₦airaland Forum

Nigerian banks pay the highest.

A manager in GTB earns 5 times what his counterpart earns in some of these places listed here.

NIGERIA IS A COUNTRY WHERE YOU ARE DEEMED TO BE AN ECONOMIST BECAUSE, LIKE TRUMP, YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE MEDIA AND YOU CAN MAKE THE LOUDEST NOISE.

ALL THE PEOPLE SCREAMING DEVALUATION HAVE NOT MADE ANY SENSIBLE ARGUMENT. THEY ONLY CLAIM THAT IT IS ENCOURAGING ROUND-TRIPPING. YET THEY CANNOT PROVE THAT WITH FACTS.

NATIONS DEVALUE THEIR CURRENCY TO ENCOURAGE FOREX INFLOW THROUGH EXPORTS. AND THEN THEY RE-VALUE AGAIN IN THE COURSE OF TIME. IN NIGERIA, NAIRA HAS NEVER (AND I MEAN NEVER) REGAINED VALUE. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE WAY. FROM 3 NAIRA TO THE DOLLAR, TO 11, TO 18, TO 32, TO 60, TO 98, TO 120. TO 158, TO 199!

IT IS SO, BECAUSE OUR DEVALUATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO ENCOURAGE SPECULATORS AND NOT TO ENCOURAGE EXPORTS. OUR OUTPUT OF COCOA, CASHEW, RUBBER ETC HAS NOT INCREASED IN THE LAST 20 YEARS. IN FACT, COMMODITIES LIKE RUBBER AND CASHEW ARE ALMOST EXTINCT. NIGERIA NO LONGER EXPORTS LEATHER. ALL THE PAST DEVALUATION HAVE FAILED TO ENCOURAGE ANY MEANINGFUL LONG TERM INVESTMENT IN PRODUCTION.

NIGERIANS WHO HAVE STORED MONEY ABROAD (SOME FROM DOUBTFUL MEANS) REALLY WANT DEVALUATION - THEY WANT THEIR 1000 DOLLARS TO FETCH THEM 300,000 NAIRA.

CONTNUED DEVALUATION WITHOUT SOLID LOCAL PRODUCTION THAT IS GEARED TOWARDS EXPORTS WILL ONE DAY MAKE YOUR CURRENCY WORTHLESS. COMMON SENSE.

DEVALUATION TODAY WILL MAKE PETROL SELL FOR A MUCH HIGHER PRICE. IS NIGERIA READY FOR THAT? WILL THAT NOT SPARK ANOTHER CRISIS? COMMON SENSE!

STOP SPENDING YOUR DOLLAR EARNINGS ON 'ANYTHING MADE IN CHINA' LIKE HUMAN HAIR, TOOTHPICKS, CHAMPAGNE AND WATCH YOUR CURRENCY GAIN VALUE. COMMON SENSE!

NIGERIA IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST IMPORTERS OF CHAMPAGNE AND BEAUTY PRODUCTS. WE ARE SURROUNDED BY WATER BUT WE IMPORT FISH ALL THE WAY FROM CHINA AND SOUTH AMERICA. YOU CANNOT CONTINUE WITH THAT AND EXPECT YOUR CURRENCY TO GAIN VALUE. COMMON SENSE!

SINCE THE CBN PLACED RESTRICTIONS ON 42 ITEMS, FACTORIES HAVE SPRUNG UP TO MAKE TILES LOCALLY. THERE ARE OTHER EXAMPLES. THAT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPENNED WITHOUT A POLICY TO CURB SENSELESS IMPORTS. HOW CAN WE BE SURROUNDED BY ROCKS AND YET BE IMPORTING STONES? MAKES NO SENSE!

WHILE THE PROFESSORS ARE TALKING, CHINESE AND INDIAN BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO ESTABLISH FACTORIES. WE NIGERIANS ARE STILL SLEEPING AND MAKING THE BLAME GAME! TALK IS CHEAP. LET US GET NIGERIANS TO PRODUCE! COMMON SENSE!

