EzeUche_:

We need to protect our local industries. Aba should be the manufacturer capital of West Africa, so why open this flood gates?

Kobojunkie:


Quote from: GenBuhari on February 18, 2011, 07:04 PM
Buhari resisted devaluation and IBB came and devalued and ever since 90% Nigerians have been plunged into abject poverty.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is what we are on about

Kobojunkie:


Quote from: EzeUche_ on February 18, 2011, 08:18 PM
Devaluation was a MAJOR part of the SAPs was it not? Coupled with opening up our economies to free trade.

U - SAID: Devaluing a currency has little or nothing to do with SAP . . . Our SAP package included that.

I wonder about your understanding of Basic Issues  sometimes 

coldhearts:

my bad, apparently your problem is reading cos i said "dump the dollar if needed" and Nigeria may be a mere country to you but it is not to me. Anyway  emphasis on "if needed or come up with a better idea"- (an acknowledgement that my idea wasn't necessarily all that) . Eitherway, any idea can be used as a bargaining tool against devalue.

Yes even a few countries like Russia, China, south korea and many more considered that last year, i'm not sure if they did that yet.
I may not be good in business/ monetary issues but i do know that the dollar is overvalued which can have a long term negative effect on economies of the world even in Nigeria - common sense (if you did not get this point- go and google it up or read some books, it will help with your reading abilities too); perhaps IMF needs to focus on that dollar first before heading for the Naira or mere naira in your case.

Kobojunkie:

What Most Nigerians have experienced is corruption - not the result of common sense implementation of devaluation as one could obtain in a more common sense environment (corruption not a major factor).

Knowing the meaning of the term, DEVALUTION, DOES NOT suddenly give one understanding of what the situation really is. As I have said earlier, DEVALUATION in and of itself is NOT AN EVIL. It is used when it is necessary-- keyword NECESSARY. Many countries have in the past and previous times successfully devalued their currency to their advantage, so I see no reason for irrational reaction at the mere idea of devaluation, even worse a mere proposal from the IMF/world bank. From a majority of the comments on the issue it is easy to gather that many are quite unaware of the base situation we are in, financially, as a nation. So, I would not take most of the commenter seriously, and certainly would not support any of them speaking on my behalf, or the nations.

We have watched billions drain out from right under our noses in our democracy. Simply knowing the definition of a term and when it applies DOES NOT make one an expert.

No matter how many terms one can claim to know, there remains a big difference between an INFORMED opinion, and an opinion based on rumours and fears created  out of more rumours and fears.

** edited

manny4life:

In your opinion, why do u support devaluing th $$$?

manny4life:

You don't need what govt reports to do your assessment; pick a state as a sample, then look at what standards advanced developing nations which have cities of 15 million or more people have and then scale that back by at least on a 1/3 ratio or 33.87% to throw that into Lagos and then tell me what your findings are. You would be amazed to find that Lagos (the economic backbone of Nigeria is lagging behind). You talked about China, pick a city in China, perform your analysis and submit your findings; you will find out the NIGERIA isn't developing;  no good or improved basic transport networks (including road, rails), low utility infrastructures, and the list goes on.

coldhearts:

@manny4life
ok i see your point a bit but i cannot comment cos i'm not that good in business/monetary issues but on a less serious note -what kind of hard work did the dollar do to get high up there, jumping ropes, running, cleaning out competitors at will . Time to get the naira working but i doubt that will happen with the IMF - that lazy naira .
I might be tempted to even agree with the person above you which is to adopt the chinese yuan or dollar, not sure if that is wise though, i'm still in favor of the naira. Now should the need arise, preferrably yuan cos the dollar is risky right now judging from what you wrote.
Ok i derailed, i'd let the experts handle it but i know that the Naira should NOT devalue any further. I think some people here explained how it works in lay man's terms e.g kazey's post- i think that just about says it all.

Kobojunkie:

[b]The above tells me me you don't even understand my stance on this at all.
[/b]NO, I disagree! you do need government reports to do your assessment and to proffer your solutions please. I mean doctors do need access to a patient's record, and understanding of the actual patient's situation, before they can prescribe solutions.

See, I didn't come back in until you suggested having nairalanders sign petitions to STOP the CBN from implementing this particular PROPOSED solution. I can look around much of nigeria and also conclude from just that, that the 7% growth numbers we have been throwing about for the last 2 years is FALSE by following your method there. But maybe when I see the numbers, I will find out that it is possible to have 7% growth, 8 quarters straight and still see no sign of development in the cities and towns, and lives of people. Who knows . . . so no, you need data.

I believe the Naira was devalued in 2008 by Soludo, and the bottom has yet to drop out since then. I don't know why no one seems to want to mention that. Who knows!!!

I would rather we have Sanusi make the decision right now than try to open this one up to nairalanders who themselves have opinions that are not clued in on the facts but born out of their fears of the mighty IMF being the problem in it all.  

auwal87:

So, does it mean that $1 will equal N1 Trillion in the next 8 years?

manny4life:

Madam Kobo, no one is disputing Mr. Sanusi position or otherwise, you live here in the states, when a proposal is made particularly something that has to do with the public finance, you see they call meetings (not just one but several) to find out best options to be used to maximize a situation. Nairalander have an opinion be it out of fear or courage, knowledge or stupidity, these should all be accounted for during a decision making process and if Sanusi is on Nairaland, I think he should listen to the most silly opinions and relate to the fears of the people of Nigeria.

manny4life:

Nigeria is growing on an average of 7% by IMF, and by 9% by World Bank and this was last year. Growth in an economy is bound to be somewhat consistent unless a major change affects its stability either negative or positive. It's true that a growth of 7%, you can see the difference in cities, but I think you are confusing growth with development. Nigeria is growing and its growth is consistent but we are not using our growth to transform into development. There is inconsistent distribution of wealth to effect development, there is stagnancy in govt. resources readily available to trasform growth to developments. Nigeria is growing per @ that rate with relative to its GDP that's what they mean, but we not developing so please don't confuse the two.

manny4life:

Yes I understand your stance all along; I was only surprised at one of your responses.

manny4life:

Like seriously, can you guys stop it already with this " Nigeria is blowing away her reserve to defend her currency". I have asked before and ask again, someone please let me know how Nigeria is defending or propping up her currency?


