A letter to Nigerian President
It is becoming obvious that debt is killing Nigeria and even Nigerians. This has reached epidemic proportion. There is the need for urgent attention, determined solution, uncompromising inclination and radical approach to stop the downhill trip into debt. Nigeria must quickly get out of debt. Owe no man anything but to love, is a message that must catch the attention of leaders and the led in Nigeria. The
borrower is a slave of the lender. Indebtedness is a form of slave trade and captivity renewed. He who goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. Cheap debt spells cheap death. To get out of debt is a task that must be done to stop Nigeria from financial precipice. The ominous signs are alarming. Let us reel out some statistical highlights.Servicing debt in Nigeria today is a burden too heavy to carry. 30% of national budget is going for debt servicing and there’s nothing to say this will not be on the increase. No other sectorial allocation enjoys two digits. For example, education that should top national budget sectorial allocation parades 8%. When will Nigeria wake up to know the critical importance of infrastructural development? No nation can grow with low investment in infrastructure. 5% allocation to this sector is unimaginable, yet this is where Nigeria is. Health is wealth does not reflect in Nigeria’s budget. It is no longer strange to hear that it is dangerous to be sick in Nigeria today. It is simply too expensive to go through medical therapy in Nigeria today.
Domestic debt of states run into trillions of naira. Their external debt run into billions of dollars. We can only imagine how much is going into debt services both in capital and interest repayment in the 36 states of Nigeria and Abuja. And there is nothing to show that leadership in the states and federal capital feel any qualms on this matter. Debt spree continues all over. Those who know tell us that debt spree leaves a painful legacy and of course with the bitterness appertains.
Kill debt before it kills Nigeria and even Nigerians. Debt is a leprosy
with its wide-spreading capability. What is more, leprosy should be
untouchable. Let debt be known with this status. Have you heard that
indebtedness is a territory that even angels dread to tread? Get rid of debt as
a national policy. Work towards celebrating debt-free Nigeria within six months
maximum. Where there is a will, there must be a way. Nigeria and Nigerians, let
us enter into the culture of life without debt. It is possible and must be made
possible. We are told that as recent as 2022, 96% of national revenue was used
to service interests payments. Wither Nigeria! Every news item on Nigeria debt
profile is nothing to smile upon. They are dreadful, temperature and blood pressure-rising,
and without exception, demonstrating hopelessness. Take the bull by the horns
and arrest the situation with the fastest speed.
Clips on Nigeria debt projection enlightens us as follows: The national debt in Nigeria was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 122.9 billion U.S. dollars (+95.74 percent). After the tenth consecutive increasing year, the national debt is estimated to reach 251.25 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. From Nigeria presidency came another most distressing message that the country could not continue to service its debt with 90 per cent of its revenue. He noted that the country was headed for destruction if that continued. Kill debt before it kills Nigeria, even Nigerians. Debt must not make Nigeria to carry the label “helplessness”.
It is time for the president to put on his cap of political will, sagacity, maneuverability and even ruthlessness. Stop further loans. The business of government is not business. Leave business to the private sector. Even if temporarily, suspend capital projects. African parlance says we don’t carry debts and begin to put on ornaments (a ki gbe gbese s’orun soso). Kill debt before it kills Nigeria and even Nigerians.
Debt Management Office (DMO) should be constitutionally changed to Debt Clearing Office - DCO. The DCO reserves as debt eliminating office or vehicle to end Nigeria’s continuous dancing to the music of debt. The financial, human, material and infrastructural resources being deployed to run DMO are grossly unwieldly. We would not need more than ten percent of those resources to run the Debt Clearing Office – DCO. Indeed, indebtedness is a debilitating disease. Kill debt before it kills Nigeria and even Nigerians.
7 tips to get Nigerian naira back to single digit exchange rate with
dollar:
· Nigerians in Nigeria should massively embark on denominating their money in naira and not in any other currency. Britons will denominate their money in pounds not in naira. Why then would not Nigerians denominate their money in naira? Let Nigerians take the advantage of the world as a global village where it is possible to denominate your money in naira anywhere in the world.
Europeans denominate their money in euros, nothing can make them denominate their money in naira, why then should Nigerians denominate their money in euros? Americans will denominate their money in dollars, nothing on this side of eternity will make them denominate their money in naira, why then will Nigerians denominate their money in dollars? On naira we must stand.