CHECK WHAT YOU ARE PUTTING ON NOW - YOUR SHOE MADE IN ITALY, YOUR SHIRT IN UK, YOUT SUIT IN INDIA, YOUR TIE IN BANGLADESH, YOUR WRIST WATCH IN TAIWAN, YOUR HUMAN HAIR IN BRAZIL, YOUR UNDERWEAR IN THAILAND. YOU HAVE JUST RELAXED WITH NICE FRUIT JUICE MADE IN SPAIN AND YOU ARE WATCHING DSTV COURTESY OF SOUTH AFRICA. FINALLY, THE DIVIDENDS ON YOUR GSM ENDS UP IN INDIA. NO NATION DOES THIS AND EXPECT HER CURRENCY TO GAIN VALUE. COMMON SENSE.

THE BEST ECONOMICS IS THE ONE THAT MAKES COMMON SENSE. THAT IS WHAT NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS ALLUDE TO. AND I AGREE.

Only in Africa.

Only in Africa will you celebrate yourself for conceeding in an election you woefully lost.

Well, thanks for doing that. We pray that Africa will rise above these shades. About time.

Events of the recent have also shown that our former president was probably not in charge of anything. He practiced management by abdication.

In that sense, we appreciate him for at least taking charge after the election and not allowing the hawks to speak before him and to turn the land into chaos.

Nigeria must learn from this. vote only credible and proven people. We are not there yet, obviously.

I cannot imagine how Nigerian parents teach their children the wicked craft of stealing!

BDCs should be free to operate but CBN had no business of selling to them at official rates.

The agencies acted with absolute impunity.

It is good they now have a chance to prove their innocence. '

Never again should a bunch of people just sit and embezzle billions and trillions of our money and then be parading themselves around as RICH men.

I have thought that the best way to recoup money is to give a 30 day window in which all stolen funds should be returned and then go on massive prosecution of those who fail to use the window. That will cost the FG very little and give it maximum gains.

There is no proof now that results will be achieved the way it is being fought now. Our resident should listen to counsel if he does not want to go into the black pages as some of his predecessors.

If force can work wonders, Nigeria should have changed 30 years ago when PMB and Idiagbon ruled with iron fist. If PMB succeeds in convicting people and seizing their funds, another government may come tomorrow and grant pardons and return the funds. Let us think deep and far. A truth commission can serve us better. Restructuring, reforming should take primary attention and not incarcerations.

Olisa metuh is being turned into a star now as he will surely garner public sympathy, and if care is not taken the hunter can become the hunted.

Wisdom is paramount.

Financial Times may have their arguments but they also just exhibited the HEIGHT OF INTELLECTUAL ARROGANCE. In the matters of Economics no one knows it all. China made their own plan, and India too, in spite of the FT, and they have been able to bail themselves out.

FT knows nothing about the environment here and cannot have answers to Nigeria's problems.

Britian and AMerica are so advanced that you may leave its market to market forces. Not Nigeria! Have they ever seen an economy where the governor of a state can pocket the income of that state? Or where a security adviser can pocket/share budgetteary allocations that should have been used to equip the Army?

What market forces? FT should just admit its ignorance and come down from their lofty heights and high horses.

Devaluation is risky at the moment because it will translate immediately into rise in Petrol prices. Remember we still import Petrol, and you need dollars to fund its import. Imagine that a devalued Naira will mean that Petrol will sell for N150 pump price. Will that not lead to crisis?

CBN has only just said that excessive importation for just anything from toothpicks to human hair is the reason for the pressure on the naira. So, they have curtailed the quest for just anything.

Dangote is smarter than all of FT put together and he once said that restricting import with the list of 41 items is the best economic drive he has seen in Nigeria. Now, we have to make our own ceramic tiles, put on our own Ankara, eat local eggs instead of cheese! Why cant we consume what we can produce?

