By Henry Uche
Only an increased productivity and a change in consumption patterns of Nigerians will shore up the value of the naira. This was among the consensus reached by experts at a one-day roundtable on national issues organised by Development Specs Academy (DSA) in Abuja.
Speaking at the event, the convener, Dr. Okey Ikechukwu, a former spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made several policy interventions to improve the value of the national currency. The bank is also said to have taken further, hands-on, measures, including the Anchor Borrowers Program, which he said created and capacitated several farmers’ cooperatives and enhanced their access to loans.
“This initiative alone has created millions of jobs, taken many youths off the crime path and rescued many local economies. Only economy-reflating and socially impactful efforts, as seen in such initiatives, in addition to consuming what we produce and producing what we consume, will give us the prospect of bringing up the value of the National Currency and keeping it up,” he said. On his part, Brigadier Sani Usman described as unacceptable, the level of insecurity in the country and called for more strategic efforts towards ensuring the release of citizens being held in captivity by terrorists. He also urged the government to prioritise the release of kidnapped victims including the remaining Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu, the Kaduna train victims and others.
“Government should be proactive in information dissemination about what it is doing concerning those in captivity in various parts of the country,” he said.