Reno Omokri vs Dele Momodu
Mr. Reno Omokri, a Nigerian based in the United States and former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has taken down a claim by the Ovation Magazine man and a secret aide to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Dele Momodu.
Mr. Dele Momodu had recently written an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, claiming that the Nigerian economy is virtually collapsing.
Opposing the claim, Reno Omokri rolled out facts to stand down Momodu's assertion while challenging Mr Momodu to come up with any fact to the contrary.
Omokri's response to Mr. Momodu's claim of Nigerian economic collapse read:
"Dear Egbon Dele Momodu,
I read your open letter to President Bola Tinubu, in which you said, "Our economy has virtually collapsed", among other things. Respectfully, the facts do not support your assertions, and in your open letter, you did not provide any facts. Only opinions. So, please let me present some facts that contradict your opinions.
Firstly, only yesterday, the International Monetary Fund projected that due to the reforms being undertaken by the current administration, Nigeria will have a 3.1% GDP growth rate in 2024. This is one of the best projections for an African country in 2024, and does not signal an economy that has 'virtually collapsed.'
Secondly, Nigeria had a record high of ₦6.52 trillion trade surplus in the first quarter of 2024. This has never happened before. We routinely had trade deficits in the past. This means that because of the monetary reforms by the current government, Nigeria is now exporting significantly more than it is importing, and the growth is largely in the non-oil sector.
For example, Nigeria is now a net exporter of clement to Europe and a growing exporter of refined petroleum products to Europe and West African states. Ghana, a fellow petroleum exporting country, is largely dependent on LPG from Nigeria. This projects growth, not collapse.
Thirdly, in terms of revenue, all Nigerian states, bar none, have received significantly higher federal allocations since May 29, 2023, than they were receiving under the Buhari regime. Each state now gets at least 45% more federal allocation, with Nasarawa getting almost 100% more and Anambra getting 70% more, whereas their wage bill has not increased.
The above projects economic strength rather than collapse.
Fourthly, according to Financial Derivatives (FDC), with a Return on Investment of 22.90%, Nigeria's Stock Exchange is now the most profitable capital market on Earth, bar none. Please note that. Bar none. The National Bureau of Statistics has also corroborated this. For the first time in our history, the all-share index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange crossed the 100,000 mark in 2024.
I would not categorize such growth as collapse, and I am sure investors who smiled to the bank would not either.
Fifthly, capital inflow into Nigeria increased by 66.27% this year. This is probably why Fitch and S&P Global Ratings upgraded Nigeria's economy to a Stable B, and why foreign inflows into the capital market jumped fivefold in the first quarter of 2024 to N93.37 billion from N18.12 billion in the same period last year.
Sixthly, despite clearing the backlog of foreign exchange debts owed to foreign airlines and other foreign investors by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria's foreign reserve hit a year-to-date high of an estimated $34 billion this year. How can a nation with such a healthy reserve be said to be on the verge of economic collapse?
Finally, the Student Loan promised is now a reality and is being disbursed. That means Nigeria is about to witness a dramatic increase in its human resources, as more youths will have access to education.
Therefore, bearing the above in mind, is it not possible, egbon Dele, that you may have focused too much on assumption and too little on facts to come to your conclusion that Nigeria's economy is collapsing?
Omokri's response has attracted a rejoinder from Mr Momodu, who later failed to still back his assumption on the Nigerian economy with facts, and queried Reno Omokri's support for Tinubu's policies.
He wrote "I have just read Mr Reno Omokri’s response to my earlier article, titled URGENT MESSAGE FOR PRESIDENT TINUBU. Since I’m not a fan of fake economic theories that bear no positive impact on society and the citizens, I won’t waste my readers’ time on trading words with Reno. I will only make the following observations:
1. What happened to my Brother Reno that he feels he must defend many of the most atrocious policies of the Tinubu government? I believe Reno is too brilliant to waste his talents on a government that can’t even defend itself in good conscience.
2. When did Reno become a born-again Tinubuist that he has forcefully taken over the jobs of Ajuri and Onanuga combined? Otherwise, he would have known the difference between economics and ECONOMY.
Economics deals mainly with textbook theories while the ECONOMY deals with the practical and realistic conditions of the people on a day-to-day basis. All the economic ratings quoted by Reno have no meaning in Nigeria today. No textbook can envisage or assuage the unprecedented hunger and suffering of Nigerians. Our country is hemorrhaging to death while pseudo-economists are regaling us with an over-romanticized magic of IMF/World Bank.
3. What enablers like Reno and company are doing by their blind support for a government that needs honest TRUTH is reminiscent of the story of Marie-Antoinette, the bride of King Louis XVI, who told the lumpenproletariat in France to eat cake if bread is too expensive for them. In her majestic delusion of grandeur and provocative ignorance, the Queen did not know that bread and cake are of the same origin and that the latter is actually more expensive. What happened next?
REVOLUTION swept away most members of the French privilegentsia. Today, Nigerians are substituting tomatoes with watermelon to cook food.
I will never wish such evil to befall Nigeria, my dear beloved country, but prevention is oftentimes better than cure…
I pray President Tinubu will somehow arrest this obvious drift towards perdition.
You can read Urgent Message for President Tinubu being the open letter originally written to President Tinubu by Dele Momodu to inform the President about the failure of his administration's economic policies.
Category: World-News
Tag: Reno Tutors Dele Momodu After Claiming Nigerian Economy is Collapsing
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Published 7/19/2024 10:02:36 AM