Nigerians have to change our unbridled taste and appetite for products simply because they are made in 'Other Countries'! When whites come to Africa/Nigeria, they come to make cheap money to take back home. When Nigerians go to their lands, we take boroowed dollars to go and shop for just anything.

Devaluation has only a short term benefit to any economy that is largely consumptive and not productive. If Naira sells for 300 at the official market today, the so called 'smart investors' will rush in funds, scoop the market and walk away to pile pressure for further devaluation!

The average Indian puts on clothes made in India. Why cant we wear Ankara, even to work? Imagine the millions of jobs that will create, and imagine the savings on forex!

True, we cannot isolate our market, but the fact remains also that we cannot contine with unbridled appetite for anything made by 'Uncle Sam'!

OUTRAGEOUS.

NIGERIA WANTS TO RUN A DANGEROUS ONE-SIDED SOCIALIST AGENDA WHERE YOU PREACH AUSTERITY TO THE MASSES WHEREAS THE RULERS CONTINUE THEIR SPENDING SPREE.

THIS IS ANOTHER DIMENSION TO CLUELESSNESS. WHEN THEY OUGHT TO LOWER TAXES, CUT THE INCIDENCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION ETC, THEY WANT TO NOW DO THE OPPOSITE.

CBN HAS JUST SCRAPPED COT BUT HAS IMMEDIATELY INTRODUCED SOMETHING WORSE!

Viktor1983:
I think buying seats and desks is priority here.
Fix the classrooms and environment , buy books, get better teachers.
Teach their parents family planning and stop child marriages.
These should be the best way to go bout this.
Improvement in education in anambra wasn't by feeding kids, it was by infrastructure for better learning.

All of these are important.
Free food will help government bring MORE people to school and that is good in the long run.
What will be the benefit of better buildings and furniture if people wont go to school? People not going is still a problem in some parts of Nigeria, you know!

dekins:
Economic diversification through what can be termed Nigeria Beyond Oil is what we need through Agriculture, Petrochemical, Mining / Mineral, Gemstone, Metal, Alloy and Energy until Oil and Gas prices hopefully becomes favourable. A diversified economy ensures economic sustainability.

The cost of diversification in Nigeria is too high and that is why it is hardly hapenning. Nigerians dont need preaching. They will invest wherever it is worthwhile doing so. Our economy and GDP are fueled by oil and gas, banking and telcos. Bank shares make up more than 50pct of our stock market. That makes us a land of speculators. The cost of everything is too high. The cost of acquiring farmland is too high. If you get a cheap land the cost of securing it is then too high. Who wants to go far in the bush and risk being taken by the nomads? Go to south east and the north and see how cattle rearers, crop farmers are making losses due to robbery and kidnapping.

Nigerians do not need preaching. Nigerians are smart and will work where they know there are profits. Secure the land. Find how to bring down the cost of everything. Create an enabling environment. 99% of this lay squarely with the FG to do.

I may not be a fan of OBJ but his famous letter gave all the warnings. Rather than take pre-cautions the politicians went on thiefing spree, sharing all sharables.....! When the madam said 'all this blood you are sharing' she possibly knew what she was saying. The people we trusted with power shared blood money!

They ignored ploughing money back into developing oilfields and watched as Angola and Ghana stole the show!
LNG development was sidelined.
SWF savings of USD20 billion was 'shared'

We simply did not save for today. We must pray. Nigerians dont realize the implication of oil price falling to $20. It is like carrying your wares to the market, and suddenly realize you have to sell below your cost... or that nobody is buying at your price. In both scenarios, it means returning home with empty pocket. How would you cater for the nation then?

Some have suggested that government should increase taxes and levies. Nothing can be as stupid. It is like your citizens used to earn average 20k and paid you 2k out of it. Now they are making 6k and you want to take 4k out of it. You will be asking for trouble if you do so. Common sense.

In other climes, what government at all levels should be doing is to encourage invetsments and exports from the little we have. Take of the fat bellied 'black and white officers' off the roads and send them to farm instead of harrasing motorists. Well, let me not pretend that I have asnswers to our complex problems. But then we should not continue with business as usual....It is time to encourage SMEs a lot, not by mouth but by deed. Dont ask someone to bring 1 million to obtain licence for pure water. It makes no sense.

