To President Muhammadu Buhari: Causes and solution to Naira fall against dollar

Your Excellency sir,

(TRADE NEWSWIRE): The free fall of Naira against dollar currency is a function prolonged inflation in the Nigerian economy among other factors and not caused by this present government of President Muhammadu Buhari, TRADE NEWSWIRE reports.

As a matter of fact, the pregnancy of the prolonged inflation was in top gear during the last administration but unfortunately put to bed during this administration with attendant effect –child of (Naira fall against dollar currency- Forex).

It should be noted that I have evidence to back up my stated position on this subject matter- prolonged inflation, with respect to research on Price of products between Jan 2012 and Dec 2012 conducted by TRADE NEWSWIRE and published in its January 2013 edition of magazine, find below details to that effect.

It is noteworthy that foreign exchange rates increases a times along with persisted, current and anticipated inflation with respect to weak economy like ours.

The problem is caused by excess money in circulation corruptly acquired by the few hands with no commensurate increase in local production activities which has caused inflation and consequently affecting our Naira currency. There is no doubt that if the money in circulation is more than the rate it is growing, it will lead to inflation.

Humble precautionary measures to safeguard the Naira fall

1, Don’t allow banks to borrow money in foreign currency more than the amount of their own lending capacity at home because banks could borrow overseas to benefit from lower international interest rates and thereby creates foreign currency mismatch i.e large movement in the exchange rates.

2, Don’t allow banks to have dollar denominated loans in the face of falling local currency

3, Don’t allow interest rates to go up in the banks due to the poor state of our economy, rather the Central Bank of Nigeria should find a way to possibly reduce it because if interest rates should increase, the banks must equally pay higher interest rate to depositors to avoid mismatch that could further affect the local currency and also loan default, as against strategy usually adopted by growing economies of raising interest rates to slow down domestic inflation. Nigeria has a peculiar problem and we must adopt peculiar solution.

4, Prudent management / monitoring of countries debt profile

5, Last but very important, Commercial and investment banks should be authorized to carry out detailed credit analysis of their Hedge Fund clients before they are allowed to give them credit and for other supervisory purposes.

6, Hedge Fund managers should monitored critically, this is important.

The published report as earlier suggested above

Household goods: Nigeria records 16% price increase in 2012 due to hike in cost of fuel, others – investigation

.Foodstuffs most affected
(TRADE NEWSWIRE): The prices of household goods in the Nigerian market recorded 16 per cent increase between January and December 2012 due to fuel price hike and other factors, investigation conducted by TRADE NEWSWIRE reveals.
The investigation conducted sampled the average selling price of some household goods, mostly of foodstuffs and beverages in markets located in Lagos and Ogun state area within the country.
The commonly consumed foodstuffs namely Palm oil and Garri recorded highest price increase during the period under review with 30 and 18 per cent increase respectively.
The increase in the said food items among others was largely due to increase in the price of fuel in January 2012, which had a consequential effect on every goods and services across the country.
The Federal Government had in January 2012 stopped paying subsidy to petroleum importers and said it would invest part of the $8bn (about N1.3tn) savings for long-awaited infrastructure upgrades and social programmes.
Meanwhile, it was the subsidy that had kept fuel affordable for Nigerians at an affordable rate, most of whom leaves on less than $2 a day.
The subsidy removal now makes petrol to be sold at N100 per litre from N65 per litre of petroleum product, an increase that led to skyrocketed increase in the price of goods in 2012.
It rubbed salt to the wounds of citizens, who see a little benefit from the country’s immense natural resources, as Nigeria produces about 2. 4m barrels of crude oil a day, and is a top supplier to the US, but nearly all its petrol products are imported after decades of graft, mismanagement and violence at refineries. An estimated $440bn was lost to corruption between 1960 and 1999.
According to a foodstuff seller in Ogun State, Mrs. Ngozi Okoronta, flood, trade-related challenges experienced across the border and increase in price of fertilizer among other factors were also contributory factors to increase in the price of household goods recorded in 2012.
She said in early 2012, a 25kg size of NPK fertilizer was sold for N3, 500 but increased to N7, 500 before the end of the year.
“Most farmers cannot afford the fertilizer at that price, even if they have seedlings to plant, they won’t be able to plant them because they can’t afford to buy fertilizer at that expensive price. So, there will be little to plant and harvest for sale, which will definitely increase the price of goods,” she said.
She cited an example of pumpkin vegetable leave (Ugwu leave) that was in some years back sold for N10 and had gradually increased to N50 per bunch, as the quantity of a bunch of the pumpkin vegetable kept on decreasing by the day, in spite of the fact that the price remained at N50 per bunch.
A beverage seller, Mr. Godwin of Hope in God stores also urged the government to find corrective measures to factors that led to unnecessary increase in the prices of goods to enable it to be within the reach of consumers.
Consumers, however, urged the government to reduce the price of fuel, fertilizer, find a solution to the flooding problem and equally look into trade issue at the nation’s borders to better the lot of Nigerians economically in 2013.
Price of products between Jan 2012 and Dec 2012

Data collated and calculated by TRADE NEWSWIRE (www.tradenewswire.net).

I will like the President to look into this proposal as possibly long-term proactive-solution to the nation’s economic problem

PROPOSAL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

BY: SULAIMAN ADENEKAN B.Sc (Hons) Bus Admin, MBA (Marketing), MNIMN, arpa

COMPANY: TRADE NEWSWIRE (www.tradenewswire.net)

POSITION: A STRATEGIST/ PUBLISHER

E-MAIL: [email protected]

PHONE: 08099400135, 08024437214

NOTE: The information below is my personal and humble opinion that was drafted in 2010 as a concerned citizen of Nigeria; this proposal welcomes review, criticism, correction and condemnation from the public where necessary to the benefit of Nigeria.

