₦airaland Forum

Openbusiness:
COVID 19 or not, the DEMAND for Nigeri's crude oil had gone down and not business as usual again as before, even before COVID happened. US is not only now a manufacturer of crude oil but has also become the largest exporter of crude oil. USA demand for Nigeria BLCO has gone down drastically and will continue to decline to ZERO. The fact that Nigeria is sti producing 2.2m bpd doesn't mean they are selling the product like that. Now they have to beg for buyers in Asia and Europe, a very competitive market dominated by Russia and Saudi and they are fighting for more Buyer's share of the market. Iran that is another major player is suffering from int'l embargo by US, once that is out of the way, they will be in the Buyer's market fully. As it is now, Nigeria's major buyer is India and China, and because the business is no longer is Nigeria's favor, Nigeria govt was already doing BUY NOW PAY LATER for selling crude oil to some customers to retain its market share. Then when Iran is back in the market fully, Nigeria buyer share will further reduce. Then the world is moving away towards green energy, which will further reduce demand from the top world economies who are your major buyers. So whether Nigeria likes it or not, the crude oil boom era is gradually moving to an end. And unfortunately, crude oil sector is the biggest exchange corridor for the naira. Outside of crude oil, how many economies are looking for the Naira to buy? That's when you will know that without crude oil, if the naira currency is opened to the global free market to determine the value of the currency, I swear what happened to Zimbabwe currency will be child's play compared to what will happen to the Naira. Without crude oil, it might even be $1 = N25,000

You don't trade with people you don't benefit from. Iran has stringent government policies that scare away foreign investors. A case study is UAE. Of all the 7 Emirates that make up the UAE, Dubai is the most liberal and that is why they are prosperous. Apart from buying and selling of crude oil, countries seek other trade corridors within their trade partners. Its almost certain that if you want to invest in consumer products and services in Africa, you first come to Lagos, Nigeria. These days, trade has gone beyond buying and selling, it is now about forging alliances. Yes, green energy is a new development but it has not been developed to the point of powering heavy engines. In Africa, the only thing we have is our natural resources that is why whenever western media wants to refer to Africa, they always paint the picture of natural resources. The united States were buying crude oil from Nigeria as a way of supporting our local economy, not necessarily because they need it. They target densely populated areas to form economic alliances and saturate their local economies with dollars thereby making them dependent.
Oil is still very important to world trade. If Nigeria wants to get it right, we need a president with the heart of Obasanjo, the mind of Jonathan and the brain of soludo.

Openbusiness:
Even at N500 per Dollar, i dey tell u, it is still subsidized. If they allow free flow market to determine currency value, Nigeria under this Buhari regime can sink as low as N1500 per dollar. If they born d government well, let them try it and kukuma sell d country on eBay. How many Nigeria crude oil ships are still parking on the ocean as they continue begging for buyers. Crude oil accounts for more than 90% of what makes other currencies exchange with naira. Now that crude oil sector is shaking, which other aspect of economy is making people want to exchange with naira, very few. That's why the govt keeps subsidizing the economy, if they don't Naira is finished and they know it.

In actual sense, this is just a spill over of the effect of covid 19 and the trade war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. This is how the oil market works. Opec has divided the production capacity of crude oil among its member states. This means that each oil producing country has a specific amount of crude oil it is expected to produce per day. As it stands, Saudi Arabia has the highest shares of crude oil production. Countries like Quatar, Venezuela, USA Russia Nigeria, Angola, Lybia etc all have a specific amount of crude oil they are expected to produce. This does not mean that they cannot exceed their production capacity, it means that if everyone sticks to his quota, then the oil market will not be saturated and hence they can maintain the price. ( noted that they do this to fight the forces of demand and supply). Nigeria produces 2.2 million barrels of crude oil daily, at this production capacity, they are able to sale off those barrels every day. If Nigeria decides to produce 3million barrels everyday(although our capacity is not up to that yet) they will have 800,000 barrels of crude oil without any buyer and may receive sanctions from OPEC.
So during the pandemic, countries kept on producing their daily capacity but 90 percent of the worlds industries were not working during the lockdown and hence there were many Ships loaded with crude oil on the seas without buyers and this made the crude oil prices to drop drastically. There was a day in April when crude oil traded for zero dollars. Now that industries and factories are beginning to reopen, the price of crude is gradually coming up. When there are no more ships waiting on the seas for buyers then we will return to full production again, this inturn will lead to an increase in the price of crude oil and an equivalent increase in forex for an oil dependent economy such as ours.

