By Eruobodo

A currency’s value is what is can fetch those who use it as a means of exchange!

Those in America use dollars and those in the UK use pounds sterling. Emiratis use Dirhams and Indians Rupees. Nigerians therefore use the Naira.

The Naira today, is equivalent to 600 units to the GB£ and 500 units to the US$.

Though we are quick to lampoon the Naira as worthless, but let us compare how much value each of these currencies equivalents fetch their owners/holders, within their borders?

In the US, a dollar ($) may not buy you more than a small bottle of water, while N500 will buy you a pack of 12 of the same bottles of water in Nigeria!

A pound (GB£) may not buy you even a small loaf of bread in London, but in Lagos, N600 will buy you and your partner, breakfast for 2, consisting of one N250 big loaf of bread, 4 fried eggs and 2 bottles of water!

Days ago, I bought 50 pcs of medium size oranges from the Ketu fruit market for N1,000, that’s just $2! I bought 3 pineapples for N500 ($1)!

A litre of fuel costs N160 in Lagos, but cost $0.86 (N430) in New York! While I know people who pay cad1,700 (N500,000) per month for their glorified room and parlour self-contained in Ottawa, that is what a friend pays in 6 months, for a 2 bedroom apartment, with separate toilet, bathroom and proper kitchen, in a good place around Oshodi!

So why do Nigerians make so much noise over the value of their currency, when it still fetches them more value than the other currencies that they pitch the Naira against? The answer is simple: the “values” of Nigerians!

While Nigerians reacted with consternation at Dino Melaye’s obnoxious display of his stolen wealth, the average Nigerian behaves exactly like Dino Melaye! From the man on the streets to the Churchpreneurs who claim to represent God!

They produce nothing, but want to flaunt everything!

Someone lamented to me about his wife’s tenant, who has failed to pay N120,000 rent, for nearly a year, but slaughtered a ram and made festivities, worth N150,000, during the last Moslem “Ileya” festival!

Ask me what the idiot produces? Zilch!

Had this same debtor taken the N150,000, wasted on the one day feasting to the market, it will be more than enough to set up a fried Yam, sweet potatoes, Akara business, that can net him N300,000 monthly, and take him out of poverty and debt forever!

So, because Nigerians are unproductive at home, but consume from used clothes, to fake hair and eye lashes, to even PMS, from the abroad, they keep whining about the value of the dollar/pound-sterling against their currency.

There are universities in Nigeria, and I had my education entirely in Nigeria! So, if I chose to send my children abroad, what is the headache of the government in my personal decision, should the currency in their country of choice prove unaffordable to me? Who send me?

My personal definition of the problem with Nigeria is that, the policies of the State are manipulated to suit the indulgences of certain classes of Nigerians, who feed fat on the miseries of the masses.

Government resorted to importing fuel because some privileged Nigerians criminally destroyed our refining capacities. Rather than punish them, we put the punishment on Nigerians.

Government “subsidized” the same imported fuel, to create artificial opportunities for some privileged people to loot our treasury, under the artificially created system of “subsidies”.

These Nigerians and their fraudulent economists should stop fooling themselves about the poor exchange rates of the nation’s currency. 95% of the citizens of this country need food, water, Medicare, etc, obtainable in Naira!

If some useless, lecherous and unproductive, yet entitled, vanity flaunting elements like Dino Melaye, need foreign currencies to feed their insanity, what has that got to do with Nigeria?

If you want to indulge in the zero nutrition Orange, imported from wherever and sold at times ten that of super tasting Oranges from Benue, must Nigeria care about your price plight? Who send you?

If you chose Pizza over Aboki freshly cooked spicy bread and eggs, please find enough Naira to indulge in your borrowed Italian taste. #KokanAye!

This argument over our poor currency is a lie of the elite to pass their problems as everyone’s!

Days ago, I made a 4 litre bowl of cooked beans (enough to feed at least 8 adults) from a N200 ($0:40) measure of beans! Add another N500 ($1) worth of sweet potatoes, and you have a super nutritious meal for 8 adults!

That’s less than $3 in total, N1,500 (including the costs of other stuff like onions, peppers and oil), to feed 8 adults?

Before you complain that the Naira is weak, tell me what you need the foreign currencies for, and #Eruobodo will show you how you and Dino Melaye are related!

http://opinions.ng/the-value-of-the-naira-a-revelation-of-the-values-of-nigerians/

If you don't know how you are blessed, you will think your own father's farm is worst more than your friend father's farm. $1 is #500 and so what? Let me explain my little knowledge. Can anybody in the USA use $1 for breakfast but in Nigeria of today, #500 will feed you for good breakfast and great lunch. Majority of people monthly house rent in the USA is $1,000 and above and that is your own one year rent. When last did you pay insurance, my insurance is $280CAD and that is almost #100,000 monthly.

When last you pay monthly phone bills? I pay almost #40,000 monthly and if I don't they are going to block my sim. Your own MTN can be there for months without interruption. Should I continue the comparison? When last did you work on Saturday and Sunday, I am working at present and over a few months, I work almost every day. Maybe your own owanbe is Saturday work for you every weekend. Don't get me wrong, the USA is better than Nigeria but do you want to hear the truth, So many people in Nigeria have better life compared to people abroad. Forget about all packaging on social network and credits for life standard of living.

Do you know why they always come to Nigeria and rushing back quickly within a few weeks, bills are counting in abroad and little freedom will put their life into miserable life in abroad. If some people in abroad try to live the way you are enjoying your life in Nigeria, whala go enter for them.

