Soludo deserved what he got

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Uncle Chukwuma deserved the embarrassment he got from the President Yar'Adua. Like I mentioned in my previous post, the Naira re-denomination was an artificial way to get us back to where we were in 1985. We should ask ourselves how we got to where we are right now. It's like setting out on a journey to Ibadan and ending up in Ijebu Ode. Shouldn't you ask yourself how you got there so you can retrace your steps back to Ibadan? Should you begin to frolic at an owambe in Ijebu simply because that's where you are at that point in time.

Back to the matter at hand, Prof Soludo should have obtained permission and clarified the re-denomination matter with his boss before making the matter public. I think the man is trying to make a name for himself and build some sort of parallel government/empire. Admittedly, he has done a lot for the Nigerian banking sector. But that doesn't mean he knows it all. We just spend billions printing new N5, N10, N20 and N50 notes. The N1000 note is barely 2 years old yet he wants us to fritter away all that money and print even more notes?

Something is definitely wrong somewhere. My colleague (who is very adept at developing conspiracy theories) thinks Soludo was a scapegoat and a victim of politics. Whatever the reason, he needs to be less bullish and more humble in his approach to issues. Yes the man is smart, but humility gets you further than brilliance.

If Nigeria becomes more productive and a net exporter, the Naira to dollar exchange rate will come crashing down. Don't forget that the rate became what it is today because of the mismanagement of our economy. Reversing the trend will require sound economic management policies. The issue with a country's currency is not really what it can buy but how much of it individuals have. If I earn N1000 per month and this meets all my basic needs; food housing and shelter, is that not better than earning N10,000 and struggling just to transport myself to work? Think about it for a moment.

I really respect Soludo and think he's a whizz but on this matter, the man goofed.

Naira Redonimation: Nothing will change

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Other than the psychological effect of spending fewer note, the recently announced redenomination of the Naira doesn't mean anything. The question we should be asking is how we got here in the first place. Pre 1985, the Naira to dollar exchange rate was 1:1. It wasn't a redenomination that depreciated the Naira to this level. Our inability to generate employment, our status as a net importer of goods and services, low level of technological advancement, underinvestment in infrastructure, low level of productivity and other economic failures got us here.

If we don't address the fundamentals, we will find ourselves going back to the N125:$1 regime pretty quickly. Redenomination can't help Zimbabwe on the path to economic recovery for example. Admittedly the exchange rate has been stable over the last two or three years, but this needs to be sustained by concerted macro-economic policies.

Honestly, I don't know if this tonic will get us where we are going. If we do all the right things, the exchange rate will appreciate by itself. Don't economic experts tell us that exchange rates are determined by market forces and not executive fiat?!

House slaves and field slaves

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In the days of slavery, dark complexioned slaves were put to work on cotton farms while light skinned slaves were handpicked to work in the "Massa's" house. Sometimes the females were made unofficial concubines to the Master of the house. House slaves enjoyed privileges field slaves did not enjoy such as better living quarters, food, clothing and sometimes education. Field slaves on the other hand had poorer living conditions and were hard worn for all the arduous labour on the field. So if you were an African slave in the Americas at that time, you would have longed for the day when the Master would call you into the house to serve as a house slave. As nice as it would have seemed to become a house slave at the end of the day, a house slave was still considered as much a slave as a field slave.

Why am I writing about slavery? I see an analogy between slavery and employment. Most employee are slaves as long as they remain in employment. You have little or no control over your time and resources. You are paid whatever the Master wants you to earn (the Master in this case being your employer). You are also subject to other masters like the Government, Tax authorities and other bodies that have a claim on your salary whether you like it or not. You temporarily surrender your vision and time to your employer and adopt your employer's vision and time.

Employees that work in good paying jobs such as Oil and Gas, Banking and Telecoms may be considered house slaves as they are better paid while most civil servants may be considered as house slaves. A lot of people dream of working in Oil and Gas companies with the hope of a brighter future. All you are doing is moving from the field to the house albeit still as a slave. You could also argue that senior and executive management staff are house slaves while junior personnel are field slaves. But at the end of the day, they are all slaves.

I know this line of thought seems extreme but it's closer to the truth than you think. An employer can summarily dismiss you without any explanation even after serving for 20 years. That isn't freedom. That's slavery. So what's the alternative to this form of modern day slavery?

Self-employment. The Forbes list of the world's richest men doesn't have any employees because you can never be richer than your employer. Take a look at your CEO today... go on take a look because that's as rich as you will ever be doing that same job. So am I saying, quit your job and start your own business right away? No, but we all need to think about it at some time or the other and have a plan for doing this.

As for me, the countdown has begun.