The US dollar is rising against the naira at an alarming rate; at the moment, the black market rate is about 188 naira to a dollar. This is getting a bit worrisome for an importer like me who depends on buying dollars to make procurements, ship and also clear consignments. Would this trend ever reverse itself?  I have taken time to analyze the dire situation and I realize that this negative effect may be detriment to the workforce on all levels.

 

 

Crude oil is our chief export product and its important is eminent as our national budget benchmarked on the projected export price of crude oil. This should scare every right thinking person; it’s just a matter of time (maximum 6 years) before the demand of crude oil plummets. The stimulus package initiated by the Obama government has been passed; high percentage of the stimulus package is earmarked for clean energy research; the three American auto makers have been encouraged to build more hybrid cars. If the Americans get it right, the world would definitely follow causing OPEC to further reduce crude oil price.

 

 

This simply means our chief foreign exchange earner cannot hedge the rising dollars as long as the price remains low. It’s very funny that at a period like this when Americans are facing one of the worst economic meltdown in decades, Nigerians who depend more on importation rather than production, is also affected and worse of all , having a declining currency against a fallen dollar. The spending power of the Americans has been reduced drastically, the Chinese, the Indians, the Vietnamese, etc that produce most of the worlds' products are reducing their prices at an alarming rate.

 

 

In China, the price of split Air Condition has been reduced to 50% of its previous marked price to encourage buyers but there are still backlogged products. This is supposed to be the moments for Nigerians to import at a very cheap rate and thus harness for once our drive for importation but the dollar is rising against the naira and there is no sign of it reverting to the way it was. So how does all this affect you? In a big way than you can imagine.

 

Everything starts getting expensive; for example, almost all the building materials are imported except sand and gravel. The high cost of building materials inspires the Landlord to re-evaluate his property ‫ rent goes up. This bites into your “take me home” emolument. The entrepreneur worries about his cost going too high that he can’t break even; increasing your “take home” pay is the last thing on his/her mind. She/he is thinking of letting some staffs go especially the unproductive ones. There is going to be a tight leash on every market segment; but some would be lighter than the others like the transport business would have a field day because they are hardly regulated but the telecom business which would have been inert by all this storm would definitely have the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) breeding down their neck to maintain or reduce their tarrif.

 

 

I don’t like predicting doom but there are tough times ahead and like Noah in the bible, I am sure to be ignored by majority of my readers. I have however discovered the best way to build the Ark against the rising storm. A former colleague of mine once told me something when I was new to their department; “If you want to learn anything fast, follow the money”. He was telling me that the fastest way to learn the ropes of the business was from the accountant not my unit head since the bottom line of any business is profit and loss. I thought he was crazy then but I realize that he was telling me a secret that has helped me make the finest decisions in my life.

 

 

Always follow the money because it gives you the big picture of everything you decide do and everything should be crunched to the profit and loss statement. Though the accountant could not tell me the specific taskss of what I should be doing, the accountant made me understand what the owner (s)/managers of the company were thinking about and the accountant was definitely the most knowledgeable about the business than any other person.

 

 

If you want to hedge against the dollar rising to the naira, there are two secret principles that I discovered in “following the money” paradigm;

 

1.      Convert your money into globally accepted commodity; commodities can be scarce but money can always be printed. If you own a globally accepted commodity, the scarcer a commodity is, the wealthier you become and the more money the government prints, the wealthier you become. I will discuss more about this in my next write-up.

2.      Earn money in dollars; those that earn money in dollars and are living in Nigeria are smiling to the bank. A sizeable amount of my monthly income is in dollars and I know how important this is.

 

I realize that most people want to earn money in dollars but they don’t know how? I realize that almost all my dollar earnings have huge capital start-up but I am willing to introduce you to two of them with minimal start-up: One you can start with as little as 50 USD while the other one you can start with 250 USD. I am postponing the first one till next week while the second one, I am introducing to only serious minded guys. This hardly disturbs your 8-7 work and you can earn as much as a thousand dollars weekly; all you need is an internet connection, a computer terminal and common sense. If you have 250 USD (or N45, 000) capital and you are serious about earning in dollars as a passive but huge income, click HERE.

 

 

I wish to use this opportunity to appreciate all those that participated in the Vietnam Seminar; those that flew in from Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, etc, I really appreciate your coming all the way. These guys have decided to “mind their business” and not depend on their company income; their future looks bright. People have asked me why I could only accommodate 10 people for the seminar and my answer is very simple; “to get the best out of a onetime training, you need a smaller group of people where everybody’s unique contribution and questions can easily be listened to and solved”.

 

 

For those who could not attend and those in Diaspora, I am offering you a manual that chronicles all the secrets of doing business in VIETNAM. The cost for the manual is six thousand naira only (N6, 000). All payments must be made before 11.59p.m., Friday, 20^th March, 2009 (I AM VERY STRICT WITH TIME). To get payment information and download link, please, kindly download this NDA by clicking HERE. Please, sign and scan NDA and send to dipotepede[at]poetsolvers.com. Thank you reading!  

Listen to this podcast