EDITORIAL: NIGERIA! WHAT WENT WRONG?

 

In case you don't know the root cause of our problems today, please take time out and read below:

 As of 21st July 2022, the exchange rates were:

£1        =         ₦775

$1         =         ₦650

€1         =         ₦665

42 years ago, precisely on 23rd April 1980, the exchange rate was: $1 = 78 kobo 

Are you surprised? 

Well, we were far more productive in 1980 than we are today.

In 1980, the key reasons for economic growth were as follows:

1. We were a net exporter of refined petroleum products. Today we import all our refined petroleum products.

2. We rode in locally assembled cars, buses and trucks. PEUGEOT cars in Kaduna and VOLKSWAGEN cars in Lagos.

3. Leyland produced  trucks/buses in Ibadan and ANAMCO in Enugu also produced buses and trucks.

4.  STEYR MOTORS in Bauchi produced our Agricultural tractors. And it was not just Assembly, we were producing many of the components

5. VONO products in Lagos produced the vehicle seats.

6. EXIDE in Ibadan produced the batteries, not just for Nigeria but for the entire West Africa.

7. ISOGLASS and TSG in Ibadan produced the windshields.

8. FERRODO in Ibadan produced the brake pads and discs

9. DUNLOP produced Tyres  in Lagos and MITCHELIN Tyres were produced in Port Harcourt. And I mean tyres produced from rubber plantations located in Ogun, Bendel and Rivers State.

10. We were listening to Radio and watching television sets assembled in Ibadan by SANYO.

11. We were using refrigerators, Freezers and Air conditioners produced by THERMOCOOL and DEBO.

12. We were putting on clothes produced from the UNTL TEXTILE MILLS in Kaduna and CHELLARAMS in Lagos. They were Not from imported cotton but from cotton grown in Nigeria.

13. Our water was running through pipes produced by KWALIPIPE in Kano and DURAPLAST in Lagos .

14. Our toilets were fitted with WC produced in Kano and Abeokuta.

15. We were cooking with LPG gas stored inside gas cylinders produced at the NGC factory in Ibadan.

16. Our electricity was flowing through cables produced by the NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE, Ibadan; NOCACO in Kaduna and KABLEMETAL in Lagos and Port Harcourt.

17. We had BATA and LENNARDS STORES producing the shoes we were putting on. The shoes were not from imported leather but from locally tanned leather in Kaduna.

18. We were mainly flying our Airways, NIGERIA AIRWAYS, to most places in the world. The Nigeria Airways was about the biggest in Africa at the time.

19. Most of the foods we ate were grown or produced in Nigeria.

We were producing all of the above and many more in 1980. Today, we import almost everything. Isn't that alarming? There lies the source of the terrible exchange rate we are experiencing today and everyone reading this has a critical role to play in reversing this very UGLY trend. We have been talking about these problems and more for ages. It is not enough for us to complain about the exchange rate or point out what others are not doing or are failing to do.

The key questions are:

1. What are we producing now?

2. What role are our so-called Leaders/ Politicians of today playing? 

We are forever shying away from responsibility whereas it is a stack reality and if we don't deal with it now, it will even get worse.

 We need to get our PVCs ready to do the needful in 2023 by electing capable hands who are ready to turn around this our consuming nation to a producing nation of at least 1980.

Please comment and share widely on all platforms for Nigerians especially the youths to know the critical role to play with the fixing of Nigeria. We can't continue like this.