the serious, hot argument as to whether a strong naira is better for Nigeria
or whether a devalued Naira is better for Nigeria
which raged through the 1970s and the 1980s prior to the 1989 Naira devaluation
among educated Nigerians of various fields of learning
including those who claimed to have studied and understood deeply
courses related to the use and management of money e.g economics and finance, etc
is no longer an intellectual exercise.
re - a strong currency or a weak currency - which one is better for a national economy ?
and therefore also - which one is better for the Nigeria economy ? and which one should Nigeria practice ?
[ PERSONALITY IN PHOTO : RIHANNA ROBYN FENTY ]
[ PHOTO SOURCE : THE INTERNET ]
it stopped being an academic intellectual discussion in 1989
when Nigeria after a nation-wide debate involving the people
decided not to accept the IMF loan
dangled before it by the IMF( International Monetary Fund )
and to instead
implement Nigeria's own home grown Structural Adjustment Programme ( SAP )
which turned out to have a corner-stone policy of devaluation of the Naira
as seen and implemented via the then
First Tier Foreign Exchange Market
Second Tier Foreign Exchange Market
etc
and which saw the Naira going down in value and strength from N1 = $1 to N4 = $1
to it's present sorry state ( ◀️ how are the mighty fallen ▶️) of N300 or more = $1
[ PERSONALITY IN PHOTO : RIHANNA ROBYN FENTY ]
[ PHOTO SOURCE : THE INTERNET ]
the impacts of the devaluation of the Naira on Nigeria residents and Nigerians
have been very visible in the public space locally and internationally
and are therefore on public record. locally and internationally
and have also in a number in instances being documented in different fora/forums including newspapers and intellectual articles.
by and large,
the impacts of the devaluation of the Naira on Nigeria residents and Nigerians
have very clearly been
horrible
horror-ful
horrific
horrendous
and have included, to mention, a few :
INFLATION
HYPER-INFLATION
UPWARDLY SPIRALLING INFLATION going into 3 digit inflation and more
STAGNATION
STAG-FLATION
EROSION OF THE PURCHASING POWER OF THE NAIRA
EROSION OF THE DISPOSABLE INCOME OF THE PEOPLE
EXCESS INVENTORY IN COMPANIES, INDUSTRIES & MANUFACTURING CONCERNS
LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT OF STAFF INCLUDING WORKERS AND MANAGERS
RETRENCHMENT / DOWN-SIZING OF STAFF IN COMPANIES
BURGEONING / SWELLING UP OF THE NUMBERS OF THE UN-EMPLOYED AT ALL LEVELS OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
BRAIN DRAIN
SKILLS DRAIN
MANPOWER DRAIN
LOSS OF INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN THE NIGERIA ECONOMY
RELOCATION OF COMPANIES FROM NIGERIA TO OTHER COUNTRIES
ETC ETC ETC
[ PERSONALITY IN PHOTO : RIHANNA ROBYN FENTY ]
[ PHOTO SOURCE : THE INTERNET ]
so really, having seen i.e witnessed from 1989 till date 2020 i.e for a period of
( 2020 - 1989 = ) 31 years ... and still counting ...
the very negative impact that the devaluation of the Nigeria Naira
has had on the life of Nigerians and on the Nigeria economy
it's really far, far, far more than about time that
those Nigeria persons and Nigeria institutions that are positioned to be able to
re-envalue the Naira should do so
without any further ado