Buy Naija To Grow The Naira: The Ben Murray-Bruce Example, The hashtag #BuyNaijaToGrowTheNaira is trending on the social media right away. And this is made possible by the Media Mogul, a respected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and no other person than Ben Murray-Bruce who just want to make a commonsense. In making a commonsense, the Senator is calling on us all to patronize made in Nigeria goods as this will go a long way in improving our standard of living and also strengthening the value of Naira instead of devaluation. Here is what he has to say:
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| Ben Bruce |
The hashtag #BuyNaijaToGrowTheNaira
is trending on the social media right away. And this is made possible by the
Media Mogul, a respected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and no
other person than Ben Murray-Bruce who just want to make a commonsense.
In making a
commonsense, the Senator is calling on us all to patronize made in Nigeria
goods as this will go a long way in improving our standard of living and also
strengthening the value of Naira instead of devaluation. Here is what he has to
say:
Many Nigerians are complaining about the constant fall in the value of the Naira
and they blame the Government. But is the
government really to blame? In truth, our
insatiable appetite for all things foreign is to blame.
I always fly Arik Business Class whenever I am traveling abroad except Arik does not fly
on that route.
Not only is an Arik ticket a fraction of the
cost of a British Airways
ticket, but the money I pay to Arik circulates
in Nigeria and helps firm up the Naira's
value.
As I speak to you today, a British Airways Business to London is ₦2,103,666
while Arik Business is ₦551,545 yet
our elite still fly BA. But though Arik offers an affordable alternative to
British Airways and other foreign airlines, our big men prefer to pay double what Arik charges to BA and other foreign airlines for the same services and yet they complain about the value of the Naira.
I have Nasco cornflakes and I have eaten Kellogs cornflakes. In terms of nutrition
and taste they are almost indistinguishable.
Yet our elite, who will rather eat Kellogs than
Nasco cornflakes, wonder why the Naira is
falling! Even something like Quaker Oats can
be substituted with corn meal known locally as
pap.
Obasanjo Farms of Nigeria and other large scale poultry farms have the capacity to
provide chicken for the entire nation. Since that
is the case, why are we even buying imported chicken?
In fact what is wrong if every family in Nigeria has a poultry in their backyard to give
them eggs and meat?
My steward went to Makoko, which is one of the largest fishing communities in Lagos.
He wanted to buy fish and they were selling
imported frozen fish!
Yet in the very waters in front of them, there exist fresh fish that is more nutritious
than the cheap frozen fish they were selling.
We keep spending over 1 Billion Naira importing rice when our own farmers are capable of
meeting our national demand for rice. But for some reason, Nigerians just prefer to buy imported rice.
The imported rice we buy in Nigeria is not as good as our local rice because it has
been stored for years in silos and treated
with chemicals.
Moreover, every time you buy it, your money is going out of Nigeria to service an
economy in Asia. The end result is that their
currency gains value while ours loses value.
Have you ever wondered why European Premiership Clubs are so interested in
Nigeria? It is because Nigerians spend
billions traveling to Europe to watch their
games, buy their merchandise and promote their
leagues.
Yet, back at home, we would not be caught dead watching our own local league.
If we will not spend money on made in Nigeria goods and services, how can we expect our Naira to hold its value and appreciate?
Obviously we cannot cut ourselves off from the world. No nation is an island, but at
least we can fly Nigerian airlines, eat locally
produced food and patronize our football
league.
If we do this, not only will our economy grow and produce jobs for Nigerians, it will
also make our goods and services improve in
value such that they will be attractive enough
to be imported.
I bought Innoson vehicles as official cars for my staff. I have never lived to regret it
one day. They are comfortable and durable. But
most of all, I know that my purchase helps to
keep jobs in Nigeria and improve the value of
the Naira. I urge you to do the same. We have
no other country but Nigeria and it is you and
I that will make it what it is.
If we buy Naija We Will Grow Naira.
My name is Ben Murray-Bruce and I just want to make Commonsense!
This post by Ben Murray-Bruce generated
both positive and negative comments and reactions online. And to go with it,
here are some of comments and reactions.
Dee
Anayo. Henceforth I will be flying Arik when next I am coming
home. I will patronize Naija companies and products
like I am patronizing its movies and musics.
But Arik and Naija airport authorities need to
improve their services and baggage/luggage
handling. Most friends complain about lost of
bags or delays while on Arik. You need to
resident overseas to know what it means coming
home without your complete luggage’s. And the silly answers you will receive when such happens. I don't mind eating
local Naija rice hence I do eat Naija bean etc
when overseas. Even Oyibo's appreciate our
Guinness and other beers sef. I know many that
prefer our Guinness to theirs. It is high time
we start appreciating our own. Way to go, I
Dee Anayo stand for common sense.
