We shouldn’t be surprised. We were far more productive in 1980 than we are today
In 1980 the key metric are as follows:
1) we are a net exporter of refined petroleum products. Today we import all our refined petroleum products.
2) We ride in locally assembled cars, buses and trucks. Peugeot cars in Kaduna and Volkswagen cars in Lagos. Leyland in Ibadan and ANAMCO in Enugu produce our buses and trucks. Steyr at Bauchi producing our Agricultural tractors. And it is not just Assembly, we were producing many of the components. Vono products in Lagos producing the seats. Eveready in Kano and Exide in Ibadan producing the batteries, not just for Nigeria but for the entire West Africa. Isoglass and TSG in Ibadan producing the windshields. Ferodo in Ibadan producing the brake pads and disc. Tyres produced by Dunlop in Lagos and Mitchellin in Portharcourt. And I mean tyres produced from rubber plantations located in Rivers State.
3) We were listening to Radio and watching television sets assembled in Ibadan by Sanyo.
4) We were using refrigerators, freezers and Airconditioners produced by Thermocool.
5) We were wearing clothes produced from the Adhama textiles in Kano, UNTL textile mills in Kaduna and Chellarams in Lagos. Not from imported cotton but from cotton grown in Nigeria.
6) Our water was running through pipes produced by Kwalipipe in Kano.
7) Our toilets were were fitted with WC produced at Kano and Abeokuta.
8) We were cooking with LPG gas stored inside gas cylinders produced at the NGC factory in Ibadan.
9) Our electricity was flowing through cables produced by the Nigerian wire and Cable, Ibadan and Kablemetal in Lagos and Portharcourt.
10) We had Bata and Lennards producing the shoes we were wearing. Not from imported leathers but from locally tanned leather at Kaduna.
11) We were mainly flying our airways, the Nigeria Airways, to most places in the world. The Airways was about the biggest in Africa at that time.
12) Most of the food we eat were being grown or produced in Nigeria.
We were producing all of the above and more in 1980
Today, we import almost everything. There lies the source of the terrible exchange rate we are experiencing today and everybody on this platform has a critical role to play in reversing the ugly trend.
It is not enough for us to complain about the exchange rate or bring out what others are not doing or are failing to do, the key question is what are you producing or what are you planning to produce?
– From an anonymous source