Whether you have 1 dollar or 1 billion dollars, whether you have 10 dollars or 10 billion dollars, move immediately to denominate your money in naira. We speak to over 200 million Nigerians. I feel so good today that I have closed all my accounts in foreign currency. On naira I stand and on naira we must all stand. The move for Nigerians to denominate their money in naira will bring overnight miracle of dollar crashing to single digit.
Recently, I stumbled on a bank in Nigeria whose debit card (ATM card) in naira is accepted for dollar transactions. You maintain a naira account and they serve as intermediary to settle your dollar bills. All Nigerian banks could make to follow suit. With this development, I am safe from monthly sourcing of dollar to pay my dollar bills. Having discovered this development, I decided to stop all accounts where I am holding foreign currencies. It has become my personal bent to close all foreign accounts. This I have exactly done, myself and the institutions I represent have all our money in naira today.
· Any of the over 120 social media that will not accept naira for payments of any aspects of their services should not be allowed to operate in Nigeria, while Nigerian government pursues the agenda of drumming it into the ears of Nigerians to stop patronizing any social media that will not accept naira to settle our bills.
· Our vice president has proved to be a responsible man with foresight and that with notable positive result and track record. Let him embark on a tour of virtually all countries in the world to tell Nigerians to denominate at least 20% of their financial assets in naira. This will be a corollary to the ability of Nigerian debit cards capability to settle foreign currencies in Naira deposits. This is Nigerian vice president meeting Nigerians eyeball to eyeball all around the world. Tell Nigerians and encourage them to have a minimum of 20% of their holdings in Naira. This alone is capable of crashing dollar to single digit before naira. Ten percent of expenses on the current DMO will be more than sufficient for the prudent vice president global trip to get Nigerians in diaspora to denominate their money in Naira.
· There is nothing wrong in emphasizing that all Nigerian embassies should denominate their holdings in naira to the tune of hundred per cent.
· Let the nation negotiate with Mastercard, Verve etc to become a veritable vehicle to promote naira to settle other currencies. It is time for Nigeria to take advantage of our population and use it to strengthen naira. For every five Africans, Nigeria is one; for every two West Africans, Nigeria is one. Nigeria is the seventh most populous nation in the world and of course the most populous black nation. There is no reason why naira should not become a convertible currency.
· All members of executive team at all levels of government (federal, state, local), political office holders, workers in private and public offices, members of Nigerian corporate world etc should maintain their holdings hundred percent in naira. This should be by persuasion not by force. This should be by encouragement by pointing to the advantages of rallying round naira to be a global winner.
· Make it our educational program at all levels for us to be proud of Nigerian naira. By educational levels, I mean from creche to the university and even post university. Let the refrain be what can we do to build Nigeria before we expect Nigeria to build us. Let’s build for posterity, that is a Nigeria that even generations yet unborn will be proud of.
My message: Kill debt before it kills Nigeria, even Nigerians. Get Nigerian naira to single digit exchange rate with dollar by all means, and there are a myriad of means and solutions.
Policy matters. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki unprecedented disasters, Japan without the advantage of natural resources and without oil, with one policy, made it to the top in global economy. They became a pacifist nation. It was a policy of non-belligerency in international affairs. Till date, Japan maintains the same policy. They will simply not be involved in wars. Let it be our national policy to have a debt-free Nigeria and Nigerian naira in single digit exchange rate with dollar. Crash debt and crash dollar to single digit.
Kill debt before it kills Nigeria, even Nigerians.
When Lateef Kayode Jakande took over as governor of Lagos State in 1979, he made a budget of one billion naira. The first of such size in the history of Nigeria. Of course, that would be trillions of naira today. Alhaji Jakande said concerning this budget that after they arrived at the budget figure, they asked themselves what do they have as a state to get this money? Lagos was not an oil-producing state. Jakande said they turned to the only asset they had which was land. That was how Jakande opened up Lekki-Epe axis in a grand style. The rest is history. Since Jakande’s time, Lagos never remained the same. For him, use what you have to get what you want. For him, it must be the greatest good for the greatest number.
Nigeria can, at this critical stage, adopt the same strategy to crash debt and crash dollar. What do we have to get what we want? Watch out for hundred things and more that we have to stimulate and motivate every Nigerian in Nigeria and around the world to denominate their money in Naira and to crash our indebtedness.
Submission by Rev. (Arc.) Samuel O. Oluwatunbi
White House
a.k.a. Ruth Morolayo House,
Ile Elemosho, Ijomu Oro,
Kwara State, Nigeria.
19th May 2024
CC: Debt
Management Office (DMO)
Executives at all levels of Government
National and State Assemblies
National Economic Council (NEC)
Nigerian Leaders of Thought
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