If God bless you in Nigeria, you don't know what you have until you get that visa and relocate to abroad, that is when you will know that your 8hrs job in Nigeria with owanbe weekend parties is a blessing because you will understand abroad with 8hrs job to pay bills and another 6 to 8 hours to save for the future and plan your life. The truth is that the grass is green everywhere, laziness and lack of passion put Nigeria into a bad name for many people and maybe if they are working the way it is done in abroad, maybe it will be better for them. Ire ooo

the fact are there but this comparison make no sense

At Least you have peace of mind there,here we don't have, every minute bandits did this, attacked here and there,police man shot an orange seller,you have good and steady electricity,clean water supply, good and motorable roads oya ask us how we are managing since the raining season began,do they kidnap there? But here almost every minute someone is missing.uncle please enjoy your America in peace all we are praying for is a good and reasonable leader that won't harden his heart to the plights of the people....

Take the naira and give me the useless currency. Let even change places.
Come to the good Nigeria let me go to the useless foreign country.

Deborah98:
At Least you have peace of mind there,here we don't have, every minute bandits did this, attacked here and there,police man shot an orange seller,you have good and steady electricity,clean water supply, good and motorable roads oya ask us how we are managing since the raining season began,do they kidnap there? But here almost every minute someone is missing.uncle please enjoy your America in peace all we are praying for is a good and reasonable leader that won't harden his heart to the plights of the people....

"atleast you have peace of mind there" hahaha

Acjohn:
Take the naira and give me the useless currency. Let even change places.
Come to the good Nigeria let me go to the useless foreign country.

this ur mouth ehn

Deborah98:
At Least you have peace of mind there,here we don't have, every minute bandits did this, attacked here and there,police man shot an orange seller,you have good and steady electricity,clean water supply, good and motorable roads oya ask us how we are managing since the raining season began,do they kidnap there? But here almost every minute someone is missing.uncle please enjoy your America in peace all we are praying for is a good and reasonable leader that won't harden his heart to the plights of the people....

Violence is everywhere, especially if you're an immigrant, Black Lives Matter was born out of violence perpetrated by their law enforcement personnel, do you know number of such cases that has gone under the carpet? Go to the prison and check the number of blacks in there. Was it not on this forum we saw a black man wrongly accused that spent 44 years in prison, why didn't that happened to a white man? The issue of violence is underreported because they have power over media.

Still trying to figure out what you symbolizing..

Trash trash trash if you agree lets change place?

Acjohn:
Take the naira and give me the useless currency. Let even change places.
Come to the good Nigeria let me go to the useless foreign country.

You won't know what you have until you lost it, all we need to do is just to make our leaders accountable,.

What a world of contradiction that you're apparently writing this from a better, developed country.

Why did you leave Nigeria in the first place? Oops , no job? No businesses to do? You couldn't get a place to fry akara, sweet potatoes and the likes?

If you were in Nigeria, and making all these analysis and comparisons, I would've listened to you . But you're not.

Come back and leas from the front in making our leaders accountable.

seguntijan:


Violence is everywhere, especially if you're an immigrant, Black Lives Matter was born out of violence perpetrated by their law enforcement personnel, do you know number of such cases that has gone under the carpet? Go to the prison and check the number of blacks in there. Was it not on this forum we saw a black man wrongly accused that spent 44 years in prison, why didn't that happened to a white man? The issue of violence is underreported because they have power over media.

my brother violence is everywhere,yeah I saw the thread where a man spent 44 years in prison,he was wrongly accused,it is well,that is why we must never relent in our prayers, let's God's will for sure be done on Earth as it is in Heaven...

The OP is right to an extent, but he went overboard in the second part of his post.
When we talk about exchange rate, it's also important for us to factor in cost of living and that's the core of the OP's message.
My friends who earn upwards of $1500 a month here live like big boys. We all know it's impossible to live big on 1500 USD in the West.

Juliusmomoh:

"atleast you have peace of mind there" hahaha

It's funny, but how will you feel if you're been thought how to prepare for Earthquake, Typhoon, Wildfire, and even when Bomb scare. If you're black, God help you not to walk majestically in a white dominated environs.

@OP, I love your courage, having spent 15-16yrs in the US as a student, also learn some IT skills, what I've been able to achieve in the last 10yrs in Nigeria, still perplexed my friends in the states till now.
Naija, let's learn to develop this country together as ONE!

aliyuthayo:


It's funny, but how will you feel if you're been thought how to prepare for Earthquake, Typhoon, Wildfire, and even when Bomb scare. If you're black, God help you not to walk majestically in a white dominated environs.

@OP, I love your courage, having spent 15-16yrs in the US as a student, also learn some IT skills, what I've been able to achieve in the last 10yrs in Nigeria, still perplexed my friends in the states till now.
Naija, let's learn to develop this country together as ONE!

"Naija, let's learn to develop this country together as ONE! "....u just de make me laugh .... Country wey don spoil finish.... Am currently looking for a VISA to run from your so-call NAIJA..

Juliusmomoh:

"Naija, let's learn to develop this country together as ONE! "....u just de make me laugh .... Country wey don spoil finish.... Am currently looking for a VISA to run from your so-call NAIJA..

Goodluck my brother ooo

aliyuthayo:

Goodluck my brother ooo

Amen o

@op comfortably forgot to mention the ease it takes to make/earn those monies...yes in Nigeria you'll live like a big boy with $1500 and you can't do that abroad but how easy is it to make $1500 here?

Over there, they have more jobs paying per hour. For instance, On an average a writing job pays $50 (20,500) for a 1500 word article. Enter Nairaland and your average pay for a 1500 word article is 3k (@2 per word). So what are we talking about?

There's no way to spin it, Nigeria is terrible and that's a fact. It's a thing that happens when people get a little disappointed at life abroad, they start to feel that maybe Nigeria is not that bad. Just come back home and find out.