Cost of everyhting in Nigeria is too high to promote non-oil exports. High time we woke up!

If we buy the IMF pills of increasing VAT and removing subsidies, we would be asking for real big problems in my opinion.

There is battle everywhere and moreso in banks because banks pay the most now.

You cant be running away from battles. You need God to lead you and to fight for you. First, you must accept Christ and seek a true and personal relationship with Him. He will lead you. You need to know that it isnt really all openings you must jump at. Better to be led by God than by opinions. I really dont know what the mountain is like, so i wont jump at opinionating. Let God lead you.

OAUTemitayo:
They did not know there is something called Rule of Law when they were both busy looting away our hard earned money, now that they are in bondage of EFCC, they are now shouting rule of law.
Arrant Nonsense

When public officers are in power they are guided by the rule of lawlessness. At that time evryone looks away. If you dare to question them they will brutalize and maim you. Law means nothing at that time. When questioned aftwerwards they talk about rule of law. That is how come we have so many polished thieves and rogues in Nigeria.

saintopus:
This is very smart reasoning, but you see the implication of directly devaluing the Naira will create an increase in inflation and high cost of goods and services. From the ''Body Language'' of Mr President, he seems to enjoy a socialist kind of economy which is one of the high points of his campaign promises. Going by this, the devaluation may not be approved by the president. The continual drop in the value of the naira will also mean that our foreign reserves will be depleted in time.
So what then is the way out, to me it will start with a sincere approach to a new policy aimed at first reducing cost of running government with a honest example and not a propaganda and selfish approach as we are currently seeing.
For example, I heard that couple of BMWs will be purchased by the presidency this year as highlighted in the 2016 Appropriation Bill sent to the National Assembly. I see no reason why locally made vehicles like Innoson and others should not be used instead.
This is why I am saying that it will start with a honest example by the presidency to turn around events in the nation.

There is not a lot of difference between CKDs imported to make Innoson and FBU BMWs imported by Coscharis. Both are imports and require dollars. I agree with you that Nigeria possibly do not need the 'socialist' posture at the centre now.

Muyiii:
We need to be careful though...it's not like I'm against the bill but to these foreign investors it seems like we're witch-hunting them.Think about it, the ongoing saga between MTN and NCC...now DSTV. This outfits gave jobs to Nigerians, jobs our government are struggling to provide. Let's not make Nigeria a hostile ground for foreign investors when we ourselves ain't doing much for our own.

Someone has said that blacks do not think far! We are now seeking to kill the Africa Rennaisance project. African nations are jostling to give their economies to crooked partners. Take DSTV and MTN - do you know how many Nigerians are gainfuly employed, well trained and equipped by these companies? Go to any chinese firms and you'll likely see that Nigerians are only used as labourers, cooks, mai guard and drivers. When will Africa rise, when will we start thinking?

As one former head of state once said, the political elite are Nigeria's number one problem. It is really obvious and they themselves know it.

talktimi:
These reps are just jobless. If you don't like dstv, buy startimes or cmtv nobody tied your hands or forced you. If the NBC as a regulator didn't know about or couldn't enforce industry best practices like their counterparts worldwide, who is to blame ?

South Africa is wise enough to 'support' their own companies like DSTV and MTN to take the continent. Nigeria as a nation hardly supports anyone. Read the words carefully - the bill will only give room to enforce penalties. The reps want to reap where they have not sown. If they mean well, I guess they should be looking at how to provide the needed capital to support the Nigerian initiative. There is really no monopoly there today. StarTimes is chinese, DSTV is South African. If you pull down the South Africans, the Chinese will take over. We are going round in circles. The parliament is not shedding the pulldown mentality. Where is the PIB? Where are those other cogent and urgent bills? Who cares about DSTV?

busomma:
It must be noted that $ is international currency being quoted by every country in the world as a yardstick in pricing commodities, Nigeria inclusive. With regards MTN fine, the law must be obeyed by all organizations doing business in this country. Allowing mtn to go Scott free portrays Nigeria as a lawless country.