Firespitterz:
Except I don't get your points, lemme ask you

Is cost of living similar to quality of life? If a 3 bedroom flat is 500k in lagos and 250k in Onitsha, will you say it is because the standard of living in lagos is higher than that of Onitsha?

On quality of life, except you don't want to tell yourself the truth. There is no difference between lagos Island and lagos mainland except you live in makoko slum. The difference in pay and rent has nothing to do with quality of life as long as Nigeria is concerned because you are getting virtually nothing for price difference.

Why will you beg your landlord if your income source is certain like it is in western countries? This is a symptom of diseased country.

You can't just stop importing. There's a reason why Nigeria as a country is import dependent. It is not as if it is a hobby, it is borne out of necessities.


Edit: Now I got the point you are trying make. It is basically on saving. Shalom

Thank God you finally got the point. Quality of life and standard of living should not be confused. Quality of life refers to the basic amenities an individual has access to based on their location usually it is a government induced factor. (eg is electricity, medicare, infrastructure, education, etc) while standard of living refers to an individuals economic strength. For example, Obalende and ikoyi are both in Lagos Island LGA. If the Primary Health Care facilities in Lagos Island LGA are upto standard, then both the politicians and the low income earners can access the same health facility. This is Quality of life. Now the politician can decide to always have lunch at Dominos while a low income earner (aware that his financial strength is poor) can opt for a road side canteen. This is standard of living.
In summary, quality of life is a function of the government while standard of living is a function of an individual.

Openbusiness:
Mr man don't be clever by half, if you want to compare, compare of equal grounds. You can't be mentioning average business man in Nigeria and then saying average person in America. Why not say average business man in America too. Cuz that will expose your errors. Do you know how many millionaires America produces per year? Far far far better than your Nigeria.

All things being equal, is your university degree in Nigeria not equivalent to College degree in America? Or is a University degree in China not the same thing as a college degree in America?. Different names, same thing. Where you argue is when you compare the value of of both degrees. This is the reason why I get so angry when government try their artificial solutions to make the naira strong. How can you keep on 'subsidizing' the naira? Allow the naira to flow in the market then you will know the exact equivalent of the currency. Officially, federal government is pegging the exchange value at 380 naira per dollar. But the actual value of the one dollar is close to 500 naira in the open market. What they do is this, when government wants to spend money in dollars, the CBN exchange for them at 380 naira per dollar ( same thing with people like dangote, otedola, Arthur Eze). This means that government is indirectly stealing 120 naira from the coffers of the nation to fund their spending. Now if we use the market value of the dollar which is 500 naira, and every one accesses dollar at the market value (including the government) then they will realise that Nigeria as a nation is actually spending more. This is the reason why there is hike in fuel price, electricity price etc. They are trying to use every avenue available to cushion the effect of the dollar on national spending. If Buhari was wise or if he surrounds himself with wise people, he will know that man Labour is still very cheap in Nigeria, hence he will ban importation of EVERYTHING we can locally produce. Cheap labour is one of the most important factors in production. Do you know that Apple prefers to manufacture its gadgets in China than in America?. This is because labour is cheap in China. Using cheap labour will save a lot of forex for us then we can focus on learning to manufacture those things we can not produce in Nigeria.
Here is a secret the west will not tell you; Oil is still VERY VERY valuable although its not the cleanest source of energy but they have been able to understand the mechanism of action of crude oil to a very high extent. In china for instance, they can develop any kind of machine you want as long as it works on crude oil derivatives. These machines work in the same principle ( conversion of chemical energy into mechanical energy).
P. S. I study economics for fun.....

Openbusiness:
Let's not even talk about exchange rate alone, let's look at it from the angle of quality of life and the purchasing power within the local economy. Nigeria produces garri locally, all raw materials to manufacture garri are local based. How is the cheapest garri? A very tiny nylon is N20. Go to America and Europe. Do you know what $20 or £20 can buy as per locally manufactured goods in those places? You can buy more than 20 units of full big boxed cereals. Some cost like 50 cents per box, that means you can buy 40 of those types with $20. Yet one idiot liar is still concocting useless lies that Naira is more valuable. In America, you can buy a latest 2020 car with about $25,000. Car that they manufactured in their country. Innoson claims to be manufacturing cars and 80% of their manufacturing materials are produced locally. Ok if that's true, which Innoson car can you buy for N25,000? Or what's the cheapest Innoson brand new car? Probably nothing less than N4m, yet they claim Naira is better. Rubbish post!

