By Hasib Moukarim/Paris, France
In such hard times, when things are tough, when the road is rough, and critical decisions are to be taken by the government in power, I believe it is time to look inward and focus on made-in-Nigeria goods and services.
This is the time the Local Content Policy should rock, never mind the immediate hardship that will eventually pass and usher in brighter days for Nigeria.
We have been on this rough road before and survived its hardships and we will survive these ones as well with God’s help.
Mr. Hasib Moukarim
We should focus on local manufacturers, processors and farmers. I believe we have what it takes in Nigeria to manufacture goods that are of the same standard, if not better, than the imported ones for local uses.
The Local Content Policy, if applied seriously, will reduce the country’s dependence on imported finished goods such as building materials and food items. It will create jobs for Nigerians and generate revenues for the Nigerian economy through additional taxes.
The Buhari Administration was right after taking over from the previous government to stop about 40 items of finished goods from having access to foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (That’s at the official rate).
That single decision saved the country millions of dollars that are badly needed to import essential raw materials and other items and services that are not available in Nigeria.
The aim of government in Nigeria must be to save jobs and never give reasons for employers to retrench due to lack of materials and demands.
Government officials and individuals may buy things produced locally instead of looking for imported goods and services. This has happened in other countries and worked. It can and will work in Nigeria. I stand with President Buhari on this.
Export of non oil products can earn us hard currency as well, so why not encourage this plan of Buy Nigerian Products worldwide and expect a new kind of prosperity, seeing dollars pouring into non oil export companies’ accounts in Nigeria and ensuring employment to Nigerian workers and farmers?
As a businessman, I believe that more has to be done in that direction, mainly to stop importers from faking description of goods when importing those goods into the country in order to have access to official FX.
I also believe that any letter of exemption that is younger than 12 months should not be honoured because it must be fake since the publicly declared policy of President Buhari was Zero waivers and exemptions, while looking again at the older exemption permits approved by former governments to evaluate the benefits of honouring it or not and increase the revenues.
Nigeria had passed through this rough road before and was able to survive its hardships, we will survive these ones as well.
Mr. Moukarim is an industrialist with business interests in Nigeria. He wrote in from Paris, France