Buhari angry with naira devaluation

ABUJA— Even with the Currency flexibility policy
recently invoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, to enable market variables determine the

value or otherwise of the Niara, President
Muhammadu Buhari yesterday insisted that the
policy was not beneficial to the economy.
The CBN policy, it would be recalled, came as an
economic and market strategy to systematically
devalue the Niara, following its free fall recently.
It was one decision that didn’t come so easy as
president Buhari never wanted to further devalue
the currency.
He had on several occasions in many
international fora in Egypt and Kenya said that
further devaluation of Niara would mean “killing
it”, and challenged Nigerian economists and
financial analysts to convince him.
Now, while speaking breaking his Ramadam fast
with members of the Nigerian business
community at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, last
night, the President said the CBN policy was yet
to benefit the country.
He said: “I don’t like the returns I get from the
CBN concerning the devaluation of the Naira. In
August 1985, the Naria was N1.3 to a dollar but
now you need N300 or N350 to a dollar. What do
we derive from that? How much benefit can we
derive from this ruthless devaluation of the
Naira.
“I’m not an economist neither a businessman, I
fail to appreciate what the economic explanation
is. What has happened to us now is that we have
maneuvered ourselves into mono-economy which
led to the collapse we are seeing now”.
To get Nigeria out of the employment crisis, the
President placed the responsibility of creating
jobs on the door steps of the business
community.