You still miss the point. Strength of a currency does not lie in the digit number but in the value of such currency in the international market. Value is the watch word and not digit. High school in the US is the same as Secondary school here in Nigeria. College degree in the US is the same as University degree in Nigeria. Where the disparity comes is when you begin to measure the value of education offered abroad as compared with what is obtainable here in Nigeria.
This simply means that you should not focus on the digits of a currency but on the strength of the currency. Here is what it means; if the federal minimum wage in America is 1000 dollars per month, and the federal minimum wage in Nigeria is 480k per month, then it means people in both countries earn exactly the same amount of money irrespective of the fact that the amount in Naira is way higher than the amount in dollars but the value is equal( if the exchange rate is 480 naira per dollar).
P. S. The minimum wage values I used are not real. Its just an analogy.

Firespitterz:
It is not inhuman to drive taxi in abroad. Graduates Fry akara in Nigeria too. It is only inhuman if you pay is not commiserate with what you give? In that case, is it not more human to sweep road as a graduate and receive 2000 dollars a month, than for you to work in a bank as a graduate and receive 200 dollar per month?

Most times, its not about the work you do, its about WHERE you do the work. Quality of life life differs from one place to another. For instance, here in Lagos, house rents are generally more expensive on the island than on the mainland. A house of 1million naira on the mainland may go for 700k or 800k on the mainland. So if an individual earns 500k a month and lives on the island (where things are more expensive) and another individual earns 350k and lives on the mainland where things are not so expensive you discover that both of them enjoy the same amenities irrespective of the fact that their salaries differ. This post is not in defense of Nigeria (because things westerners take for granted are seen as luxury here), but to further prove that someone who earns 2k dollars sweeping streets abroad may have the same savings with someone who earns 400k frying akara in Nigeria. In Nigeria you can beg your landlord to extend your due date to pay rent but overseas you dont even know who your landlord is. Tell me why you need dollars and I will show you how our government has failed us.
In conclusion, As long as the status quo remains, we spend less on our local commodities( things we produce locally like from raw materials to finished products.) and spend more when we patronize imported goods. Unfortunately, the west has an upper hand internationally because we are an import dependent economy. If we stop importing, we will grow. If we continue importing, then the dollar continues dictating the strength of our economy.

Notatribalist:
Is not about how much you earn,it's about how easily the money fly's .

Do you think everyone in America is rich? Or do you think making money and having something to save is easy overseas?...Have you ever asked yourself what type of jobs Nigerians do when they go to the west?
Our graduates sweep streets, they walk dogs, they drives taxies and work in restaurants, and these are jobs they are not willing to do here in Nigeria. If we enjoy same things Americans or Europeans enjoy( electricity, good education, good health care, good security, efficient tranport services etc) No Nigerian will like to leave for the west where they suffer inhumane conditions just to survive.

Its always good we do our research before writing a post of commenting on a post. In this article, the OP tried to compare goods and services we produce locally to goods and services produced locally in the western world. While he has some valid points, his analogy was not holistic.
Lets look at it from this angle; The world sees the US dollar as a global currency. If a nation or an individual wants to trade internationally, he/she has to convert his funds into the dollar in other to trade. In Nigeria for instance, our naira is a second class currency, so when ever you deposit 1000 naira in a bank, the CBN only views such funds using the lens of the dollar. It simply means that taking the current 460 Naira per dollar, an individual who has 1000 Naira in his bank account only has a little above 2 dollars. Its the exchange rate should drop to about 200 Naira per Dollar, it means that same individual now has 5 dollars domiciled with the CBN. Like someone said above, the average wage in America is $4800 ( not sure about this though), this loosely translates to #2208000. How many people earn more than 2million naira per month in Nigeria.
The CBN does not even keep your funds in Naira, the keep the dollar equivalent for you and that is why even our own National reserves are kept in dollars.
Here is the trick which confuses many people. The value/strength of a currency is not reflected on the digits of the currency, it is rather a function of the purchasing power parity (PPP) and global acceptibility. What this means is that, the british pounds may have a lower digit strength than the dollar, but its not stronger than the dollar in the international market. 1$ is equivalent to 0.79 pounds sterling, but when you want to trade internationally, you still have to convert to the dollar. That does not mean the British pounds is weak. Another instance is comparing a successful and developed nation like Japan to America. The Japanese Yen trades at 105yen per dollar. This doesn't mean Japan as a country is doing badly.
Ask yourself this question, If you earn 50k in Nigeria, will you be paid 50,000 dollars for the same exact jobe you do in Nigeria in America??

May God console the families of the affected persons. And to everyone who will read this, Please always drive safely even if you are going to the street close to your house.