The increasing rate of motorcycle (Okada) riders, street urchins, and teenage traders are indicators of a failing economy as currently obtained in Nigeria and it requires urgent solutions.

Nigeria has flying problems but it uses crawling solutions to address them, solutions that will have little or no effect. Meanwhile, the country needs to use flying solutions for its flying problems to enable it have a headway economically.

This development, I think, will be better addressed with the establishment of Economic Intelligence Agency (EIA) as a watchdog of Nigeria’s economy, to identify opportunities, threats, weakness and strengths of the economy with focus on intelligence, analysis, trends and strategies.

1. Nigeria needs to establish Economic Intelligence Agency that will operate like the Central Intelligence Agency of United States of America or State Security Service of Nigeria to gather information on economic, business and industrial matters, because classified information that will genuinely transform the economy of any nation can rarely be read on the pages of the newspapers.
2. There is the need for EIA because government agencies operating in business/economic related fields can’t be monitoring the activities of companies/organisations operating under their scope 24 hours a day, but EIA will be on ground to inform government/ agencies on company’s activities that are inimical to the economy from time to time.
3. The EIA will be established through the Act of the National Assembly as an economic intelligence gathering agency to operate independently, but will report to the President to enable him/her take informed economic decisions for industrial development of Nigeria, aid the drafting of right economic policies, thereby serving as the Chief Economic Adviser of the country.
4. The EIA should be granted the power to summon director(s) of business organisations for questioning when necessary. Government agencies and advocacy groups should be given directives to cooperate with EIA in information sharing in the course of discharging its duties.
5. EIA will serve as the bedrock of Nigeria’s economic development, as it will unearth companies or individuals, either foreign or local operators whose business activities are threatening the nation’s economic development.
6. It will serve as a strategic instrument to fight against poverty by revolutionising Nigeria’s economy and consequently help move Nigeria from a developing economy to a developed economy.
7. The EIA will in the long run have its searchlight on all types of businesses in different sectors in the country.
8. The EIA will have all the necessary information relating to government economic policies, taxes and incentives among others at the federal, states and local government levels to enable it carry out its duties appropriately.
9. The EIA will collaborate with all government agencies, business associations; associations of company’s distributors to enable it discharge its duties appropriately.
10. The EIA will have A-Z information on all business organisations, trade unions, dealers, as they will be a veritable source of getting information on the activities of different companies.
11. The EIA will gather information on the ownership of every business organisation from time to time.
12. The EIA, in its internal operations, will also make use of local and international newspapers, television, radio, on a daily basis to get leads on economic/business information gathering.
13. The organisation structure will be divided into different business sectors: manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, telecommunication sector among others with sub-divisions, as there will also be sections for national economic matters and government policies.
14. Business associations and companies should be encouraged to make copies of advocacies, complaints or factors affecting operations of business/economic environment that are made known to the public or filed to relevant agencies available to EIA for scrutiny and follow up where necessary.
15. The EIA’s contact telephone number and E-mail should be given wide publicity on print and electronic media to enable it get enough information from the public.
16. A small handbook containing the contacts and functions of EIA should be distributed to all Youth Corps Members at the NYSC camp nationwide to sensitise them of the importance of the organisation to their economic empowerment, as the corps members will be a veritable source of information by the time they get into the labour market.
17. The EIA will also gather information on raw materials, machines needed to produce and offer various products and services to assist potential investors as well as aid the development of the economy.
18. The EIA will gather information on raw materials and finished goods that can be sourced locally or imported.
19. The EIA will investigate the factors responsible for Nigeria ’s inability to produce some products and the cause of the death of industries/companies that were formerly functional in which the products are now being imported.
20. The EIA will investigate (public or private) companies/organisations or personalities engaged in product faking and counterfeiting, and smuggling.
21. The EIA will gather information on other economic activities that may be inimical to the economic development of the country.
22. The EIA will visit exhibition centers in the country to gather information on activities of companies and collect contacts as the case may be for updating of its records.
23. The EIA will also partner some Public Relations firms to get some strategic information of the activities of some companies that are their clientele.
24. The EIA will liaise with media houses to collect document and speeches delivered at event attended by there reporters on a monthly basis for scrutiny of those speeches in order to get some leads.

ADVANTAGES OF EIA

1, It will serve as bedrock of economic development of Nigeria.

2, It will unearth companies or individuals either foreign or local whose operations are threatening to the nation’s economic development.

3, It will serve as a strategic weapon to fight against poverty.

4, It will help to put a stop to faking and counterfeiting of products as dealers can divulge such information where available to EIA.

5, It will make companies to behave themselves because they know that an organisation is watching their secrete operations.

6, It will make government regulatory agencies responsible for regulating certain business activities to take their duties seriously because they know that EIA will detect their mistakes on the part of those companies where they fail to act appropriately.

CHALLENGES OF EIA

1, Security threat to the lives of top executives of the EIA, especially the head of the agency from the business operators and their international collaborators who have for long constituted a threat to the development of Nigeria .

2, Corrupt tendencies on the part of EIA staffs who might be bribed to cover up some sensitive information.

3, Interference by foreign countries and some multinational agencies to distort and divert the nation’s attention to their benefit.

NOTE: The information above can as well be adopted by other African countries, underdeveloped, developing and developed economies.

May God guide our leaders aright.

NIGERIA SHALL BE GREAT

Sulaiman Adenekan

A strategist/ Publisher

TRADE NEWSWIRE (www.tradenewswire.net)