It is either I do not understand economics and how exchange rates work or a vast majority of us Nigerians still don’t get how we have wrecked our country with our own curious choices. Just this morning I was listening to the radio and the lady on air went on and on about how she thought CBN governor Godwin Emefiele was incompetent and should be sacked because the naira was now exchanging at 309 or so to the USD. That view pretty much echoes the sentiments expressed by many people I know and it amazes me that there are Nigerians who actually think there is some magic POLICY that can make the naira strong in the near term. If my economics and my understanding of the way the world works are right, then that is as far from the truth as Jesus Christ is black.

The simple fact of the matter is that apart from oil that accounts for over 90% of our revenues, we really don’t have much of an economy. We hardly produce anything, we import even toothpicks, so exactly what policy is going to be implemented that will turn Nigeria into a top exporting economy in the near term? Where are our Apples, IBMs, Disneys, GMs, General Electrics, Coca Colas, Empire State buildings, Statues of Liberties, Lockheeds, Citibanks, JP Morgans, ExxonMobils, NBAs, Super Bowls etc?

Let me bring that closer home. There was a time long ago when Nigeria had a truly strong economy and the naira was one to the dollar - even exchanged for higher than the USD, but that Nigeria is not this Nigeria. Sadly that Nigeria was laid by the British, and this Nigeria (if you don’t believe in the nonsensical imperialist conspiracies like me) - fueled by the DAMAGING Indigenisation Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians.Back then we had a booming economy. We were either the top, or among the top exporters, of timbre, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber, palm oil, etc, in the world. Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games Reserve, at Obudu Cattle Ranch, at Oguta Lake, at Ikogosi springs, at Gurara Falls, at Mambilla Platueau, etc, we attracted international tourists who brought in loads of foreign exchange. Even Nigerian schools were foreign exchange earners because they attracted foreign students. We had different car assembly plants - Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc. Nigerian government officials only bought vehicles assembled in Nigeria for official cars. We had a thriving sports industry. We were not Man United or Chelsea fans, we were Rangers or IICC fans. We had the Nduka Odizors, people made money from sports. We also had companies like Lennards and Bata producing school shoes in their thousands, we had the thriving Nigerian Airways and the Aviation School in the north that produced some of the best pilots in the world. In those days if you were brilliant you were respected much more than the crass money-miss-road contractors of today. Most of the Aje Butters I knew had fathers who were university dons. Back then it meant something to ‘know book’. Our textile industry was alive and well. Just recently I watched a news report on the textile industry in Nigeria on CCTV News. Though the main focus was on the comatose status of the industry, I was stunned by the gigantic Kaduna Textile Mill built in 1957. I could go on and on.

Today however, no thanks to our parents (and we must call them out the way Wole Soyinka did his generation) and many of us (and we should be remembered for failing our children if we continue like this), we have destroyed everything. Today for instance Nigerian football (which comes easy to me obviously) doesn’t appeal to us, we have to fly across thousands of miles to watch ‘our’ clubs play. Every year we collectively burn billions of naira being fans of clubs that give us nothing back, but some ‘entertainment value’ - simple pleasures for which we are ready to destroy the future of our children. Well people, payback time is here. Even with our ta-she-re money we all want to wear designer clothes and carry designer bags, Armani, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton etc. We all want to drive jeeps with American specs, our children must now school overseas and acquire the necessary accents to come back home and bamboozle their ‘bush and crass’ contemporaries that they left behind. Who holidays in Nigeria anymore, is there Disneyland here? No one buys made-in-Nigeria school bags for their children, after all no Superman or Incredible Hulk or Cinderella on them. We are no longer top exporters of anything and the demise of oil means we have zilch... zero. A country of 170m fashion-conscious people has no textile industry. We take delight in showing how our made-in-Switzerland Aso Ebi is different class to everyone else’s. When we help our musicians grow and pay them millions, they repay us by immediately shipping the monies overseas to produce their “i-don-dey-different-level”music videos. It makes no difference that distinctly Zulu dancers are dancing to a Nigerian highlife song. As stars concerned they also wed and holiday overseas to impress us all. All the musicians who acknowledge their Ajegunle roots now speak in a cocktail of strange accents to symbolise how much they have blown their monies overseas.

