Nigeria’s Financial Quandary: Naira/Dollar Parity, Uncertain Bank Acquisitions, and the Looming Threat of Economic Exodus – A Call for Legislative Action

Naira/Dollar parity and the uncertainty surrounding the sale or buy-over of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Titan Trust Bank (TTB) do not give our financial system a good image and investors’ confidence. All these might lead to more relocations of corporate organizations from Nigeria to favorable neighboring countries.

The effect is that Nigerians may also soon be forced to go to neighboring countries to board planes to Europe and purchase flight tickets in dollars. Do you doubt it? Try to visit our local airline’s kiosks today. It will shock you to see that some airlines are already testing the waters by pricing their tickets in dollars and converting them to Naira at the point of payment. This is not a comforting sign.

Please, let those thinking for us note that investors only want to invest in a stable, secured, socio-economic environment where the rule of law reigns, and corruption is less dominant.

Corruption is the biggest headache in Nigeria. Could anyone have imagined that a former CBN Governor confessed that he never saw the approved instrument for withdrawing over six billion USD from the CBN? Who would believe that? There is no complicity that would make six billion USD leave the CBN without the CBN Governor’s express approval. If it indeed happened that way, then we have no proper financial structure to protect Nigeria from looters.

Given the above, the National Assembly must get back to the drawing board in the New Year to review our laws, which would make stealing and looting from the commonwealth a life sentence without an option of a fine. Moreover, it should also top it up by legislating that convicted corrupt public officials should repatriate all funds stashed abroad back to the federation account within six months of any conviction or sever our relationships with countries conniving with Nigerians to loot the treasury dry.

This is the least the lawmakers can do to salvage Nigeria’s sinking economic ship. I do not think we have the luxury of time to dilly-dally on this. Keeping silence in the face of this rising behemoth would consume us all. A stitch in time they say! Saves nine.

Grace and peace!!!

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