How We Wrecked Nigerian Economy With Our Own Hands

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 400 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 Indigenization Decree, has been the creation of us Nigerians.

Back Then We Had A Booming Nigerian 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. 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 high life 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 symbolize 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 Oyinbos 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 tomorrow in my Saturday column in This Day 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 curricular.

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 Oyinbo.

But don’t forget that there is a payback time: Worth sharing again. I must equally add, there is nothing wrong in wearing designers but it’s the misplaced priority over the lives of children and the economy of a whole nation.

Remember that Because you can afford it, does not make it compulsory to have it.

Please share this on Facebook and Twitter. Lets make this article viral, let us begin to solve our own problems.

Pro Consultant Asked on September 5, 2016 in Management.
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As a new member to this site, and not a native from Nigeria, but native of Africa. I am a white African living in South Africa, and see myself as part of this great continent Africa. The article above is so spot on , and by this I mean it apply to almost every country in Africa. It is as if as soon a political power is attained , with it comes the riches of the country draining to the individuals pockets.

Forgotten is all the promises of pre-election propaganda, and all is forgotten and blame is just pointed to someone else, as the country keep bleeding dry. In South Africa we are staring down the barrel of a gun, waiting for results from a downgrading to junk status. Unemployment  is at a all time high, the South African Rand is currently at its low against the Dollar. Fuel price is at ridiculous high , food prices  only affordable by the elites, and corruption in almost in every sector.

No assistance for new business ventures, contracts are given only to the inner circles. Therefore, the system here only create elites. Nothing is done on merit, but purely on who’s to gain the most.  The people will suffer, and come election just new promises of rose gardens and rainbows, and then after that just back to the old ways.

The President is just jetting around the world, making deals for trading, but at the end its just imports as the country has no production or products to export. Industry growth is nearly non existent and this is the result of major unemployment with political intervention and legislation,

Africa was once the breadbasket of the world, now we are the basket of the world. Its time we wake up, have  a good look at ourselves, and stop blaming others. Change can only come from us.

Active Member Answered on November 23, 2016.
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This is the best article I have read so far on the situations of Nigeria. Succinct with striking details. We need to come together as a nation to think you know we need to stop blaming the government for everything although their corrupt practices and shortsightedness led us here. this is a country that has so many intellectuals so many bright and intelligent people. It’s so sad we are where we are now but I believe if we become wise together as a nation and start to Find solutions to our numerous and obvious problems, we will find a way out. We need to stop complaining and start acting. This is not just for individual gain alone, Nigeria is our root. We need to uproot the thorns , water it and grow it. Thanks to the author for this amazing reminder.

New Member Answered on September 11, 2016.
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God bless the author greatly. Let’s stop the blame game because all of us as rightly said have contributed to the problems of our dear nation. Let the change of attitude start from everyone of us now  not by expecting only those in government to change. I will start my own right away please.

God bless us all in Jesus name.

New Member Answered on September 12, 2016.
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See I can see that’s just a!asimc

New Member Answered on September 5, 2016.
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The economy is diversified.

Oil Gdp is less than 20%

The problem is our products are not enough for us in Nigeria talk less of being properly packaged to be exported .

It’s just governments revenue that’s not diversified

New Member Answered on September 6, 2016.

When did the diversification takes effect? Is it not recently? Do you think Nigeria’s problem started recently?
NO javi, its been compounding over the years

on October 17, 2016.
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