Ibrahim
Rahj Aliyu. Education should be given a utmost priority.
We can learn from Singapore when it comes to pre-primary,
primary and secondary education, but in the
case of tertiary education, America is the leading
light. From these two we can formulate our
educational policy using Singaporean/ American
model. The difference between poor nations and
rich nations is quality education that is what secures the future. Nigeria will
be great if “Common Sense Economics” is applied. Long live Nigeria! “The labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain”. Theories and economic arguments are short-sighted,
because we are talking about human beings. Poverty has nothing to do with Keynesianism and Friedmanism but applying common sense economics. Since most economic policies are creating huge gap between the rich and the poor, I think common sense economics is the answer. My is Ibrahim and I just want to make common sense.
Oluwadamilare
Oluwasegun Ajijola. The problem with Nigeria service is that we lack customer care. I decided to enter Arik
for the first time 2 yrs ago and carried a TV
with me. On getting to Nigeria the screen of the
TV has shattered. I called Arik to explain what
happened I was told I filled a form when
leaving the UK that whatever happen to TV is
not their business. Are they not supposed to
take good care of my luggage? In the end I
spent more because the TV was more expensive than
the ticket I bought so Mr. Ben it's not about
only cheap ticket they need to provide good
services. Next time I used my common sense and
flew virgin with same TV and got my TV intact.
Never again will I fly Arik except they can
give excellent service. Mr. Ben this sense common
you preach is good but the problem is you only take
it from one perspective which is bad.
Kaycee
Orji. Ben, I banned foreign rice from being prepared in my house. I've never seen any
reason to go back. I bought Medview airlines
ticket to London yesterday and you won't
believe the difference from BA and others.
It will take me also to an airport in London that
is managed by a Nigerian. So obviously, I didn't loose my money, I didn't loose my pride. I have
packed my local food I'm going to be eating in
London, no money lost, no identify lost.
Innoson won't say we are not talking now, and when we are through, it will be all made in Nigeria cars in my fleet. No regrets.
Blessing
Ogbe. Direct question to you Hon. Murray Bruce... Let's
hear your answer to this question from a low
life civilian as you guys always call us. Please
Murray Bruce, kindly explain to us how come
house of Rep and Senators including you collect
Constituency allowance and you guys make a
proper budget to receive it and without having
any offices in each and every constituencies?
If I am wrong then you are not part of the biggest fraud in Nigeria BUT if I am right, then what the president said its total truth and inform your colleagues and you on how to make their way either to EFCC net or ICPC for arrest… I just
want to ask a common sense question...
#AskAcommonSenseQuestion
Adaese
Vanessa Katchy-Enakerakpor. I do not agree completely with this write up. Made in Nigeria goods and services should
be at least the minimum standard of quality
and service in comparison to other developed
climes. We need to up our game and then I believe our goods and services will receive more national patronage. We sell many fake and/or expired goods that are hazardous to health and life. We use substandard materials that in turn result in substandard products. Customer service is practically not there. Arik and time keeping aren't best of friends. Until we make our goods and services to be standard, we'll not have huge patronage. So it’s not necessarily
an issue of loving other countries products or
services more than ours. It's about receiving
value.
Solomon
Ekpo. Don't you think these online proposals are needless and baseless! Tell your fellow
senators who are after foreign things and goods to swallow this "pill" first, then
Nigerians would oblige. How many Innoson cars
are they driving? How about household
appliances and utensils? Please enough of this
social media talk. Go face your fellow
colleagues and you guys should start first and
Nigerians naturally would have no choice.
Thank you sir!
Ogwuche
Daniel. Common sense will work if our leaders would first
admits their past errors and embrace real Change.
Lets stop importing what we can made locally.
America started locally before becoming international,
our brands can be international if we have the
mindset of International! I am Ogwuche Daniel
, CEO #SmileSms . I just want to support Common sense.
Ema
Bountiful. Always making common sense... We prefer to buy GUCCI than
buy ABA made shoes... We prefer to go to London and Indian Hospital, while our
Hospitals are getting outdated... We prefer to
eat foreign dishes when our local foods are
neglected... We need to grow some sense...
Like I said... Your
common sense is too big for the Brianwashed to
comprehend.
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| Ben Murray-Bruce |
Now come to
think of it why do we need to devalue the Naira instead of looking for a way of
strengthening it? If we talk of devaluation; of what effect is it to the common
man on the street? Devaluation as far as it is known by the common man is a
term associated with suffering. Governance is all about providing essential
services that should improve on the life of the citizenry and not that which
should contribute to their already life of abject poverty.
To create wealth,
we need to depend on our locally made goods and not through importing
everything we need for living. If we can change from a consuming to a producing
nation, we can have all we want for a better economy and the lifestyle that
other nations will seek to emulate.
COMMENTS