Mizwisdom:


If dollar eventually reaches 1000 to 1 dollar, Nigerians will have to look elsewhere for supply of goods than foreign market. It's a good policy that should have been implemented long time ago not at this point when we are already dependent on foreign products. But with time we will learn to look inwards. I wonder how many of us will be able to afford flight tickets, cars, and other things maybe motorcycles or bicycles will be our new means of mobility. Let's see how it goes

Mizwisdom:


If dollar eventually reaches 1000 to 1 dollar, Nigerians will have to look elsewhere for supply of goods than foreign market. It's a good policy that should have been implemented long time ago not at this point when we are already dependent on foreign products. But with time we will learn to look inwards. I wonder how many of us will be able to afford flight tickets, cars, and other things maybe motorcycles or bicycles will be our new means of mobility. Let's see how it goes

binghamm:

Your comment shows just how little you understand about this topic. You really think it all has to do with foreign consumption? Are you aware a nation must import nevertheless, even must import some commodities in order to facilitate local production of others? Have you ever heard of something called balance of trade? Don't wish for what may be an apocalypse in Nigeria. If the naira goes to a thousand and possibly more, you'd be one of the many people wheeling a barrow of naira to the groceries to get breakfast.

einsteino:
Please stop making excuses for the ineptitude and incompetence of our leaders. This govt had 5 years to strengthen the economy so that the naira could appreciate naturally in a free market but it wasted time on nonsense. Coming back now to cite the obvious as the reason for letting naira freefall, is just Govt robbing Nigerians. I say this because NLC and other workers who just reached an agreement on minimum wage, did so under the existing market at the time. The amount of work Nigerians have to do for their wages remains constant, while the actual value of the wages and savings is reduced. That is robbery. The govt itself said it did this to have more money from it's less foreign exchange. Whose fault is it that they didn't diversify the economy and why are they passing the buck to the citizens?

Devaluing your currency as a means to boost local consumption is an ill thought fix. The nigerian fixation with all things foreign is just the outcome of bad govt. There was a time in Nigeria when locally manufactured goods won in our markets, what caused the change? Govt's stupidity! An embargo would help our industries way more than devaluing naira but we all know the govt doesn't even care about industries. Nigerians are cheap people and would most definitely go after a cheaper product if it gives a reasonable value. No one in the world bloody cares where an item is manufactured. Most items on retail shelves in the western world bears "made in china", people's only allegiance is to their pocket. The reason why locally made goods can't compete anymore and wouldn't compete even if $1 is 600naira, is simply because the amenities and enabling environment that industries&businesses need is non existent in Nigeria. If after paying exhorbitant import duties, a foreign product is still able to compete with your domestic goods, then the fault can't be your citizen's fixation on the imaginary! Besides, most of our manufacturing also relies heavily on imported raw materials and equipment. A devalued naira means less ability to get equipment that are critical to producing refined & standardized goods that could compete not only locally but globally.

Devalue naira all you wish, until you improve your business landscape, provide constant affordable electricity and are able to secure your country without rogues in uniform having checkpoints at every kilometre, your products wouldn't even be purchased for use at Aso Rock. Besides, the Nigerian market is just a big for nothing. Our 200million people have less disposable income than Ontario, a province of 3million people in Canada! If there was an enabling environment for our industries, no right thinking producer would be so fixated on hoping on local consumption since he would make more money exporting overseas. The only reason why anyone has to almost force us to buy local rice at gun point is because the govt isn't doing its job!

This attitude of govt legislating the illusion of progress is plain dumb. You return from America and ban keke & okada because you didn't see any there. You wouldn't even pause to ask yourself if any right thinking person would use keke if he could afford a car or had timely transit. Focus on root causes and stop chasing shadows. If you want your citizens to only use buses and cars like Americans, then build roads for every nook and cranny and provide subways and surplus comfortable buses for every inch of the city like America did for it's citizens. Stop putting your citizens into unnecessary hardship for your own faults! Summary is that No country in the world devalues its currency to boost local consumption when its industries are still using generator to power their machines. If we had our industries running right, they would earn us FOREX that would shore the naira up.

grandstar:
This is a fantastic development and sound economics has been allowed to carry the day.

I suspect the severity of the economic crisis presently before the country may have forced the government's hand.

Mizwisdom:



What exactly are you saying here, was the naira never equal to the dollar before, were we relying on petrol? were we heavily dependent on imported goods as we are now? look, the secret to strengthening naira lies in local production of most products we consume, that's how to strengthen it. My fear is that the people who created the policy won't live by it and they are the ones who truly have the purchasing power to support local production and make a significant difference in strengthening it in a shorter period.

agbari1:
This is not a matter of Buhari or whatever name you call him. Whoever steps into the shoe under the current system must equally fail. Nigeria must restructures to enable development.

post=87624924:

One love sir
Please stay safe at this time of this deadly virus..
God protect you and your family.

OChimex:


Honestly, sometimes I wonder if a black man is below human in thinking. All the problems in this country is self inflicted. Very stupid low thinking humans full this country.

