t forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think about today’s Notadeepdive.