By Adekunle Adekoya
Looking out the window of the Conference Room at Vanguard’s head office today, a sight struck me. From that window you get a very good, panoramic view of the Kirikiri Canal, and buildings and activities on the shore on the side of the canal. What attracted my attention was the steady rumble of a powerful diesel engine; it was the barge used to ferry imported vehicles from the Tin Can Island Port to the nearby terminal at Otto Wolff, just before the turn-off to Vanguard Avenue, which runs alongside the shores of Kirikiri Canal. The barge was returning to the terminal, empty. No cars to ferry from the ports.
Know what that means? First, Customsmen at the terminal have no work to do since there were no cars to clear. Second, the army of clearing agents also have nothing to do. Third, the horde of food and drinks vendors who service the needs of the Customsmen and clearing agents will also have no customers to sell to. Fourth, there is a legion of artisans — mechanics, auto electricians, battery chargers, panel beaters and others, who eke out a living by helping get the vehicles that have been cleared moving again, will also now have nothing to do.
Wondering why? The exchange rate situation, which has seen the Naira crashing against major global currencies in the last week may be largely responsible. With the Naira trading at N1,450 to US$1.00, it is not too hard to see that the number of people who can finance importation of cars into the country would have dwindled considerably. If you can import a car, with the intent of selling it at a mark-up, after all costs considered, you must be sure that there will be a willing buyer. There actually are buyers, they are also willing, but lack the funds to actualise their desires with.
When I was told that a bag of rice now sells for as much as N63,000, my response was that, unless a way out could be found, we’d have to be eating our money raw, like that, and swallowing the currency notes with water, since we would not be able to afford anything again. Unfortunately, the way I see it, there’ll be no quick-fix to our problems the way they were immediately exacerbated by a presidential pronouncement last May 29. In fact, undoing the economic issues generated with the removal of petrol subsidy which worsened our misery will take a lot of time and effort, if the political class is working conscientiously 24/7. Unfortunately, they will not, as there are parties to attend, meetings to convene, and foreign trips to make, even when the foreign trips are just about birthdays that do not have any impact on the welfare of the rest of us.
Where we are now, there is palpable fear; people are simply afraid. People are afraid whether the money in their pockets or bank accounts can cover their needs for the next one week, and if not, where they’ll get money from next. People are afraid to move from one point to another for fear of being kidnapped, with the fear in the back of their minds that they might end up being killed by the kidnappers since the wherewithal to raise the humonguous amounts kidnappers usually demand as ransom does not exist. The Ekiti situation is instructive. Schoolchildren were kidnapped and a ransom of N30 million was demanded. So far, communal efforts to raise the ransom has generated N450,000. Where does N450,000 scratch N30 million? Misery undiluted!
In this space last week, I forwarded the opinion that we are at the mercy of rogue elements in our security services, which has turned kidnapping into an industry. How do gun-wielding men, who live in the forests, collect ransom that run into millions of Naira and disburse them into the economy? How? Do they have bank accounts? Do they make deposits? Do they make purchases with the money? Or they just stash the money inside tree trunks or caves in the forests? Before, what we knew was that ransom money was usually marked by the security services. Does that still happen? How is it possible that they successfully demand and get ransom without being apprehended?
A disturbing fallout of our current situation is that many of our youths in various parts of the country have keyed into kidnapping as a high-income generating source of income, made easy by a reactive security system that facilitates easy access to arms, with rogue elements offering strategic assistance in the nefarious business. That is another nut we have to crack. Meanwhile, life is just getting harder,on all fronts!
The growing inability of government to protect life and limb is so worrisome that just thinking about it can trigger a nervous breakdown. The marauding activities of herdsmen militias seem unstoppable, a development that has worsened the scenario of food insecurity in the country as farmers no longer go to the farms to cultivate. We are thus forced to eat imported food, and for that we can no longer access hard currency as the exchange rate heads for the rooftops. Who will save the Nigerian?
Culled from Vanguard
