3 Things Tinubu's Govt Can Do to Save The Naira, University Lecturer Shares
- Dr. Isa Olalekan Elegbede, a visiting scholar with the Dalhousie University in Canada, has said Nigeria needs to start creating value products
- Elegbede, also a diaspora expert with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Germany, urged the Bola Tinubu administration to "create more enabling policies"
- The scholar's comment during an interview with Legit.ng, comes amid Nigeria's economic challenges which have shown no sign of abating since President Tinubu assumed office in May
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9-year-experience covering current affairs in Nigeria
Alimosho, Lagos state - Dr. Isa Olalekan Elegbede, a lecturer at the Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University (LASU), has said the national currency, the naira, can be saved through "holistic refining".
Nigeria has a continuing challenge with maintaining the Naira's value.
Source: Facebook
How to save Naira from further slide
The decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to float the naira freely came with an unwanted outcome: a historical fall in the value of the currency against the US dollar.
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Intended to curb dollar scarcity and curtail parallel forex exchange markets, the move by the Tinubu administration sent the naira down by 36% on the official market on June 14. The new policy removed trading restrictions on the official market, forcing the naira to go from 477 per US dollar on June 13 to 750 on June 14. As of Wednesday, November 1, the black market rate stood at approximately N1,165 per US dollar.
But speaking exclusively to Legit.ng on the sidelines of the 2023 Alimosho Professional Day programme, Dr Elegbede said Nigeria adopting an export-led growth would be the game-changer for the country's economy.
He said:
“There is a need to start holistic refining – not in terms of oil now. We have many raw materials here. We should start creating value products. With this, we can have differentiations and we can export.
“Then number two, let the government create more enabling policies, policies that will favour both importation and exportation, particularly exporting. Many of our products are in high demand outside Nigeria. So government should facilitate how they can be an intermediary to help promote and elevate all these structures because the exporting economy is a great one which is one of the things which some of the developed countries in the global north are exploring to advance their economy. So, to salvage the situation, we need better policies that will help small scale enterprises, we need increments in salaries. People should have secured plan where they can be able to transact ideas.
“Lastly, Nigerians have the need to purchase items but they don’t have the money. We want His Excellency, President Tinubu, to find a way of doing the data protection, the identity issue. Let’s have an identity. An average Nigerian is highly identified. After this, a lot of things could follow. People can always seek for loans, you know you are not running anywhere, they will track you. You can seek for loans to do business, seek for loans to buy houses, seek for loans to buy cars. With this, the economy will thrive.”
Ailing Naira: 3 things Tinubu can do
- Start holistic refining by creating value products
- Initiate policies that will help small-scale enterprises and increase salaries
- Be serious with the digital identification management programme
"Roll out grants, loans": Lecturer tells Tinubu
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Elegbede said Nigeria has people with remarkable skills, but insecurity has been a challenge.
Dr. Elegbede urged the Tinubu administration to create an enabling environment for small-scale and independent contractors.
Tinubu appoints new SA on Economic Affairs
Legit.ng also reported that Tinubu approved the appointment of Tope Kolade Fasua as the Special Adviser (SA) on Economic Affairs in the office of the Vice President.
Fasua disclosed this via his verified X (formerly known as Twitter) handle. Fasua is an economist, a writer, and the 2019 presidential candidate for the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), a political party he founded in December 2016.
Source: Legit.ng
