By Babs Oyetoro, David Lawani
Despite the Federal Government’s efforts to re-position the economy by laying a strong foundation that will subsist over time, Nigerians seem to have run out of patience with President Bola Tinubu’s policy which they claimed has increased their sufferings.
It is most disturbing that the naira has continued to fall in the parallel market despite all efforts to stem the slide by the government proved abortive.
To a large extent, this development has further weakened the purchasing power of an average Nigerian in the face of a high inflationary trend.
In a bid to find a solution to the seemly protracted economic situation in the country, ThisNigeria sought the opinions of some informed Nigerians on this vexed issue.
*Want quick fix of refineries
Commenting on this issue was a University Don, Prof Enaruna Edosa of the University of Benin, except some radical decisions are taken the country will continue to oscillate in a circle without making genuine progress.
“The Federal Government should urgently fix the country’s refineries and subsidize petrol and diesel in the interim before these refineries begin to function in full capacities.
“The naira can’t be strong when people don’t have confidence in the country and economy, and when productivity is low and people can’t go to work and operate their companies.”
He, however, maintained that the Government should put some measures in place for the diversification of the economy which will serve as alternative ways to boost foreign exchange earnings.
He also noted that the major source of foreign exchange for the country is crude oil, but sadly a large quantity is stolen and largely unaccounted for.
Nigeria’s rising food prices unabating- NBS report
“It is incumbent on the government of the day to concentrate on agricultural products like rubber, palm oil, cotton cocoa, groundnut, as well as mineral products like gold, and bitumen to boost nation’s foreign earnings,” he noted.
*Provision of soft loans for SMEs
The Government should also urgently provide soft loans to genuine manufacturers and Small and Medium Scale entrepreneurs and enterprises to promote the production of essential goods and services.
Also, a former bank manager and now Management and Investment Consultant, Francis Nwakor lent his voice to the discussion stating that the inability of the government to address the abnormalities in the foreign exchange regime has led to high inflation in the country thereby leading to price hikes on goods and services.
Nwakor said the solution is for the foreign exchange market to reduce round-tripping and also make forex available to the key sectors.
According to him: ” My opinion on the continued economic woes which is as a result of the downward plummeting of the naira is that simple economics will tell you that the exchange rate is a function of demand-supply.
“That is when you are more of a producing country, your demand for a universal currency like dollars will be at its lowest ebb and vice versa. But in the case of Nigeria, the reverse is the case because we are a consuming nation that even imports basic items like toothpicks.
“As a result, there is so much pressure on the naira which ultimately leads to its free fall.
This is because the country’s only source of foreign income is from the sale of crude oil.
“When the demand for dollars is high, it automatically jack up the value. From this elementary analysis, the country must rejig the real sector by putting the necessary infrastructures in place to drive production.
“The second step is to put regulatory measures in place to reduce the abnormalities in the foreign exchange market reducing round tripping and also making forex available to the key sectors.
“These measures have to be holistic to drive the economy to a recovery path. Good Fiscal policies have to be introduced to stem the irregularities in the country’s monetary policies”.
