The last time I checked, the Nigeria’s currency, Naira had suffered a seemingly unpredicted destruction, though the identity of the destroyers was significantly unknown.
It’s noteworthy that this critique was informed by the compelling need for every Nigerian to comprehend fully the overall nomenclature of the masked destroyers.
Currently, the worth of the Naira per a US dollar is over #500 in the parallel market as against its official exchange of #413. Though it isn’t only Nigeria that is confronting the US dollar presently ravaging her once respected currency and local economy, it’s pertinent to acknowledge that the ongoing misfortune of the said currency didn’t abruptly emerge. It suffices to assert that the destruction was apparently a foreseen circumstance.
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Going down the memory lane, it would be recalled that from 1972 to 1985, the official worth of Naira per a US dollar was between #0.66 and #0.89 involving a consistent slight fall and rise. From 1986 to 1992, it was worth between #2.02 and #9.91 involving a steady fall.
Subsequently, from 1993 to 1999, its worth was between #17.30 and #21.89, involving an onward apparent constant exchange rate after an initial decrease. Similarly, from 2000 to 2009, it was between #85.98 and #145, which involved an outrageous continuous fall. Then, recently from 2010 to 2015, we witnessed a steady fall from #150 to #171. And in 2016, it declined to #198 per a US dollar, witnessing a free fall.
The bone of contention is that from the onset, excluding the initial point when it was ostensibly steady, there has been a continuous fall of the value of the Naira when compared to the US dollar.
Hence, having painstakingly perused the above comprehensive chart, I have succeeded in disabusing us of the notion that the fall of the exchange rate of the Naira, either at the official market or parallel market, commenced in recent times. Needless to say that naira had suffered an untold hardship from genesis till this moment.
But if you take a closer glance at the above analysis, you would observe that it was during the democratic era that the Naira’s value fell outrageously, although the origin of its downward depreciation could be traceable to 1986 or thereabouts. In view of this assertion, one may be challenged to ascertain the reason for such anomaly.
The answer is simple. Any democratic leadership, compared to military regime, is usually synonymous with loose principles or policies. This implies that the former often ends up overlooking the invariable nonchalant or lackadaisical attitudes of its citizenry, which is definitely not a wholesome practice in any society that intends to grow economically. Most times, sustaining a certain policy requires a non-human face. Read my lips!
Looking beyond the history, currently it’s obvious that the value of the Nigeria’s currency, Naira is diminishing on a daily basis as if it’s being relentlessly and endlessly pursued by a hidden monster.
The ongoing phenomenon unarguably is categorically not unconnected with the recent stiff measures taken by the nation’s apex bank – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It’s no longer news that a few years back, foreign exchange for importation of various commodities into the country was banned by the Mother bank. This severe approach made people, particularly importers, to divert their attention to only the various illicit Bureaux De Change (BDCs) situated across the nation.
Consequently, the CBN ordered the closure of all the existing branches of the BDCs in Nigeria, and thereafter stated that, it could not continue selling foreign currencies directly to them (the BDCs).
Owing to the above sanctions, the various seekers of foreign exchange (forex) shifted their entire attention to the parallel market, thereby causing an alarming increase of the demand for forex at the market. This is no doubt the sole reason a US dollar is being unofficially sold at almost #600.
However, the question remains, who destroyed the Naira? Unequivocally, the currency in question was dastardly molested and destroyed by some unscrupulous elements in Nigeria as a result of their selfish interests.