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.
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 to London is ₦2,103,666
while Arik Business is ₦551,545
yet our elite still fly British Airways
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.
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?
In
fact what is wrong if every family in Nigeria has a poultry in their
backyard to give them eggs and meat?
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 1 Billion Naira 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.
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?
Obviously
we can not cut ourselves off from the world. No nation is
an island, but at least we can fly Nigerian airlines, eat locally produced
food and patronize our football league.
If
we do this, not only will our economy grow and produce jobs for Nigerians,
it will also make our goods and services improve in value
such that they will be attractive enough to be imported.
I
bought Innoson vehicles as official cars for my staff. I have never
lived to regret it one day. They are comfortable and durable.
But
most of all, I know that my purchase helps to keep jobs in Nigeria
and improve the value of the Naira.
I
urge you to do the same. We have no other country but Nigeria and
it is you and I that will make it what it is.
If
we buy Naija, we will grow Naira My
name is Ben Murray-Bruce and I just want to make
#Commonsense
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