Were we a more serious people, the highly popular Kingsway Stores of the past would probably have a thousand outlets pan Nigeria today supporting a massive agriculture industry among others, but today we have the likes of SPAR, Shoprite, dominating the retail industry while Kingsway is dead. And we Nigerians make it a special point to shop from the Oyibos who have ‘cleaner shops’, ‘better this and better that’. For our personal pleasure we don’t mind them dominating us in our own backyard and shipping proceeds overseas.

I could go on and on, but I don tire. Even as you are reading this, stop for a moment and look around you. What you see will probably explain why we are lucky it is not N1000 to the USD yet. And don’t think for a moment that it cannot get there. Just continue to wear your Armani gear and Swiss-made lace, continue to spend your money on Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barca and encourage your children to do same. (My article in This Day tomorrow is on the Nigerian champions Enyimba FC - Nigeria’s most successful club - not having a sponsor, yet Nigerian brands pay over N600m to Man United and Arsenal for sponsorship to impress us.) Ehhh, no problem, continue to tell me the NPFL is rubbish or the clubs should clean up their act if they want sponsorship, mo gbo. Don’t curtail your interest in choice wines ( we were the number one champagne consumers in the world in 2015), continue to love your American specs, cheer the education ministry for letting schools sink to pitiable levels, don’t fight them to improve our schools, don’t chide them for letting schools drop Nigerian history and embrace British, America and whatever else curricula. Carry on with your love of French wines and Chinese silk, don’t bother about Jamiu Alli when there is Roger Federer. Stock up on your Italian, American, British products which you cannot live without, including the ‘baby soft’ toilet rolls produced only in that small unique village in England - the days are long gone since you were a broke student who used wet newspapers to wipe your butt. Don’t even consider holidaying in Nigeria, it’s too dangerous - you have to fulfill your dream of being Nigeria’s Henry Ford. Don’t listen to people like me who have a wardrobe full of only cheap adire that is actually cheaper than just one of your Tom Ford blazers. Please keep dressing in fine silk made in some exotic place so you can be addressed accordingly. Finally keep letting corrupt leaders who have looted your commonwealth and shipped all the monies overseas get away because to attack them does not fit your political narrative. Let us continue with the fine life, let us all continue to work for Oyibo.

But don’t forget that there is payback time and Emefiele is not your problem. Time for us all to look in the mirror and take responsibility.


Cc. OAM4J , Mynd44, lalasticlala, Seun

Who is the probx

This article is quite long and detailed. Only for mature minds. Before we starting hurling blames at Buhari and Emefiele, can we least ask ourselves why Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is importing toothpicks and match sticks?
The summary is that we need to change our lifestyle, local manufacturing and production must take front burner. Importations must be drastically reduced and our extractive industries must come alive!

Eziokwu! No lies all facts.

Guess what?

Guy, forget that thing. A lot of Nigerians are hypocrites. The problems you highlighted have been around for decades and the same ones calling for Emefiele's head have been aiding and abetting their perpetuation. Now that they are feeling the heat of the consequences of these habits, they are looking for scapegoats as usual. If it's not Emefiele it is Kemi Adeosun or Buhari. Make Dem just jejely endure for now till this administration manages to reverse the rot. It's either that or they keep wailing.

Only in Nigeria govt will announced someone that stole public fund that belong to me and you for a better life... Some set of people who live in an animal environment ( slum ) would still be dieing and supporting that same thief all in d name of I belong to PDP, APC or APGA.... Even d so called educated once among us are the worstest...


Anyway.. Thanks for the write up bro, some of us who is have our sense working right understand ur points.

TonySpike:
This article is quite long and detail. Only for mature minds. Before we starting hurling blames at Buhari and Emefiele, can we least ask ourselves why Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is importing toothpicks and match sticks?
The summary is that we need to change our lifestyle, local manufacturing and production must take front burner. Importations must be drastically reduced and our extractive industries must come alive!