They sell dollars 307 to individuals who outrageously sell at 367 - 370. In fact they inflate this prices at will thereby causing unnecessary inflation and unsteady prices of commodities.

What arrant nonsense.

The best thing to do now is, let dollar selling be between CBN and Money deposit banks, and let the masses access dollars easily thru the banks, in that way there will be stability in both exchange rates, goods and services. Then the economy will stably grow.

agbari1:
The trouble is that Nigeria is not a producing economy. The dollar we earn comes mostly from oil sales. You need to import some raw materials and machines for production. You can not use Naira to do this. CBN has to exchange your Naira for dollar for you. If CBN is facing dollar shortage, what happens? Rationing set in. If the pressure becomes to much and CBN is not able to meet your dollar demand, you turn to black market. If the demand for dollar at the black market is too high, the exchange rate goes up. That is why the CBN equalization of exchange rate is a joke!!. My Nairalanders, expect hyper inflation occasioned by massive devaluation.

CanadaOrBust:
This makes sense. Nigeria should adopt a uniform exchange rate that eliminates black market and round-tripping and the rampant corruption that goes with them!

** I dedicate this FTC to our FG for keeping our borders open despite heartfelt pleadings from Nigerians to close them and also for refusing to institute any automatic quarantine of people from hot zones.
Otherwise we won’t have any corona by now, something that all better countries have. Thanks to them now we can proudly close our schools and churches and sports like US and UK are doing! All thanks to our wonderful FG!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!

imiski:
Some select individuals and organisations used to buy the dollar at 307 naira as opposed to the normal exchange rate you and I would buy in the market. But now the central bank says no more consentions all of us would buy at the same rate.

InvertedHammer:
/
Official rate of N380/$ means the parallel market rate will be atleast N450/$. Currency exchange is an industry that the government cannot control if forex is not readily available to the public through the banks.

/

Niggsrdumb:
Simple fix but they always complicate things.

CBN should regulate Forex by making sure you can access Forex via banks at a unified rate, no more abokis. If I need foreign currency from abroad it's all done in the bank.


Use oil revenues to purchase industrial machinery and raw materials for production, more jobs .


Use tax revenues from jobs created to pay rather than revenue from crude oil Forex.

Change the mentality of the people by encouraging home based businesses and industries via policies that are business friendly.


Determine areas of competitive advantage in each state and facilitate restructuring that would enhance and boost productivity in those sectors.


Make credit available to all income earners at lower rates .


Simples.

spyglaxx:



So it means its advisable to start converting savings to dollars.

agbari1:
Thanks that peoples are following this thread as economy is paramount than politics. I will try to simplify this issue further. Someone asked me a question what are the stringent measures or conditions that may be attached to Nigeria go to international financial institutions such as IMF or Paris Club to address budget deficit? The term budget deficit means , government expenditure is above planned revenue received in a year. There are two broad categories of government expenditure - capital and recurrent. Power, rail, school and hospital constructions are examples of capital expenditures while payments of salaries and travels expenses are examples of recurrent expenditure. In any healthy economy, capital expenditure is higher than recurrent one. In nigeria, recurrent expenditure is around 70% of the total budget. Going to the real issue, what type of stringent conditions that may be attached to government borrowing from the international bodies? The conditions could be: remove all of oil subsidy and other subsidies, increase the price of power consumption, increase in taxes, devaluation of currency, increase in import duties, freezing of salaries. Some lenders such as China may request that government give them concessions - exclusive rights to operate a certain sector of the economy. For example, China has taken over the airports of Zambia to be managed for the next 100 years. Chinese is the head of Zambia police right now. China has exclusive rights for lumbering in Liberia. Nigeria economy is a very bad shape. If oil price fall continue fo the next 6 months, Naira exchange rate may jump to N1000 to 1 dollar. The antidote to this is if there is fall in import bills. The higher the propensity to import the higher the pressure on the Naira. If Coronavirus hit Nigeria, there is going to be a serious socio-economic dislocation with unbearable surge in crime wave. Let me stop here

piyoo91:
How will this improve the lifestyle of the common man? I better start preparing to relocate to ethopia

destinie2019:


They used the broken system to line their pockets and make their friends rich. Now that the eternal excuse (healthy international crude prices) has finally failed, they run the risk of being exposed, seeing that they have already bankrupted the country by depleting all the reserves, including the pensions fund, excess crude account and NHIS contributions sinking fund.

Now wind fit blow.... fowl yansh fit open. They are forced to rectify the money spinners they used to milk the system.

Jabioro:
Better!!! We all attended the same market while the connected business cabal buy at government or special low rate and public are made to pay for what she doesn't bought.Now you pay for what you buy and what you requested for..the FX will maintain general lane No BRT

nedekid:

Well said. It also means if you had 1m in the bank yesterday, this morning you only have 1m in name not in value. It is now worth N947,160. @$380.
YOU ARE GETTING POORER!

GentRoyal:

Please, how did you arrive at this?

DexterousOne:

Well said

But Ontario is far more than 3m

Just so you know