CULTURE & TOURISM: "WE SHOULD ADVOCATE A STAY AT HOME AND DISCOVER NIGERIA CAMPAIGN." ... CHIEF KEN IWELUMO:

"We should advocate a stay at home and discover Nigeria campaign" to help promote and encourage tourism in Nigeria. Ministry of Tourism/Nigerian Tourism Board  should come up with a list of high quality, interesting and top notch vacation spots in Nigeria and aggressively market them to the public.

... CHIEF KEN IWELUMO.
Former Vice President Bank Of America Merrill Lynch.

 
He is a financial Consultant, a retired seasoned banker as former Vice President Merrill Lynch Bank of America for several years until he resigned to set up his own business in Nigeria.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the corporate and investment banking division of Bank of America. It provides services in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, lending, trading, ...

Now well settled in his Onicha Ugbo home in Delta State, he writes and consults  for government and some top organizations on finance and investments, and advises institutions on policy statement, yet he writes regularly.
In this piece, CHIEF KEN IWELUMO, talks about financial implications of some of the policies government make and how it can be harnessed to boost the Nigerian Economy generally, particularly the recent issues on the devaluation of the naira.

Hear him out:

"While we wring our hands over the 27% devaluation of the Naira, the British Pound has just lost 12.7% of its value today. It was US$1.50 to £1 for several years. Now it is US$1.31 to £1 within a few hours. Don't feel sorry for the British. Developed countries would like a weaker currency to boost exports, attract investors and tourists.

Here we keep hearing the argument that Nigeria is an import oriented country dependent on importation so a strong Naira is needed. Would Nigeria be an import oriented country if there was no oil to provide the foreign exchange? Could Nigeria afford the luxury goods being consumed from Apples to Moet Champagne to G wagons if our exports were Cocoa, Palm Oil, Groundnut, Shear butter, Rubber etc? Whether you are South Korea, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, Germany (after Wll), Italy, Indonesia, Vietnam or Singapore the first step towards industrialization is the devaluation of one's currency.

Yes the Naira was devalued several times in the past but what did our leaders do to attract foreign investments, investors or technology? Did they organize trade shows, marketed to specific foreign investors and businesses relevant to the interests of Nigeria, employed powerful lobbyists to massage the country's image or made it easy for potential investors to come to Nigeria with no hassles? How many of you will take your money to Bolivia, Mauritania, Afganistan, Swaziland, Bhutan, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan or Albania without inducements, serious incentives and encouragement?

So why Nigeria if our Embassy staff are hostile and corrupt? We desperately need to diversify our economy. We urgently need good paying jobs for our workers. We must quickly shift from producing unprocessed raw materials to processed premium goods as our agricultural exports. We have a large consumer market with a growing middle class powered by the services industry. We have the population. A weaker currency, an enabling investor and business friendly environment, intense marketing about the positives of Nigeria and cheap/reliable power are the logical next steps.

My headache now is how to discourage hordes of so called Nigerian holiday makers flooding a now cheaper Britain this July further depleting the little Nigerian foreign exchange reserves left."

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