NAIRA EXCHANGE RATE

Nigeria my beloveth country,
Oh the giant of Africa!
Why art thou fallen?
The alarming depreciation of the Naira currency is heartbreaking. The tremendous increase in the exchange rate is nothing to write home about, from 199 to 400 naira per USD in a matter of weeks is shocking.
What exactly is going on? What could be the reason for this sudden increase? Never in the history of Nigeria have we had it like this.
Now to buy common sachet water,  they will say dollar has gone high so it's #10. I recently went to the market and I wanted to purchase a product and the seller was claiming the product is now expensive because of the high dollar rate and am like but this is a Nigerian product. To my amazement, this guy told me that the content of the product is Nigerian made but the container is foreign... Whattttt!
The height was when a bikeman told me that his charges have increased because of dollar... Joker!
While things may still seem a bit normal for now,  it won't be for long if this increase should continue. There is already inflation of prices of goods due to the ridiculous exchange rate and before you know it,  there will be scarcity of goods and even money will be hard to come by. When all these happens,  it only boils down to one thing - Increased crime rates.
By the time youths and men cannot make ends meet,  they will take to the streets and do whatever it takes to put food on their table for themselves and the family. Before you know it,  it will become "survival of the fittest" and Nigeria will be thrown back into the perverted state of nature where life is "brutish,  nasty and short"
I want to believe our government will not let this unbecoming situation deteriorate to that stage by God's grace. Now the pertinent question is what is being done? Scratch that... What can be done?
It is common knowledge that we cannot solely rely on Petroleum as our major source of revenue anymore and as a result, the focus has shifted to agriculture and other sectors  to diversify our source of revenue,  but is this enough?
While the government is making conscious deliberate efforts to booost up economic development in Nigeria, I  still feel there is so much more they can do.
Aside exporting goods and local products, we can sell out our services also. There are so many bundles of extra ordinary talents sitting at home, searching for employment. Nigeria is filled with so many gifted minds that have a lot to offer if they are given proper orientation and training.
We talk about adulterated goods,  our famous "Abba made products"  but do you know it takes a lot of intelligence, skill amd hardwork to make a duplicate of a product that looks so much like the original? I mean some of these so called Abba made products, you can't even tell the difference between the original and the fake,  because those guys are that good. Also,  the quality of these Abba products are gradually improving. I won't deny the fact that I patronize them sometimes and I can tell you that I have some Abba shoes that have lasted longer than the so called UK made. Who can relate?
If these guys are encouraged, trained,  given the right facilities and infrastructure,  do you think they would not be able to make quality superior products? They would 100% but then again,  even if the government makes an attempt to rebrand these products by investing in them to make the products better and superior,  the 'foreign factor'  will still be there. The foreign factor simply means "if it is not made in Italy or UK or US, then I can't buy it" please my sister,  if you don't buy it, who will?
It's our Nigeria. You want change,  be the change you want to see. We cannot keep investing in the American economy or other foreign countries and expect Naira value to increase. Let's erase the "foreign factor"  mentality. Not all nigerian goods are substandard and inferior,  the few that are good, patronize them and by so doing,  you raise more funds for the manufacturers to improve on the quality of the products.
The government has the major role to play. The government should establish a n effective regulatory body to ensure that there is a set standard for the goods produced in Nigeria and that no one goes below that standard because no one wants to eat poison all in the name of patriotism. If the goods are standardized,  more people will buy.
Also,  most of the youths with innovative concepts and brilliant ideas are  in the U. S or U. K because they stand better chances there with the right facilities and the U. S government welcomes them with open hands because they know they will advance their economic development but what do the government do in Nigeria? They watch them go.
We cannot rely on goods and products alone while allowing intellectual property go to the drain. Our economy should be diversified.  The government should invest in this area of intellectual property,  encourage inventions and innovations, put adequate capital in place to bring brilliant ideas and concepts to life.
Until we take that bold step towards developing our own industry and economy, our economy will continue to be a slave to other economies. The government cannot do it alone. It is a team work, a concerted effort.
Let's begin to look around and help ourselves build the Nigeria we desire. It's our country. We are freaking Nigerians! We are smart,  brave and creative. Let's work together and do the best we can. The government should try out new technologies and techniques, invest in manpower development. lf there is no manpower development, we will keep experiencing economic growth but no economic development. They are two different things.
We are Nigerians! We are more talented than this present  ridiculous  value of the Naira currency.

WAIVER : I am not an economic expert so this is no expert opinion, just the thoughts of a concerned Nigerian citizen with Secondary school Economics knowledge, who is passionate about change in Nigeria.