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Since General Buhari became the president of Nigeria, the country has gone from one constitutional question to the other. 

“Plutocracy is a government controlled exclusively by the wealthy, either directly or indirectly. Only the wealthy rules...” - Investopedia Nigeria is an example of a plutocratic system of governance. In fact, it will be easier for a Camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a poor man to win an election in Nigeria. Well, Senate President Lawan, one of the Nigerian plutocrats, stated recently that Nigeria didn’t become a failed state under Jonathan, and so, it won’t be a failed state under Buhari.

The effect of COVID-19 on the world economy resulted in less demand for crude oil, which in turn affected the foreign exchange (Forex) earnings of the Nigerian government. As there is virtually no Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Nigeria, the government started looking for other sources of Forex.

The solution to a problem is usually within the problem itself. In other words, a problem and a solution come in a pack. They are always identical, but a patient mind would differentiate an answer from a problem.

Mallam Isa Funtua was an in-law and associate of President Muhammadu Buhari. He died a few weeks ago. While Mr. Funtua was alive, he was alleged to have controlled the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its foreign exchange (Forex) trade.

Soon after the Ethiopian airlines crash, The Ethiopian and so many other world’s airlines grounded their Boeing 737-MAX-8. Even the British government went as far as banning the operation of the airplane (Boeing 737-MAX-8) within its airspace. As for Air Peace Nigeria, the company has issued a statement that it is not planning to ground its own Boeing 737-MAX-8.

Once upon a time, there was a country that couldn’t feed its population, over a billion people. This country’s inhabitants were ingenious, waiting for the freedom to exhibit their creativity. But they couldn’t express themselves because of the type of government as well as the economic system they embraced. That country was China; the government and economic system were communist.

Yesterday, 22/January/2019, president Buhari gathered some old rich men to approve a minimum wage of N30k for the poor young Nigerians. Apparently, the Nigeria’s constitution permits so, which it calls council of state meeting. These old men were past Nigerian presidents, past Chief Justices of Nigeria, etc. The past presidents included Obasanjo and Jonathan excluding Yar’Adua (RIP) – the faces of PDP 16 years misrule. Does it really make sense?

photo created by nigerianmemo.com “Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.” - Transparency International Meanwhile, New Zealand is the least corrupt country according to the 2017 index. The country scored 89/100. This shows that no country is 100% clean. Thus, there will always be fight against corruption.

Mark Twain wrote: “If you pick a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between dog and man.” It’s not only a dog that behaves in this manner. An African (Igbo) proverb states; that a fowl does not forget the man who plucked her feathers during the rainy season.

Money (banknotes & coins) is a medium of exchange. But some African politicians particularly the politicians in Nigeria are gradually redefining money as a medium of influence.  These politicians steal millions of dollars of public funds, not because they want to buy bread and butter, but to control those people who are willing to sell their days for gold – apologies to Kahlil Gibran.

The 2-day China-Africa summit ended on 4/September/2018. About 50 Africa’s heads of state attended the summit held in Beijing. Mr Xi – Chinese president promised a total of $60 billion to finance projects in Africa “in the form of assistance, investment and loans over the next three years.” China continues to present itself as a better partner to Africa than EU and US. Well, China can never be better than EU, at least EU observes human rights, which China doesn’t care about.

Africans, especially Nigerians like getting involved in what they don’t thoroughly understand, as long as there is money to be made. In 2016, people from West to East and to South of the African continent got enmeshed in the Ponzi scheme created by 3 Russians; Sergey Mavrodi, Vyacheslav Mavrodi, and Olga Melnikova (MMM). They promised as much as 50% monthly interest on deposits.

In 1964, the Bankers’ magazine published an adage, which it rephrased as, "Let me tell you about the law of holes: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."  This came as advice to financial services professionals, especially to traders on the floor of stock exchanges around the world. The message was simply, if you are losing money stop and reconsider your strategy.

The duties of a country’s foreign mission (embassy) includes spying on its host country, albeit covertly. That is what the leaks by Wiki-Leaks suggest. And the most culpable of this clandestine move is every US Embassy.

Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market operates differently from other financial markets.  In equity market for instance, shares are bought or sold depending on the performance of that company.

In 1951 when Iran nationalised its oil industry controlled by BP, an international embargo was placed on the country. But, in order to allow Iran’s oil back to the international market, the U.S State Department suggested that a consortium of major oil companies should be formed.

Saudi Arabia is at war on different fronts. The kingdom is fighting the shale oil and gas producers in North America so as to maintain market share. Saudis are also fighting Iran in order to maintain the dominance of Sunni Islam.