Nigeria Will Rise Again Says Aderibigbe
By Amb. Dr. John Adekorede Aderibigbe
*OH, Our Ancestors and Leaders Have Failed Us!!!*
I embarked on a trip to Southeast Asia, precisely Bangkok Thailand, and met with an old man who shared some facts about Nigeria to me.
He exclaimed oh My Nigeria!! Did you know Thailand was the first country amongst Asian countries that contacted Nigeria just immediately after your independence sometime around 1964 when you became a Republic.
Countries around the world want to be economic partners with the giant of Africa looking at the geographical position and how close it was to the seas.
Foreigners, Traders and Tourists, would save their funds to pay the country a visit and tell of its wonders.
44 years ago, precisely on 25/07/1980, the exchange rate was:
$1 = 0.80k
*Are you surprised?*
Nigeria was far more productive in 1980 than we are today.
1. Nigerians were the Net Exporter of refined petroleum products. Today, we import all our refined petroleum products.
2. Nigeians drove in locally assembled Cars, Buses, and Trucks. Peugeot cars in Kaduna and Volkswagen cars in Lagos.
3. Leyland produced t
Trucks/Buses in Ibadan and, ANAMCO in Enugu also produced buses and trucks.
4. Steyr in Bauchi produced our Agricultural Tractors. It was not just Assembly. We were producing many of the components:
5. Vono products in Lagos produced the vehicle seats.
6. Exide in Ibadan produced the batteries, not just for Nigeria but for the entire West Africa.
7. IsoGlass and TSG in Ibadan produced the windshields.
8. Ferrodo in Ibadan produced the Brake Pads and Discs.
9. Dunlop produced Tyre in Lagos, and Michelin Tyre were produced in Port Harcourt. And I mean Tyre produced from Rubber plantations located in Akamkpa (South Eastern State) Ogun, Bendel, and Rivers State.
10. We were listening to Radio and watching Television Sets assembled in Ibadan by Sanyo.
11. We were using Refrigerators, Freezers, and Air Conditioners produced by Thermocool and Debo.
12. We were putting on clothes produced from the UNTL Textile Mills in Kaduna and Chellarams in Lagos. They were Nonotrom imported Cotton but from Cotton grown in Nigeria.
13. Our water was running through pipes, produced by Kwalipipe in Kano and Duraplast in Lagos .
14. Our toilets were fitted with WC produced in Kano and Abeokuta.
15. We were cooking with LPG gas, stored inside gas cylinders, produced at the NGC factory in Ibadan.
16. Our Electricity was flowing through cables produced by the Nigerian Wire and Cable, Ibadan; NOCACO in Kaduna and Kabelmetal in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
17. We had Bata and Lennards Stores, producing the shoes we were putting on. The shoes were not from imported leather, but from locally tanned leather in Kaduna, Jos, etc.
18. We were mainly, using our Airways, (The Nigeria Airways), most places in the world, being that the Nigeria Airways was about OR one of the biggest in Africa at the time!
19. Most of the foods we eat are grown or produced in Nigeria.
We were producing all of the above and many more in the 1980s!
Today, we import almost everything.
Isn’t that alarming?
$1 = ₦1652
£1 = ₦2010
€1 = ₦1985
*In case you don’t know the root cause of our problems today,
Here lies the source of the terrible exchange rate we are experiencing today, and I believe that everyone reading this has a critical role to play in reversing this very UGLY trend.
We have been talking about these problems and more for ages.
It is not enough for us to complain about the exchange rate or point out what others are not doing or are failing to do. The key questions are:
1. What are we producing now?
2. What role are our so-called leaders/ politicians of today doing?
We are forever shying away from responsibility, whereas it is a stark reality, and if we don’t deal with it, it won’t go away.
To our Dear Politicians, since you now understand Nigerians with your 3kg rice and N2000 Naira, we also will be strategic with your return.
When our Children ask for their Fundamental Human Rights, you will arrest them and forget them in prison.
Dear parents, start your campaign from home now, educate them why they should not eat their future with N2000 or 3kg rice and why they must vote and be voted for
#NIGERIA IS RISING AGAIN#
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