Good news is not marketable, so goes the old adage. To this extent, newspapers thrive mainly on the dismal. So if the news is good, the editor is likely to ignore it since the reader may not be interested. Thus, the situation is such that, a quick reading of the dailies is likely to tell you that, all is not well with our country.
Take the instance of what played out in the day’s edition of BusinessDay, May 19, 2022. It was essentially a rendition of the various shades of bad news coursing through our polity. The ‘big story,’ which is our unique style, spoke to: Nigeria’s foreign exchange woes. These woes, as reported in the headlines contended that they, i.e. the woes are set to linger beyond 2022. You begin to wonder why this should be so; particularly in the light of rising oil prices. Such a thought naturally takes you to what is happening in the Nigerian oil industry.
It is indeed, a paradoxical situation in which an oil producer like Nigeria cannot benefit in any meaningful way from the rise in oil prices. This is something of a riddle.
And for those who can remember, at a point in time, there was indeed a national airline – Nigeria Airways. But it has since been eaten to the ground by a way-ward ruling class
However, clarity dawns when it is realised that, Nigeria’s status as an oil producer has been severely compromised. This is due to a number of reasons. The first has to do with the fact that, the country is not able to meet up with its assigned quota from OPEC. Such a situation in turn is owed to the dystopia, which characterises this oil producing country. Such anomaly can be observed in the decadent state of oil pipelines that have been vandalised by aggrieved groups. So in a sense, Nigeria is caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.
When the oil prices are low the country is in trouble; when they are high the same situation obtains. The mind is also inclined to probe further that, why in any case is the country so fixated on foreign exchange. It is largely a pointer to the persisting malaise in the economy. When a social formation is perpetually hooked on foreign exchange, what it means is that the country’s economy is also perpetually and helplessly locked into the international system.
At a seemingly pedestrian level, this can be observed at the airports. On any given day, when Nigerians are coming in from abroad, they come in loaded with several suitcases – mainly clothes and other soft goods. The main reason for this is that our own industries are virtually dead. Hence the unbridled resort to importation becomes the norm. This may well be the beautiful face of this venture. The other face is the smuggling dimension.
Yes!, smugglers are at work in an import-dependent economy like ours. Yet, much of what has been described thus far is merely the tip of the iceberg. This is because everything from vehicles to other heavy goods and even food, have to come from outside. Thus, there is a persistent pressure on our forex reserves. This is a sharp contrast to other climes that thrive on self-sufficiency as far as their respective economies go.
A very human dimension of what is being said was conveyed vividly to me a few years ago. Here I was at the scenic, Rockefeller Centre Bellagio, Italy. I was in the company of other scholars. I could not but notice differences in the attitudes of the group. Those from the developed countries were not caught up with the shopping mania, which was the lot of those from the developing countries. Those in the former category could always source whatever they wanted from their respective home-bases. But for this Nigerian and others like him, it was another opportunity to buy whatever one could. This was because all our industries have since died.
What it means is that, Nigeria and other similarly placed countries are as a matter of fact, caught in a perpetual situation in which, perhaps the most disturbing sign, can be seen in the forex problem. In other words, in the bid to tackle the foreign exchange problem, something has to be done about the structure of the economy as well as society itself.
In contending thus, one only has to remember that even the ongoing strike by ASUU also touches on the issue of foreign exchange. As far-fetched as this may seem, one only has to consider instances in which members of the elite have to educate their children abroad.
Even Ghana next door is a beneficiary of this largesse from Nigeria. Billions of naira are exported from here to educate the children of the elite. Therefore, it is easy to appreciate that a serious and thoughtful de-linking is necessary for Nigeria in relation to the rest of the world. This de-linkage must necessarily take the form of overhauling the entirety of our society with a view to building up our own internal resilience.
Among other things, this can be done by reliance on our own internal assets and variables. Otherwise, our woes will persist as regards the availability or non-availability of foreign exchange.
Read also: When will the exchange rates converge?
As the mind continues to dwell on this negative aspect of our lives, which was triggered by that front page news, another one leaps into sight. This goes thus, ‘Airlines Raise Minimum fares above N50,000 as fuel crisis persists.’ It is also possible to take another deep breath here. Again, this is an ungainly dimension of the Nigerian polity, which by the way is totally avoidable.
The relevant question that comes up here, has to do with why there should be a fuel crisis in an oil producing country like ours. This anomaly is in reality a pointer to the fact that, our oil producing status can, in realistic terms be found on a mythical platform. If indeed, we are in substantive terms an oil producing country, we will not have to contend with this type of problem. For an authentic oil producing country would have been able to ensure value addition to its crude. In the process, the imported costs of aviation fuel will have nothing to do with our airlines.
Even then, and talking about airlines, other dismal thoughts cannot but engage the mind. Specifically, and till date, Nigeria does not have a National Carrier (NC). And for those who can remember, at a point in time, there was indeed a national airline – Nigeria Airways. But it has since been eaten to the ground by a way-ward ruling class. The ensuing consequence is that the reciprocity which should underpin Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) does not exist.
In actual terms, what this means is that, as the various foreign airlines flood our airspace, we are unable to respond in kind, if only because, there is no national carrier. With an NC, we would have been able to invoke the provisions of BASA. Rather, Nigerian and Nigerians have fallen back on the expediency of rent-seeking and bribes as regards the running of what passes for our aviation industry.
The point-man of Virgin Atlantic recounted his sordid experiences when he attempted to put down investment roots here. According to him, he was bombarded with all kinds of under-the-table demands. Invariably, he had to flee! What this translates to, hacks back to our earlier concern about forex. We have to use our naira to buy air tickets, which the airlines will mop up in dollars and other foreign currencies. Little wonder therefore that the naira is in perpetual trouble. And so, the list of bad news goes on.
For what has been sketched above is by no means unique to BusinessDay. Right across the newspaper world, a similar disposition is to be seen. The hope is that one day the tenor of the narrative will change. And at that point in time, our newspapers will begin to dwell on happy times. But then, if the current trend is anything to go by; that will be the Day!
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