LOL,  that would be SUPER HYPERINFLATION, It will never come to that

Kobojunkie:

I disagree!!! Please also mention that when meetings are called on these issues here in the states, INFORMED parties are invited,  not the UNINFORMED. Nairalanders definitely have a right to personal opinion but when it comes to the decision making process to rescue our economy, I don't know any company out there that invites the UNINFORMED simply because they have a dictionary and have looked up the meaning of the terms.

Again, I know the difference and enough the lectures . Please FOCUS instead on understanding the message more please.

I was using your assessment method to look at our growth too since you claimed it is OK and ACCEPTABLE to not know the details, but by simply taking a look around, still be able to make conclusions on issues like this one.

No, I doubt it. Because if you did, I don't see why you ask me why I am in support of devaluation.

manny4life:

Ok I don't know about your city and state, but in here in VA we do things differently.

manny4life:

I don't know what lecture u are talking about, I still don't knwo what FOCUS u speaking on and what message it si that you don't clearly understand.
I never said it was OK and ACCEPTABLE, use my words and in the context like I used it.

FROM YOUR OWN POST
You don't need what govt reports to do your assessment; pick a state as a sample, then look at what standards advanced developing nations which have cities of 15 million or more people have and then scale that back by at least on a 1/3 ratio or 33.87% to throw that into Lagos and then tell me what your findings are.

manny4life:

I said when u do research (individual assessment aka survey), you don't need book data, u can use market/public assessment to present your findings. Beside yes, its OK and acceptable because you often tend to find the real opinion rather than biased recorded ones.

kulutempa:


In the same way that you blow your savings on new clothes to look good and sharp and then ask your bank for an overdraft  

Kobojunkie:

I just got what you were saying . . . . ROFLMAO!!

OmoOlorun:

If they succeed in getting us to devalue our currency again, then we are in trouble. The West uses currency to keep nations of the world under control. When they introduced SAP to us (through those old people that went abroad to study book without the street wisdom of our mothers selling pepper in the market) they said "you need to devalue your currency so that your exports can be cheap outside your shores and you can be competitive. They lied to us and we took the bait. We never exported enough to warrant devaluing or currency to the point that we all became poor. The man on N300 per month remained on it while the money could no longer by a single made in Italy pair of shoes. On the other hand, the same Western Countries through IMF that said we should devalue our currency wants China which has been a major exporter to revalue its currency upwards. China has gained grounds against the West by refusing to comply. They have pegged their currency where it pays them. We in Nigeria should follow suite. We should peg our exchange rate at the place that pays us not where the IMF want us to be. No Country in the world that took IMF ever prospered while under IMF control including New Zealand, Australia. We don't need IMF intervention in our economy. We can take care of ourselves. IMF thanks but no thanks.

“We’ve not been as transparent as we should be, but it’s not because we’re trying to hide anything,” said Aganga, a former executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “It’s just because we’ve not captured our data in the way we should and have not made them available as other countries have made them available.”

The decline in foreign currency reserves increased the risk to the economy from any renewed drop in oil prices, Fitch said.

Reserves, including the excess crude account, slid to $32 billion in December from $42 billion in January 2010 because of the government’s expansionary policy, Aganga said. Some of the money was also used to stabilize the exchange rate, he said.

Transparency

The government is meant to save money when oil prices exceed the estimate in its annual budget. That forecast was set at $65 a barrel for 2011, compared with the $92 oil is currently trading at in New York.

“There should be a corresponding increase in the reserves” whenever oil prices rise, said Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer of Financial Derivatives Co., a Lagos-based fund manager. Also, when the reserves are depleted, “we should be able to see tangible assets on the other side which account for that spending.”

Nigeria’s Planning Ministry will soon be making information on foreign currency reserves available to the public, Aganga said. Reserves are now rising again, reaching $34 billion on Feb. 16, he said.

OmoOlorun:

Key policies in SAP are privatization and deregulation.

OmoOlorun:

I do not have the kind of data you require but common sense (which by the way has never failed me and our mothers) tells me where the problem lies. Yes those were carried out and privatization only enriched a few and made amenities out of reach of the masses. Privatization and deregulation (which are key policies of Capitalism) also happened around the world. Greedy and corrupt leaders are as much in the West as they are in Nigeria. If you allege that corruption was the cause of SAP's downfall, why are Western economies failing now?[b] Hasn't free market as we know it failed? I would say greed is the cause of Western downfall. UK and USA jobs have been shipped abroad where higher profit margins are guaranteed. What has become of NITEL's privatization or NEPA or other state owned institutions? Certain things just won't work in Nigeria because our culture and thinking are different. [/b]We need to seek out what works for us and implement not what IMF wants.

OmoOlorun:

This is not a blame game issue. I am saying wholesale government withdrawal will not augur well for Nigeria. It will lead to the system being hijacked by a few to the detriment of the majority. We need a system where the government plays an active part in the economy. Those who pushed for deregulation in the West are moving back to some form of regulation. Tighter controls on banks, on trade balances (exports and imports), on migration of labour etc. We in Nigeria are agitating for what has left the West bewildered. We will then find ourselves at the same spot 50 years down the line.