Many would claim to have restocked when dollar went up to #1900/USD which is almost unlikely for a lot of these vendors.
Though the CBN is doing its bit to stabilize the Naira, we must also play our part to ensure prices of goods and services taper down.
Thursday 15 Feb, 2024
💵 1 USD ⇛ ₦1,590
💷 1 GBP ⇛ ₦2,010
💶 1 EUR ⇛ ₦1,714
💶 1 CAD ⇛ ₦1,156
1. Today, we crossed 1500 naira to 1 dollar and 2000 naira to 1 pound in black market rates.
2. For those who don't understand this exchange rate problem, here is a simple layman's explanation:
3. We import almost everything we use in Nigeria. Even the things we manufacture in Nigeria - the parts for the machineries, the flour for bread, even toothpicks - a lot of the raw materials are imported from other countries.
4. The major thing that Nigeria exports is crude oil and Liquified Natural Gas. And this import and export business is conducted mainly in the US dollar.
5. Since the value of our import is far more than our export, we are running low on dollars because there are less and less dollars available to service our import needs.
6. As a result, more people are bringing more of thier naira to buy the few available dollars in order to continue thier business.
7. What is happening is the classic law of supply and demand, which simply means 'when there is increased demand for something, the price will go up'. So we now need more naira to buy dollars because there is increased demand for the dollar.
8. Now, the subsidy removal was supposed to partly solve this problem because the dollars that were used to subsidise fuel previously would now be made available in our foreign reserve. However, at the moment, it is being looted so it not there in our foreign reserve.
9. Another big issue is that a lot of the crude oil that we were supposed to use to generate more foreign exchange (forex) in the future have been pledged as a swap for the bogus loans the Nigerian government have been taking. This means the income from that stream will not be enough in the foreseeable future.
10. That is why financial experts are now forecasting that the US dollar to Naira exchange rate won't get any better soon and that instead it will get worse.
11. I am worried because this is not good for the economy. I am worried because with this level of hardship, most middle class and low income earners will not be able to afford the basic necessities of life. I am worried because food prices have gone up beyond the reach of many people who can't afford a balanced diet anymore. I am worried because the hunger, starvation and malnutrition will affect people's health, especially the children. Something has to be done about this. Urgently!
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