“Have you ever wondered why European Premiership clubs are so interested in Nigeria? It is because Nigerians spend billions traveling to Europe to watch their games, buy their merchandise and promote their leagues. Yet, back at home, we would not be caught dead watching our own local league. If we will not spend money on made-in-Nigeria goods and services, how can we expect our Naira to hold its value and appreciate?” – Senator Ben Murray-Bruce
Many Nigerians are complaining about the
constant fall in the value of the naira and they blame the government. But is
the government really to blame? In truth, our insatiable appetite for all
things foreign is to blame. No nation can become great if it is clothed,
serviced and fed by other nations. It just will not happen. In lay man’s terms,
a nation’s currency is like a promise by the issuing authority, in this case
the Nigerian Government, to pay holders of the currency. In other words,
currency is an assurance by a government on goods and services.
What happens when we spend our naira
buying imported items and not made-in-Nigeria products is that our government
is assuring the nation’s from which those imports come from and not our own
nation. So imagine this scenario, imagine that Nigeria and other nations are
football teams. How can we win if our supporters club keeps patronizing other
teams and not our own football team?
This is the self-inflicted injury we have
inflicted on our dear naira and instead of blaming ourselves we are blaming
government. I always fly Arik business class whenever I am traveling abroad
except Arik does not fly on that route. Not only is an Arik ticket a fraction
of the cost of a British Airways ticket, but the money I pay to Arik circulates
in Nigeria and helps firm up the naira’s value. As I speak to you today, a
British Airways business class to London is N2,103,666 while Arik business
class is N551,545, yet our elite still fly BA.
But though Arik offers an affordable
alternative to British Airways and other foreign airlines, our big men prefer
to pay double what Arik charges to BA and other foreign airlines for the same
services and yet they complain about the value of the naira. Arik’s planes are
brand new and are more comfortable than British Airways. I know that for a fact
because I have flown both. If we do not fly Arik, who would?
I have Nasco cornflakes and I have eaten
Kellogs cornflakes. In terms of nutrition and taste they are almost
indistinguishable. Yet our elite who will rather eat Kellogs than Nasco
cornflakes, wonder why the naira is falling! Even something like Quaker Oats
can be substituted with corn meal known locally as pap. Obasanjo Farms of
Nigeria and other large scale poultry farms have the capacity to provide
chicken for the entire nation. Since that is the case, why are we even buying
imported chicken?
Imported chicken may be cheaper in
financial terms but it is more expensive in health terms. These birds are
heavily treated with various chemicals to plump them up and preserve them and
artificially enhance their taste and by the time they hit our shores they are
not as safe to consume as our domestic chicken. In fact, what is wrong if every
family in Nigeria has a poultry in their backyard to give them eggs and meat?
It is feasible. It is not beneath us.
My steward went to Makoko, which is one of
the largest fishing communities in Lagos. He wanted to buy fish and they were
selling imported frozen fish!
Yet in the very waters in front of them, there exist fresh fish that is more nutritious than the cheap frozen fish they were selling. We keep spending over N1 billion importing rice when our own farmers are capable of meeting our national demand for rice. But for some reason, Nigerians just prefer to buy imported rice. The imported rice we buy in Nigeria is not as good as our local rice because it has been stored for years in silos and treated with chemicals.
Yet in the very waters in front of them, there exist fresh fish that is more nutritious than the cheap frozen fish they were selling. We keep spending over N1 billion importing rice when our own farmers are capable of meeting our national demand for rice. But for some reason, Nigerians just prefer to buy imported rice. The imported rice we buy in Nigeria is not as good as our local rice because it has been stored for years in silos and treated with chemicals.
Moreover, every time you buy it, your
money is going out of Nigeria to service an economy in Asia. The end result is
that their currency gains value while ours loses value. Have you ever wondered
why European Premiership clubs are so interested in Nigeria? It is because
Nigerians spend billions traveling to Europe to watch their games, buy their
merchandise and promote their leagues. Yet, back at home, we would not be
caught dead watching our own local league.
