Exchange Rate: Nigeria Going Into Doom, Buhari’s 8 Years Was Suffering – SECCIMA President

By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha

The President, Southeast Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, SECCIMA, Chief Humphrey Ngonadi, warned Thursday, that with the latest high exchange rate for naira, that the country would head to doom, recalling that former President Mohammadu Buhari’s eight years’ administration was suffering for Nigerians.

Sounding the note of warning in his Nnewi office, the SECCIMA President who is the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Ngobros Nigeria limited, stated, “Presently the naira is #1,200 to a dollar at black market as of yesterday, I don’t think that question on the exchange control needed to be asked because Nigeria is gong to doom and nobody needs to talk about exchange rate,” he stated.

According to him ex-president Mohammadu Buhari’s administration started the exchange rate crisis which has set the country economically backwards.

His words, “The immediate past administration met dollar little below #200 in 2015 and immediately the government went into power, the dollar moved little below #200, #300 and #400 at the black market and the official rate has not been accessible then. The problem of Nigeria started immediately Buhari stepped into power and could not be managed.

“He kept on heightening the economic problem of the country. It continued to devastate immediately Buhari went into power. The eight years he was in power was eight years of suffering in Nigeria and accidentally, the present administration met dollar at #400,#450, #460 in May this year.

“Immediately the present administration moved into power the dollar was #400 plus to #750,#760, and #770 which is yet unaccessible, and you can only source dollar at black market.

“When I remember that before now that I traded with dollar at 65 kobo per dollar, naira was far stronger than dollar by 1970, 74, 75 up to 1980. It was in 1980 that dollar went to one dollar to one naira, and yet somebody is managing government and dollar is #1000,” he lamented.

On what brought about the sudden high exchange rate he said, “The reason is not far fetched, the reason is that we have selfish people in the government, the people that are celebrating when others are mourning, dying, they are celebrating, how do you think the country can be good, how can we improve, when it was said that each senator is to buy a vehicle of #160million.

” When the workers that are generating the money cannot be paid minimum wage, talk about their ward rope allowance, kitchen allowance and other allowances, what a senator collects in this country can pay state government workers for one year.

“How can we improve when the country is managed by people who are not interested in the country but interested in themselves, we have been hearing of the money they squandered, spent, so asking question of exchange rate I think is not necessary, let the country continue to mourn, pray, I think that God has also abandoned Nigeria,” the SECCIMA President stated.

Asked on how the present economic quagmire is affecting industrialists he reiterated that, “They are killing industries, they are not assisting industries, industries are shutting down, we are not working, there is no EEDC light, we cannot buy diesel at #1100 per liter, when you buy at #1100 per liter and put generator and work, where will you sell, there is no light now, we are not working, is government thinking about it.

“Did government have any thought reinstating any of the industries, refineries, how can they do that after borrowing money and use for themselves, the money that was borrowed by the past government, where is the significance of that money, did you see it on roads, did you see it in public light, did you see it at any amenities that help industry ,there is no road, water, no energy, no food, with all the money that was borrowed, trillions, millions, where are the significance of it on the ground except on themselves and nothing else.

” Is this adminstration different from the past one, if this administration is interested in the masses that are suffering and dying, within the short period of three, four months in power ,the dollar moved to #400 plus to # 700 plus which can never go anywhere.

“When you buy dollar at #1200 and import raw materials, where will you sell, the price of diesel, fuel, even the common man that uses kerosene cannot buy, don’t have access to public light, the industries are inconsistent, even when the public light is served, within one hour it will go off four to five times, how can you run a machine under such situation, let them rebuild the refinery.

” Petrol is above #600 and when you are thinking about this things, the common person is affected, cost of fuel and diesel affected transportation ,it affected agriculture, everything, to manufacture good. You have to transport it, we drive our vehicles on gulley not potholes, pothholes are minor and caused more damages on our vehicles, nothing is working in this country.

” I have not seen anything good, tell me one thing that has not gone up since the coming of this government, the only thing that has not gone up is air, if they have their way they can make it to go up, I don’t understand what people mean by saying the present administration is new, not experienced, if they don’t have the experience, why did they contest, can you contest a seat you don’t know, why did they contest.

“I don’t think it is so, the only thing I think is whether this government has anything good for the country. only want to be there for themselves alone,” he stated.

On Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s one year in office he said that, “I didn’t come to his meeting with manufacturers at Onitsha, so not aware of his promises to them on road construction, I think you passed these roads when coming to see me, did you see any of them good, I have not been in Onitsha for a long time, if he has been constructing roads in Onitsha, that’s an applause to him.

“Does any vehicle go from Nnewi to Onitsha freely without being apprehended by one group or the another, multiple taxations. Drivers will tell you that they cannot be able to face any Soludo men if you tell him to go to Onitsha. I think the state is worst now, they pay heavily, the Okada people, all these shuttle buses, cabs do not ply roads freely without being apprehended by one group or another.

“If the government can say, this is the amount a transporter will pay, he will pay and collect one paper and show to anybody that stops him, but this group will stop you, you pay their own money then another group will stop you, whether they belong to government or not I don’t know, this is one of the things I think this administration will look into. People are suffering, people are not happy, things are difficult, the little money people have are being extorted from them without any reason we are yet to see some changes. The governor made wonderful promises, application is what we need now, let him remove these people out of the road, I voted him because I think I know him before he came to power, he needs to work for people, a lot of Anambra people believe so much in him when he was contesting, for me, I am still expecting to see changes in him.

“I think Soludo did his best to stop sit -at- home when he came to power, the question is whether people are interested in going back to their businesses on Mondays in Some, more especially the rural areas, I don’t think they are interested, sit -at -home has come to be another holiday period but unfortunately a lot of people doing business in Anambra with borrowed money paid the interest on Mondays.

” Even when they don’t work, they still pay interest in the money they borrowed, a lot of people from this state are relocating to other states. This is the wonderful opportunity of development of Delta State, all the well to do businessmen in Anambra are gradually relocating their head offices to Delta State and have their servants in Anambra state and when they are well established in Delta state, they cannot be able to comeback.

” I remember when some people relocated from Anambra when armed robbers were disturbing the state, a lot of them did not come back when the state came to normalcy. They established there, building shopping malls and rest of them, because they can do the business without any body harassing them.

“What the sit- at hone is doing in Anambra state, the result is yet to come, the result is not yet known now, the result is that the economy of the state will still go down, some of the buildings in Anambra state will be occupied by rats, one thing you will know is that when the stakeholders leaves the state, the rest of the people will like to follow them.

“That’s why I should give credit to Soludo in as much as he didn’t succeed but I think he can still make some more effort, as long as Nnamdi Kanu has said that sit -at -home is abolished, only on the days he will go to court but he is not responsible or his group to these sit- at -home. People are not interested in going for businesses especially civil servants who collect their money at month end. It is only those they work for can go back to work.

“Since kidnapping has come, they are making cheap money, this sickness has become the order of the day, before now people think of what to do to earn money but now people think of making money without what to do. When our children refuse to go to school, be an apprentice to anybody but want to ride expensive cars, wear expensive clothes, then stealing is obvious.

“look at how intelligence these kidnappers and these people that are doing all these things are, very intelligent that if they would have applied it in something meaningful, they would have done better, but they have refused, occultism is taking the order of the day and these people who are created and empowered by God, instead of using the money to do something beneficial to the citizens, country, they are using it to spoil our people.

“Some of the people that are sponsoring masquerades, do they have their children joining the masquerades, did their children school here, they have them oversees and recruit other people’ s children into masquerade, cult. This day there was a man that said that once you joined them he gives you motorcycle and a lot of boys are getting involved. look at yahoo yahoo, it is nothing but stealing, there is no different between yahoo yahoo and stealing, there is no difference between them and arm robbers.

“When you empty someone’s account and he has shock and dies, the bible said that remember young man whatever you lay your hands to do, do it but remember, out of it you will enter into judgement. I strongly believe that whatever man sows, he will reap, any progress or prosperity you can acquire and your generation did not benefit from it, please don’t, all this accumulation they are doing will go the same way. let our Young ones go back to school or learn something.

“A mechanic will be a wealthy person because a lot of people are not there, the brick layer, let others go into trading but definitely God will bless you, if you are committed to what you are doing, it is the promise of God and what you lay your hand upon will prosper.
I advise Nigerians to be committed, focused, face something meaningful, look up to God, don’t join majority when they are wrong,” he advised.

Pic shows SECCIMA President