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The mercy of God knows no bounds. No matter where you are, (even in the grave) God's mercy can locate you. The Grace of God does not care how long you have sinned or the magnitude of your sins. Just go on your knees and tell God that you are sorry and all your sins will be forgiven.
why do you think Jesus left heaven to come to earth and pay for our sins? When Adam sinned and brought death into this world, God sought out a way of redeeming mankind into himself. The Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. If a man Like you or myself had died for our sins, ity will amount to an imperfect being offering a perfect sacrifice! Even your blood can not wash away your own sins talk more of the sins of the world.
In summary, accept Jesus immediately after reading this. This afternoon might be too late. Infact 10mins from now might be too late.

LadyExcellency:
The Petroleum Equalisation fund Management Board is a scheduled Parastatal of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources ,established by Decree No. 9 of 1975 (as amended by Decree No. 32 of 1989 ), mainly to administer Uniform Prices of Petroleum products through out the country.

THE IMPLICATION OF EQUALISATION PROCESS
 
i. The consumer pays the in-built transportation cost of N2.99 per litre irrespective of where the products are purchased, whether in zone 1 or in zone 9.

ii. Transportation cost is related to distance travelled between the points of lifting the products (Depots) and the points of sale (outlets).

iii. The marketer serves as an agent of the PEF (M)B in collecting the allowance built-into the price structure, and transfers same to the board for equalisation or bridging purposes.

Interesting. It simply implies that states or cities closer to the deport gets the price at a cheaper rate than states/cities farther away.

LadyExcellency:
There is nothing like deregulation without abolishment of Petroleum Products Equalisation Fund.

Remove Equalisation Fund and see petrol sell N150 in Rivers State and N300 in Sokoto State.

Partial deregulation is nonsense.

Northern Politicians can't remove Equalisation Funds to avoid being beheaded.

Please explain more on Petroleum products Equalization Fund

Higher a PR expert mr Speaker

Kido90:
You're standing truth in its head.
The Oba said he has been following the case between the Gov and Oshiomole. That he tried resolving the issue at the brewing stage. But, Obaseki was not forth coming.

Oshiomole did not arrange the attack on the Gov in his village but Philip did. You saw pictures and videos of Phillip and his thugs invading Iyamo that day.

The shooting in Jattu the day before APC rally was carried out by PDP. They also destroyed the stage in Ihievbie and beat up APC members. This was done by Andrew, the LG Chairman who is very loyal to Philip.

The Oba has his intelligence. There are a litany of evil activities perpetuated by PDP known to the public.

Weep No More.

Bro you are yet to understand Nigerian politics. Both PDP ands APC are the same. Our youth should stop being willing tools in the hands of these politicians. Let them call their children and give them guns to perpetuate the crime for them. The earlier we realise that these people are irredeemable in their selfish interests the better for us.

WATCHOVER:
Nice thread.

But my only concern is the way the Oba handled the peace process, which is a bad omen from the Palace, by specifically reprimanding only the governor and the deputy, was wrong Judgment which can heat up the fight as day draws near.
Failure on his part to also reprimand Kabaka, Oshiomhole who went about sending thugs to attack the governor most especially from Oshiomhole's village was a wrong step taken by the Oba.

From this scenario, it will be a persive sign that the Palace was aware and supported attack on the governor and other PDP entourage who were booed by APC supporters when they came to the Palace for blessings.

It high time the Palace knows that the voice of the people is the voice of God.

So I urge the Palace to be neutral and not let sentiments draw Edo State backward.

God bless Edo State.
God bless Nigeria

The royal throne of Benin is sacred but its also important we note that this throne is occupied by a human being, which simply means that the Oba of Benin may have his shortcomings as a human being. I am also aware that the Oba's opinion holds a lot of weight and can easily influence the people of Edo state.
My advice is to Edo indigenes. Please do not listen to any religious or political leader. Do not listen to your friends or family. Listen to your heart and vote for that candidate who appeals more to your conscience.

