In a bid to improve the value of Naira, ex-Bayelsa Senator Ben Murray-Bruce advocates for a change in consumer behaviour, noting the need for Nigerians to prioritize locally-made goods and services over foreign brands.
Furthermore, he advised Nigerians living in foreign countries, urging them to consider investing in businesses back home in Nigeria.
Murray-Bruce made this known via a post on X on Friday stressing that ‘the decision to float the Naira and stop defending it with our reserves and other dollar stockpiles is the way to go.’
This observation coincides with a decrease in the value of Nigeria’s domestic currency, which plummeted from around 450 per dollar to an average of 760 per dollar.
The naira’s depreciation continued, with the value plunging to 1045 per dollar at the parallel market on Thursday.
The business magnate suggested that Nigerians should prioritize locally manufactured products in areas like cinemas, cement, airtime, flights, and vehicles, seeing it as a necessary step in strengthening the naira.
Murray-Bruce wrote, ‘The decision to float the Naira and stop defending it with our reserves and other dollar stockpiles is the way to go. It was never sustainable, and it was taking us the way of Zimbabwe and Venezuela.’
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‘The best way to strengthen the dollar [sic] is organically. When we #BuyNaijaToGrowTheNaira, the Naira will rise. Watch Nollywood movies at Silverbird Cinemas. Use Glo over foreign brands. Fly Air Peace and other domestic airlines over foreign carriers. ‘
‘Use Dangote Cement to build your homes. Drive around in Innoson vehicles, like I do. And the Naira will be strengthened. And most significantly, we must encourage our diaspora to repatriate their wealth back home.’
‘If we continue the previous practice of spending $20 billion a year to prop up the value of the Naira artificially, we will eventually go bankrupt, and at that time, we will be talking ₦100,000 to $1,’ he added.
Africa Today News, New York, gathered that former Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga, said the naira won’t seize to experience a free fall if Nigeria remains an import-dependent country.
According to him, using large sums to defend the naira without making appropriate investments in the manufacturing sector to propel the country’s exports would be an unwise strategy.
This information was disclosed by Aganga on Thursday at the 3rd Adeola Odutola lecture, held during the 51st Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.
Additionally, the ex-minister stressed the importance of Nigeria’s production for both local consumption and, significantly, for export, as a key factor in fortifying the naira.
‘What is the wisdom in spending billions defending the naira when it continues to fall instead of investing in genuine manufacturers and exporters of high-value products that would earn Nigeria foreign income and more,’ Aganga said.