It is no news that Nigeria currently faces the worst currency crises in its history. Since the inception of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, a number of conflicting and unclear monetary policies have been implemented that have greatly eroded the value of the Naira and exacerbated the current economic crises.
These policies have been implemented against the backdrop of the lofty and commendable ideals to spur local production and consumption of goods and services, as well as efforts to boost the foreign reserves balance of the Nation.
However, the implementation of these command and control policies has achieved the complete opposite. These policies have eroded the value of the Naira to its lowest point in our history, while defeating the very objectives for which they were designed in the first place.
As a result of the implementation of these policies, Nigeria is suffering all the negative consequences of devaluation while enjoying none of its benefits. The data available to measure the relevant indices indicate that the policies are destroying the Nigerian economy.
For instance, these indices formed the basis for the recent comment by Frank Udemba Jacobs, President of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), to the effect that 2016 was the worst year for the manufacturing sector in Nigerian history.
Available data shows that more than 12,000 manufacturing sector jobs were lost in 2016 alone with more than 50 factories closing down. Unsold goods inventory for the sector exceeds N100billion.
The effect is not just on the manufacturing sector. The pharmaceutical sector is shedding thousands of jobs and the prices of life saving medication have doubled and in many cases tripled. An attached list of medication shows a minimum of 100% increase in most cases.
The aviation sector is currently plagued by high prices occasioned by scarcity of aviation fuel, Nigerians are currently suffering under the effects of kerosene scarcity and virtually any line of business that requires access to Forex is experiencing difficulty in accessing Forex for its operations.
For the sake of brevity, we will not continue to repeat our economic woes here.
The policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Buhari administration have created an opportunity for arbitrage. As a result, a certain group of people access Forex at dubious prices from CBN and sell at black market rates for a profit.
HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano and former Governor of CBN, alluded to these sharp practices in August 2016 while speaking at the 15th Joint Planning Board & National Council on Development Planning conference where he strongly condemned these policies and their effect in creating emergency billionaires.
It is against this backdrop that we have planned a peaceful procession to the CBN headquarters in Abuja to speak against these harmful policies which have been designed to favour a few people while destroying the businesses of the majority of Nigerians.
The procession is solely to register the displeasure of the vast majority of Nigerians regarding these policies that cause severe pain and hardship across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
It is not sponsored by any politician. While its promoters may have their political affiliations, the procession itself is not being done for any political objective other than the improvement of the life and welfare of the average Nigerian.
Should CBN be interested, several credible Nigerians with proven track records of expertise and results are willing to partner with it to chart a new course to immediately ameliorate the negative consequences of these challenges and put the Nigerian economy firmly on the path of economic growth.
In this light, we call on well-meaning Nigerians to join us in front of the Women Development Centre on Friday 13th January, 2017 by 09:00am. This location is directly opposite the headquarters of the Central Bank.
We hope that this intervention would mark the beginning of the implementation of new plans and policies to uplift the lives of the Nigerian people.
GOD BLESS NIGERIA
Signed
Adeyanju Deji
Conveyer
Adeoye Adelaja
Co- Conveyer