The Chairman of CFL Group of Companies, Lai Omotola has identified the exchange rate as the singular problem plaguing Nigeria’s economy. “The Nigerian economy has only one problem.
If that problem is fixed, then we don’t have any other. The problem is the exchange rate,” he emphasized.
Addressing a press conference on the state of the nation, also marking the 26th anniversary of CFL group, Omotola said, stabilizing the exchange rate at N350 to a dollar would automatically reduce petrol prices and other commodities, subsequently easing inflation and interest rates. “If today, our exchange rate is N500 to a dollar, petrol will immediately come down, and prices of other commodities will come down,” he explained.
Omotola recalled warning the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor about the impending fall of the naira, which has now plummeted to around N1,800 to a dollar. “Last year, I spoke about the exchange rate and I warned the CBN governor about the impending fall of the naira. Today, it is about N1,800 to a dollar,” he said.
He criticized the CBN’s measures as merely cosmetic, failing to address the root cause of the fall. “I kept saying what the CBN governor was doing was just cosmetics, which is not the major thing to do. You can’t allow people to be speculating on our currency as a means of survival,” Omotola stressed.
The CBN governor, Omotola argued, plays a pivotal role in resolving the economic crisis. However, he questioned the ability of current cabinet members to effectively tackle the problem. “The present economic challenge cannot be solved by anyone among the cabinet members. No one among them can boastfully say I have what it takes to solve this problem,” he noted.
Drawing parallels with the medical and aviation sectors, Omotola demanded decisive action from leaders. “If you meet a medical doctor, once he diagnoses what is wrong with you, he will give you a prescription and tell you I expect that you feel well within a week. If you enter into a plane, the pilot will tell you within this flight, I expect to be bumpy and advise that you put on your seat belt,” he illustrated.
Omotola continued, “Any person that cannot diagnose, prescribe, and tell us you will be well in one-week should not be in office. We can’t have professionals sitting down and dish out rhetorics.”
To achieve lasting economic growth, Omotola advocated a 10-year plan focused on four key areas: Agriculture, Health, Education, and Infrastructure. “We must be able to say, we want to conquer four things – Agriculture, Health, Education, and Infrastructure – and we are drawing up a 10-year plan that no politician or government will distort,” he proposed.
This roadmap, he suggested, should be enshrined in the constitution to prevent political interference. “We will make the roadmap constitutional such that nobody comes into government later and changes it. That is how governance should be and not what we are doing now, where everybody is waiting for a miracle to change the situation,” Omotola emphasized.
He highlighted the disconnect between Nigeria’s educated population and its inability to feed itself. “Nigerians have been eating without going to school in the days of our grandfathers… If you go home to greet them, they will give you enough food. They did not go to school, but we ate and fed well during their time. Unfortunately, they sent all of us to school and we returned crying about hunger. It is indeed a calamity after so much investment in you.”
He said the current hardship requires a collaborative effort between the government and private sectors, stressing that the entrepreneurs, not politicians, drive change in developed countries.
On the private sector, he emphasized the need for entrepreneurs to build infrastructure, provide essential services, and create jobs and drive economic growth in the country.
He criticised Nigeria’s business elite for mismanaging resources, saying over N40 trillion spent on fuel subsidies, N10 trillion on agriculture, and N8 trillion absorbed by AMCON from bad bank loans, lamenting the lavish lifestyles of some business leaders, despite being deeply indebted, as well as the practice of stashing funds in foreign accounts, perpetuating joblessness and insecurity.
On the company’s plan, Omotola said the organisation hopes to introduce technology into agriculture and also bridge the housing deficit gap in the country.
“In two days, on October 26, 2024, our group will be 26 years old. Over the years, we have weathered various challenges such as banking reforms, economic recessions, insecurity, FX crises, fuel shortages, and now, the current economic hardship,” Omotola said.
“In a country where most businesses collapse within five years, 26 years is indeed worth celebrating.
“Regarding our business, we are pleased to announce that our PPP project with Ikeja Local Government has been fully resolved, and construction is progressing well.
“We expect early delivery between December 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, marking 15 years of work on the project. Additionally, we have 18 real estate projects across Lagos awaiting government approvals.
“We are also raising funds to launch a nationwide ‘One Million Homes’ development, known as the Grace Project. In agriculture, we’ve launched Tech Farmers, integrating technology to accelerate farming. Next year, we plan to begin backward integration into our construction sector, manufacturing our materials, which will create jobs and reduce costs.”
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