NIGERIANS AND OUR VOODOO ECONOMICS

NIGERIANS AND OUR VOODOO ECONOMICS

A friend rushed into my office two weeks ago and announced that the exchange rate of the almighty American dollar had in one day crashed from about 360 to 180. He was all smiles and very elated. As far as he was concerned, things would realign in Nigeria without delay. I asked my friend what was behind this very dramatic sudden rise in the value of our national currency. He said something about those hoarding the dollar being unmasked and something else about one Ifeanyi Ubah who has applied a magic formula to make the impossible possible.

I sighed and asked my friend if he had been drinking. I told him that there was no way the exchange rate of the dollar would suddenly crash except there was a huge supply of dollars from somewhere. I asked if there had been a significant upsurge in the price of crude oil, the main source of foreign exchange for the Nigerian nation and he said no. I asked if Nigeria was suddenly exporting some new products and he said no. I asked my friend if our country had stopped importing toothpicks, toilet paper, bottled water, rice, apples, chairs and tables from everywhere in the world and he looked at me with pity. As far as he was concerned, I was a dunce and could not appreciate the work of the Almighty and Ifeanyi Ubah!

My friend and I argued back and forth on the concept of supply and demand. I told him that if Nigerians truly want a better life, we have to roll up our sleeves and work and increase productivity. I told him that we have to cultivate the land that God has given to us in abundance so that we can feed ourselves and have excess to export. I was emphatic that there would be no quick fix. Nothing I said made any sense to my guy, a born-again Christian with 100% belief in miracles of every type. When he left me, he was shaking his head. I knew that he was wondering how he ended up with a fool like me as a friend.

I am also a Christian but I believe that the good Lord created addition and subtraction. He created the medical sciences so that we can find the cures to Cancer, HIV and Ebola. I believe that God created Quantum Physics so that we can explore the Universe and go to places where man has never been. He created Economics so that we can understand how to allocate resources and create sustainable wealth and lift our people from poverty. I am aware that when you ask people these days to apply common sense given to us by the Almighty, you run the risk of being seen as an unbeliever or an anti-Christ.

In any case, my friend came again to see me during the week. He was not looking very happy. When I raised the issue of the exchange rate, he decided to go use the rest room. He did not want to discuss the matter. We both knew that the dollar was hanging tough at about N360. It was not taking instructions from any pastor or Ifeanyi Ubah. The dollar has no interest in voodoo economics!

 

See you next week.