But seriously though, I can GUARANTEE you that if the government can fix electricity which will drastically bring down the cost of production locally and ensure our local manufacturers can compete favorably, and strictly enforce its embargo on the importation of such products, Nigeria will witness an economic renaissance that will rival China's.

Exactly...

Cold hard facts. This article is biting and thought provoking. It really rings true in almost everything.

We all have our parts to play in the recovery. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time we'll be here. We survived prior oil price shocks just to come off worse with our Kolo mentality.

Flyoruboy:
Guy, forget that thing. A lot of Nigerians are hypocrites. The problems you highlighted have been around for decades and the same ones calling for Emefiele's head have been aiding and abetting their perpetuation. Now that they are feeling the heat of the consequences of these habits, they are looking for scapegoats as usual. If it's not Emefiele it is Kemi Adeosun or Buhari. Make Dem just jejely endure for now till this administration manages to reverse the rot. It's either that or they keep wailing.

At least Buhari is currently putting measures in place to address the situation by encouraging local manufacturers, actively promoting fiscal responsibility by drastically cutting down corruption and waste, blocking leakages, and better management of the nation's resources, unlike the past administration under which billions were looted with reckless abandon.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/176257-soludo-holds-fire-but-insists-n30-trillion-plus-aus-n8-6trillion-missing-under-okonjo-iweala.html

Damn!!!! What a read! We really have lost our patriotism as citizens of Nigeria no thanks to people that are always branding Nigeria as bad! This is one of the reasons why I hate biafra agitators with so much passion, they continually fuel unpatriotism and hate for the country. Y'all should stop blaming the government for every situation you'v found yourself in; the blame lies with each and every Nigerian out there!

God bless this writer abundantly! There's a big need to reawake the Nigerian spirit! Write ups like this are the kind we should see on FP..

Lalasticlala, this is good, No?

Thank you for this, our life style is responsible for our economic woes, just name how many of top officials of previous administration that is still in this country now, they have all gone to europe and america to stay after destroying nigeria with their reckless life style supported with public fund. When restriction was place on use dollars they deceive ordinary nigerians some have not touch 1 dollar bill in their life to use the data to go on twitter ranting on how small business is suffering, SME should be home grown with the potential of going international thereby bringing in more dollars into the economy like what is obtained in china but in nigeria importer of toothpick and brushes small business expect the government to sell crude oil and exchange dollar for him to go bring what we can do without.

if only 70% of nigerians can be business-oriented like the igbos...
also there should be more factories & less churches/mosques

Excellent article!

Lalasticlala......Good blessed morning.

Let me bring that closer home. There was a time long ago when Nigeria had a truly strong economy and the naira was one to the dollar - even exchanged for higher than the USD, but that Nigeria is not this Nigeria. Sadly that Nigeria was laid by the British, and this Nigeria (if you don’t believe in the nonsensical imperialist conspiracies like me) - fueled by the DAMAGING Indigenisation Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians.Back then we had a booming economy. We were either the top, or among the top exporters, of timbre, cocoa, groundnuts, rubber, palm oil, etc, in the world. Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games Reserve, at Obudu Cattle Ranch, at Oguta Lake, at Ikogosi springs, at Gurara Falls, at Mambilla Platueau, etc, we attracted international tourists who brought in loads of foreign exchange. Even Nigerian schools were foreign exchange earners because they attracted foreign students. We had different car assembly plants - Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc. Nigerian government officials only bought vehicles assembled in Nigeria for official cars. We had a thriving sports industry. We were not Man United or Chelsea fans, we were Rangers or IICC fans. We had the Nduka Odizors, people made money from sports. We also had companies like Lennards and Bata producing school shoes in their thousands, we had the thriving Nigerian Airways and the Aviation School in the north that produced some of the best pilots in the world. In those days if you were brilliant you were respected much more than the crass money-miss-road contractors of today. Most of the Aje Butters I knew had fathers who were university dons. Back then it meant something to ‘know book’. Our textile industry was alive and well. Just recently I watched a news report on the textile industry in Nigeria on CCTV News. Though the main focus was on the comatose status of the industry, I was stunned by the gigantic Kaduna Textile Mill built in 1957. I could go on and on.

This!

Very very true.

