Emmanuel OchayiSenator Adams Oshiomhole has called for government intervention to rescue the beleaguered Nigerian naira, challenging the prevailing belief in the efficacy of market forces.
Speaking on the Senate floor during the screening of CBN governor nominee Yemi Cardoso and four other deputies, Oshiomhole passionately advocated for a change in approach.
“The challenge we deal with now is everybody seems to have submitted completely to the so-called market forces and rely on the invisible eyes of Adams Smith to regulate and determine the value of the naira,” Senator Oshiomhole declared on Tuesday. “It is now clear, after Babangida started the devaluation, that the market forces can never stabilize the naira. The state must intervene.”
The former Edo State governor further highlighted the adverse impact of high interest rates on the nation’s manufacturing sector. “Interest rate cannot be at 20 or 25 percent, and you are expecting the manufacturing sector with investments that require long-term gestation period to grow,” Oshiomhole remarked.
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He even drew an unconventional comparison, saying, “Even if you are a drug dealer, you would find that those dealing with drugs in Latin America would be more competitive.”
Senator Oshiomhole called for “complete thinking outside the box” to address the currency crisis, expressing skepticism about the West’s praise for some government policies. “So, I think there is a need for a complete thinking outside the box. When the West celebrates our free market, no control, and so on, I am always suspicious,” he cautioned, adding, “We need to interrogate our assumptions. We don’t need to copycat Washington and all these international finance capitals. It is their interest [that they are after]. There is no such thing as a common interest.”
Despite his concerns, Oshiomhole expressed hope that the new apex bank team would help the government fulfill its campaign promises and set the nation’s currency on a stable course.
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