Hello Naira! What’s Your Problem?
Since I am a Nigerian, Naira remains a means of transaction but I don’t like how the local currency has been adjusting poorly for the past six years– It gets me close to poverty edge daily.
Few investment experts, wealth managers would today ask important clients to keep naira assets. The local currency is losing steam, CBN actually devalued to N435 per dollar in December.
Nigerians love the United States dollar more. It is not only stable but also a reliable currency to keep wealth. Dear naira, please, what’s your problem? You have lost so much value in a country where demand for wage adjustment hardly happens in a jiffy.
Civil Servants go to war each time there is a need to adjust to economic reality for marginal adjustment to a monthly salary – when ‘take home’ takes nobody home!
In the private sector, you must have a superman intelligence quotient (IQ) level to re-negotiate salary in two to three years.
Really and truly, Naira has lost the store of value feature and the inflation rate is putting additional pressure on my wallet! If Naira has to speak, it would probably say it is Godwin Emefiele.
Mr. Emefiele would probably have to defend his expertise with a counterargument: “Oh Naira, I am not responsible for your so much trouble in the FX Markets.
“It is disequilibrium position between the amount of dollar that flows into the economy and sum required for Nigerians to make imports payments”.
Finding solutions would help Naira survive the onslaught of a stronger United States dollar. The thing is, Nigeria must have this discussion if Naira would retain its store of value feature.
As the monetary authority, the CBN has a responsibility to keep naira strong but the apex bank has failed. Data has no emotions, Naira has lost so much blood in the FX markets since 2016- The exchange rate rising from N197 to N435 could be a move toward Zimbabwe dollar!
Already, currencies traders in the parallel FX market could comfortably quote N570-N580 for a United States dollar. Even now, banks charge N480 for online payment – I am a witness! Hello Naira! What’s Your Problem?