Not many people will agree with you. So what law has MTN broken to warrant a $5biillion fine? I am not on the side of MTN, but the massess must be joking to think MTN will pay that and they wont inflict the pain on the common man on the street! I feel there is no single corporate entity in the whole of Africa that can pay that kind of fine and still survive. This thing will cause a rift between Nigeria and SAF and I dont think Africa needs that now.

You made some point.

BMW will be bought from a Nigerian company in Naira. Nigeria's budget is in Naira.

When FG is dealing with a multinational they would put the charge in dollars. That is a revenue and not an expenditure and it is the right thing to do. Shipping companies, airlines all pay their dues in USD. That shores up our USD reserve.

Yes, there must be a direction.

However, in a situation where USD earnings of FG had dropped from USD40billion per annum to USD15billion per annum, and could still drop further with lower oil prices, it simply cannot be business as usual.

Nigeria does not have the USD reserve to fund import of tooth picks, champagne, pencils, coloured water, owambe lace, etc.

We have to check our unbridled apetite for anything foreign, from Vienna lace to Chinese all what not!

FG has to sit up and find how to galvanise Nigeria into an exporting country like INDIA and not one that is controlled by speculative stock markets. Also, the idea to increase taxes, levies (like they are doing to MTN) does not make sense at the moment. They need to galvanize more and more production and not do the opposite.

If FG kills businesses, what will be left to provide employment for the millions of youths that are currently unemployed. You are right, there doesnt seem to be a clear direction.

When are they going to discuss and act on the Nigeria project? In fact, what is the Nigeria project? Do we have one?

Tgose in employment should always look for something they can do in case the job iostaken from them. Downsizing is now a norm. We are no longer in the civil service era when you get a job and siddon there for life!

Was Dasuki the President of Nigeria? Young kids are now getting confused. Anytime people talk about the recent past regime, they talk Dasuki¬

Mr Momodu spoke well but i think in a subtle way he had also poured petrol on a small fire by suggesting that the veteran made 'certain demands' which a journalist of 'modest means' had not been able to meet!

Is this how bad our country is? Looters parading as leaders? Where was the President in all of this?

I am sure it is equally bad at the state level and LGA levels!

Sad.

So what?

To do:

1. Release the man to IRAN so he can go and continue his Shiite campaign in Teheran.

2. Expect a major rise in oil prices (good for Nigeria/bad for petrol prices) in the event that Iran goes to war with Saudi!

mirakz:
When u comment, think about it critically. It is true that high tarrif on imported goods will lead to increase in the price of goods, thereby discouraging importation. But have u come to think about the enabling environment for the local production of those goods, the infrastuctural facilities required. What are the signs that shows that we are ready to embark on the local production of goods.

Very good comment. High tarriffs lead to higher prices in the market and does not necessarily lead to local production. Ask local manufacturers and they will tell you there are also 'high tarriffs' and other unnecessariy levies that discourage them from producing.

lookandlaff:
This is the result one gets when half educated people call themselves professors and comment. Customs don't set tariffs and duty, they simply collect what they law says they should collect.

Not as simple as many think. Customs can go beyond the tarriff by issuing extra bills in order to meet certain targets. It is sometimes very obnoxious. Some importers abandon their goods at the ports for that reason! Imagine you being asked to pay a duty of N2million for cargoes with value of less than 500k. You might be left with no option than to abandon the goods.

Nation's Assembly of Serial Scandals - NASS! Or what was that? or National Ass!

Won nyo ni. Won gbagbe pe ise kii paniyan.....

SCRAP THE PARLIAMENT!

WE CANT SEE ANY USE CONTINUING TO HAVE ONE!

They may have lost this case by that attempt to 'kidnap' a 7 month old! Rather callous!