Bola Ahmed Tinubu There have been reports of some companies exiting the Nigerian market under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and this has been followed by criticism from his political opponents which has caused worrisome moments for some of the supporters of the President and its administration.
Interestingly, what comes to the mind of ordinary citizens when a country loses some of its investors is criticism towards the incumbent administration which might have been inflicting unproductive policies on the companies but in some cases, mostly when a country is being transformed from its poor state to a better state, the companies finding green pasture in the wobble state of the country will have not option than to leave.
This may lead us to think deeply about the criticism about some companies leaving Nigeria, and what might have been the policies of the incumbent administration relating to this.
Insecurity
There is no doubt, that there has been a great improvement in the security architecture of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without the State military making much noise or publicizing their theater actions, however, there is no how we can separate the Security Improvement from the policy enacted by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Without making mention of any company that might have exited the country, the citizens before criticizing the government may need to think deeply about how the security improvement poses a threat to the companies that have survived with records of billions of naira through the years the country has been under security threats.
Did the companies join the Nigerian market for the betterment of the citizens? Insightful thought may provide a clear response to this.
Unification of Exchange Rate
One of the policies that were recently endorsed by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the unification of the Exchange Rate, a policy whose failure to be adopted has made the country a destination for corrupt businessmen to collaborate with a few government officials in the banking sector and make it big within a very short period.
Regardless of how much dollar is exchanged for the naira today, the achievement of this policy is the eradication of multiple exchange rate where banks would always claim it has no dollar, and businessmen would be forced to buy at an exorbitant rate from the black market who allegedly sell for the banks to make extraordinary profits out of corruption.
Today, whether you buy dollars from the banks or the black market the price is either the same or with insignificant variation.
Now, if a company could arrive and survive in an economy where it was a war to access the dollar but decide to quit the market when normalcy had returned, it is left to the citizens to decide who is to be blamed between the government and the companies in view.
Oil Theft
One of the major menaces that faced the Nigerian economy over three decades ago was oil theft.
Although it is very difficult to remove stealing of crude oil, illegal refineries, and diversion of Nigerian oil from the list of corruption under oil theft the most devastating ones could be Oil Subsidy and failure of Nigeria or Nigerians to lay claim a working Refinery.
Some companies, in the oil sector, were purposely set up to capitalize on these lapses and pests on the Nigerian economy.
If a company could reliably continue its investment in Nigeria under the regime of oil subsidy where billions of Naira are wasted to subsidize billions of liters of fuels that were never consumed by Nigerians, leaving the country when the Federal Government of Nigeria has put an end to the oil subsidy regime connotes suspicion, and fight against corruption in the oil subsidy might be hardly fighting back against the companies.
Besides, if it was easier, more profitable, and booming for a company to operate in a country where its crude oil would have to be transported out of the country for refining, and transported back to the country with billions of dollars, monthly, for consumption; one may wonder what might have frustrated companies operating in the sector to bow out of the economy when a private refinery [Dangote Refinery] is near completion in the country, with the Federal Government of Nigeria boasting of restoring one of its four state-owned refineries to an active state before the end of December, 2023.
Is the company fearing a drop in the shady deals that might have been the purpose of their stay in the country's economy over decades or the competition ahead of the company in the sector is presumably unbearable for them?
Above all, it could be considered relevant for Nigerians to expect more companies to leave the economy, and surely others will come and comply with the enabled business environment the government might have been putting in place which encourages the incumbent administration to continuously hold side talks at international summits to woo investors to the country.
A question to the companies running away from the Nigerian market is what could be pursuing them if they could bear the period of multiple exchange rates, insecurity, and oil theft in the country.
Category: World-News
Tag: Why Many Companies Leave Nigeria Under President Tinubu
Written by Omooba Alekuwodo (omoobaalekuwodo)
Published 12/2/2023 5:59:08 PM