Inflation: Sowore highlights factors responsible, possible solutions
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00:00According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, inflation is currently 34.19%.
00:13What factors do you think contributed to this and what do you think can be done differently
00:18to tackle the issue of the rising inflation in the country?
00:23The inflation that Nigeria is facing came from one major economic mistake and it is
00:34depriving people of their means of livelihood and therefore pushing the prices of goods
00:44and services beyond their reach.
00:47And do you know what that was?
00:48It was the removal of the first subsidy, number one.
00:52Secondly, it was a floating of Nigerian currency, Naira.
00:58So the currency of the country lost value by more than 100%.
01:04The currency was at I think 400 and something Naira to the dollar when we came in this last
01:11year when the Tinumbu regime came in place.
01:14And when I say we came in, I didn't, I thought somebody would go and twist it against me.
01:20But now the Naira is at 1,500 Naira to the dollar.
01:26Because we rely largely on importation of goods and services, because we don't produce,
01:32including the most important product in Nigeria, which is petrol, gasoline.
01:41It affects everything.
01:43First, you can't afford to buy it.
01:46Second, in buying it, you have to rely on the exchange rates.
01:53So what do you have left?
01:55You are going to get inflation.
01:58And this inflation could only have been cushioned if you didn't make those drunk-headed decisions.
02:04So if I was president, which unfortunately Nigerians did not listen to, I would have
02:10floated the Naira.
02:11So the Naira would probably be around 200 Naira to a dollar now.
02:17When I say that, I mean it.
02:20Because my goal was to increase production, local production.
02:24My goal was to increase our capacity to generate electricity, energy.
02:29My goal was to bring about employment by investing in public works.
02:33My goal was to stop the bleeding of the economy by investing in health care, modern agriculture
02:41and developing the infrastructural system, strengthening social and physical security
02:48as well as financial security of Nigerians.
02:50My goal was to increase minimum wage and make it become a living wage.
02:55My goal was to cut the cost of governance waste in the country.
03:00So there's no way all these measures would have led us to where we are today.
03:05But when you have people who come into office unprepared and then they want to come and
03:10do trial and error and they are lackeys of these international financial agencies, you
03:17are going to end up getting what you get in Nigeria now.
03:26They are tone deaf.
03:28If they want to take suggestions, we have it written, it's published.
03:34But I don't give suggestions to people who have no idea how to do, how to implement suggestions.
03:41That's the problem.
03:42You keep voting for dumb people and asking smart people what you have to suggest to them.
03:48How can dumb people take smart suggestions?