FRONTPAGE PLEASE!

cc: lalasticlala

I have read this article ,and I know the writer is right.

Many of our parents took their honeymoons in Nigeria....very few went abroad (1970's gen). I know of friends who on getting married jetted to Dubai for honeymoon.

The truth of the matter is that the CBN governor is to be commended for saving the Naira. It is Nigerians that are the naira's worst enemy. The truth is....we do not want to spend on made in Nigeria products. Including me. We buy foreign biscuits, foreign drinks, etc etc.....all of which leach dollars away from the economy (And the advent of the internet and online banking has made it easier....back in the 1970's...you needed to go to an office in a bank and fill forms applying for forex).And the point about foreign clubs...true. Back in the 1980's when I was young,I could name with ease all the star players in my favourite Nigerian club, and even the star players in other Nigerian clubs. Now...I don't even know who is going to play in any Nigerian club. I prefer to watch English league.

The painful thing is that this oil drop is good for Nigeria. Maybe we will start focusing on the homegrown life...and start spening our cash at home.Maybe rich investors would see the benefits of manufacturing at home instead of importing and importing. Maybe we would start supporting Enyimba and Heartland, and 3SC and Stores, and Pillars, and Wikki Tourists (By the way....how many people reading this know that Wikki Tourist is named after Wikki Warm Springs in Bauchi?).

Nigerians better wake up.

Ask yourself where the CBN Governor was when the price of oil started plunging and when dasuki was withdrawing hard currency from cbn illegally why didn't prevent all that by speaking out like Sanusi did. The CBN is confused and most people can see that. They come out with new policies overnight every now and then because their previous ones don't work.
You can't ban exporting some products overnight like they do without having a clear policy that will enable people to produce at home.

Well said, and i think its not only a nigerian factor but an African factor , no wonder bob marley said " emancipate yourself from mental slavery" until we stop being inferior to the western world we might not get it right. according to emiefele nigeria's largest importation after refined crude (pms, ago and kerosene) is rice . Imagine that? if you have eaten a locally sourced rice and uncle bens rice then you will understand that the foreign rice is rubbish! yet importers spent 2 billion dollars in 2015 to import rice. Its all about demand and supply, its so bad people pay house rent in dollars , spend dollars in clubs like its our local currency . Any body blaming buhari or cbn governor for the fall in naira falls into 2 categories, a stark illiterate with no wisdom or an anti Buhari pessimist filled with hate

I don't have to buy made in Nigeria if i don't believe it is the best quality i can get you can blame me this is the nature of the market. Our government should increase taxes on some imported goods instead of banning them all together when people perceive the higher price of the imported good they will switch if there is an alternative

These are cold hard facts! The present state we find the economy should inspire every Nigerian of productive age to think deep, for within this predicament lies so many opportunities waiting to be tapped. Research is wealth!

Why is this thread not yet on the front page?

Nice write-up. The problem with Nigeria is the inferiority complex an average Nigerian has. Most Nigerians prefer foreign stuffs to made in Nigeria. A made in Cameroon shoe will be even preferable to a made in Nigeria shoe by most Nigerians. Nigerians should learn to do away with inferiority complex and patronize our home made products.

This is a brilliant piece, and it is a debate that we would be having as a country, sooner or later considering the current state of the Naira.

Unfortunately, there is also another side to the writer's narrative. While, I do concede that some Nigerians are 'bandwagon consumers' who buy things simply because their neighbours are buying. We must also take a very critical look at Nigerian businesses and the quality of the products and services they churn out. Money is very difficult to come by these days, and people would always want to have full value for their money. Therefore Nigerians should not be blackmailed into patronising Nigerian businesses just to fulfill some nationalistic objective, rather they should only do so if it gives them value for their money.

Most Nigerian businesses have not understood the importance of building solid brands, hence cannot yet compete with their foreign counterparts. They always aim to meet a supposed 'Nigerian standard', rather attain global best practices that will guarantee them a place on store shelves. If Globalcom for instance did not meet those standards, it would not have survived a single day in Ghana or any of the other countries where it operates. Every Nigerian company that wants to be taken seriously, must wake up and start acting like a global brand, because government cannot keep protecting them in perpetuity, there has to be a timeline after which the markets will be liberalised. Dangote has built a global brand from Nigeria, so what excuse do they have not to do same. When we heap invectives on Shoprite and Spar because they are foreign brands, we must also realise that there are several Nigerian companies and banks doing business abroad as well.