To the Good People of Edo state, I bring you greetings.
It's another four years in the political calendar of your state. This is a time when politicians go to the ballot to test their popularity. There have rising tension in the political atmosphere in Benin and other parts of the state. You have just one choice before you; To elect a governor who will represent your best interests. Please pay no attention to the gimmicks potrayed by this politicians. Vote for a candidate based on your personal conviction. PDP and APC are two sides of the same coin.
Obaseki was governor for four years under APC. If he did not represent your interest during his time in APC, what makes you think he will represent your interest simply because he has decamped to PDP?. Political parties are just umbrellas covering the thieves in our political system.
In 2016, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was at the same party where Obaseki is presently. He may not even be better than Godwin Obaseki.
Please do not mortgage your lives for the next four years based on political gimmicks. Vote according to your conscience. If you are convinced Obaseki will perform better than his first term, then go ahead and vote for him. Same applies to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Gratias!!!

jayjaycee0:
When was the last time you saw a Ghanaian littering the streets of Nigeria. You shut your borders on them. killing their own SMEs as most depend on Nigeria market to break even, they increased their capital base for business start up, you re here shouting brotherliness... Gbaja head is not correct. Be the first brother by opening up your borders

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12262763_12129508screenshot202001091239442jpeg6013487c95f5b4fed2544bbbaa7ee987_jpeg59b74f4419b512935e495bb5a3ebd7bd

Nobody asked them not to sell in Nigeria. They are always free to export their goods through the sea and clear it at Nigerian ports so that the government can earn import duty. They're crying because they thrive in smuggling their products into the country and selling them to make money. I am not a fan of this government though.

The governor has his reasons.

Requiescat in pace padre...

Umahi will actually outperform all former presidents combined together.

He actually played like a man in a coffin. If only he knew he would be in a coffin the next day.... RIP pilot.

Uchek:
You are a dullard - with sincere apologies.

It takes a dullard to recognize another dullard. No apologies given.

Thank God no life was lost.

Dont bother about death because when you die, you wouldn't even know you are dead. God has sqeezed out an insignificant portion of eternity and he called it time. Out of this phenomenon called time, he has also squeezed out another insignificant portion of TIME and given to everyone alive. Live your life for God and love your family every other thing is meaningless.

Fash20:
Lol... Some people still believes in this shit hole

Yea Nigeria is a shit hole but as long as this lifetime is concerned you'll always be a Nigerian unless Biafra is achieved then maybe you will leave Nigeria that's if you are from the old eastern region.

[quote author=SUFFERInSMILIIN post=92862997]I do not think strong institutions is the solution. It is difficult to manage strong institution when you have a population which is mostly illiterate which belief stealing and voting for criminals is the way of life. When I was in United Kingdom some years ago I met a Nigerian professor and he was telling Nigerians in UK they do not have a choice they must support a criminal. For god sake this is a professor telling Nigerian community and people in the Nigerian community that they do not care about suffering it is better they follow their own criminal. Strong institutions cannot work when you have population which are mostly illiterate if the educated professors which are Nigerians outside the Country are illiterate only thing you see them doing running after criminals[/quote
Before you are giving the go-ahead to seek public office in developed nations you have to go through what is called" Background check". If we have strong institutions who do this check, we will be able to sieve out these criminals. Dont forget the our leaders are products of our society. It is because this present crop of leaders are not subjected to this method of separating good people from bad people that is why we end up having criminals occupying positions of authority in Nigeria. In saner climes, Buhari, Tinubu, oshomole, should all be behind bars. How can we have people like Akinwumi Adesina or Charlse Soludo, and we are killing ourselves planning to sell the presidency to thieves??

PROUDIGBO:
Anyone trying to blame ‘bad leadership’ and ‘bad media’ for the woes of Nigeria today is just being evasive of the real issues! Those are symptoms of the major problem facing Nigeria and not the genesis of it!

The number one problem facing Nigeria today is the faulty political and economic structure on which it’s built! Fix that, and watch most of these problems either fade into oblivion or become bite-sized and manageable!

Political structure will not and cannot solve our problems as a nation. To some extent, our economy will need to be built and that will not happen suddenly. The best form of building a sustainable country is by building strong, robust and efficient institutions. If you have a strong institution, even if a goat is the president, the country will still work. Lee kuan Yew built strong institutions in Singapore and today, the country is still very successful. The solution is STRONG INSTITUTION.

As long as Africa is concerned, Nigeria is still better than any other country in this continent. We just have bad leadership and bad media. It took America more than 200years to perfect their democracy, although we will someday perfect ours, but its going to be a while longer. Have you ever wondered why in ALL action Hollywood movies you see especially when it concerns US military and middle eastern countries or war torn countries like Somalia, American soldiers ALWAYS wins? They are trying to paint a picture that their military is the best in the world. Have you also wondered why the English media over hype any White English footballer in the premier league? They are also painting a picture that they are better than others. So tge earlier Nigerian media begin to sell out positive images of Nigeria, the more the world will begin to appreciate this great country.

I need an apartment within palmgrove, pedro, akoka, or new garage. If I get a room mate the its fine. Preferably a self contained or an affordable flat.