I recently met a foreigner in his mid thirties, whose family own chains of manufacturing businesses in Nigeria. He told me his father was born in Nigeria, and his grandparents moved here long before independence. Eventhough his father and grandfather have passed on, the family businesses kept expanding. That says a lot about Nigerian businesses. How many family businesses in Nigeria have survived the traditional family 'war of inheritance' on the death of their patriarch.

since1914:
This is a brilliant piece, and it is a debate that we would be having as a country, sooner or later considering the current state of the Naira.

Unfortunately, there is also another side to the writer's narrative.

Very true, very very true

TonySpike
thank you for bringing the home truth bare!
it is unfortunate that the majority will not read this pieces as explicit as it is!
we started moving backward as a nation when "Our History" lost its place
in our education system!
thank you for this!!!
it is only us that can save this nation of ours , indeed our oldies failed us chai!

Hmmmmm....

Simple Economics!

since1914:
This is a brilliant piece, and it is a debate that we would be having as a country, sooner or later considering the current state of the Naira.

Unfortunately, there is also another side to the writer's narrative. While, I do concede that some Nigerians are 'bandwagon consumers' who buy thing simply because of their neighbours are buying. We must also take a very critical look at Nigerian businesses and the quality of the products and services they churn out. Money is very difficult to come by these days, and people would always want to have full value for their money. Therefore Nigerians should not be blackmailed into patronising Nigerian businesses just to fulfill some nationalistic objective, rather should only do so if it gives them value for their money.

Most Nigerian businesses have not understood the importance of building solid brands, hence cannot yet compete with their foreign counterparts. They always aim to meet a supposed 'Nigerian standard', rather attain global best practices that will guarantee them a place on store shelves. If Globalcom for instance did not meet those standards, it would not have survived a single day in Ghana or any of the other countries where it operates. Every Nigerian company that wants to be taken seriously, must wake up and start acting like a global brand, because government cannot keep protecting them in perpetuity, there has to be a timeline after which the markets will be liberalised. Dangote has built a global brand from Nigeria, so what excuse do they have not to do same. When we heap invectives on Shoperite and Spar because they are foreign brands, we must also realise that there are several Nigerian companies and banks doing business abroad as well.

I recently met a foreigner in his mid thirties, whose family own chains of manufacturing businesses in Nigeria. He told me his father was born in Nigeria, and his grandparents moved here long before independence. Eventhough his father and grandfather have passed on, the family businesses kept expanding. That says a lot about Nigerian businesses. How many family businesses in Nigeria have survived the family 'war of inheritance'.

If we were patriotic consumers, quality and standards will bow to the laws of demand and supply. People will naturally demand more for locally produced quality goods versus competition and others will be forced to step up standards. And if government agencies like SON weren't corrupt they'd also play a part in enforcing minimum standards of quality.

Moderator, where art thou? I wonder why this thread was dumped. ..

This is a very interesting and thought-provoking article. Very true on all counts. However, the writer forgot to mention another VERY IMPORTANT factor responsible for the fall in the value of the Naira, relative to the Dollar and other foreign currencies; this factor is 'Dollar Trading/hoarding'.

As long as people keep seeing the dollar as a better store of value than the naira, people will continue to buy and hoard the dollar, even when they have no need for it, in expectation of future increase in the exchange rates. Unfortunately, this becomes a self-fulfilling 'prophecy' as less dollar in circulation drives up the price in the black market, which makes even more people to buy and hoard theirs, and the Vicious cycle continues. This is why there is such a huge difference between the official exchange rates and the black market rates. Yours truly is one guilty party

moderatorssss were una dey na.
front page abeg...shioooo,
if na chidima"stuns" or any of those immoraly dressed celebrities pictures una go rush put am for fp.


lalasticlala.....i command u to do d needful ASAP.