Business cabals holding down Nigeria’s economy – Lai Omotola

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Confederated Facilitators Limited (CFL) Group of companies, Lai Omotola, said Wednesday that some business cabals are holding down Nigeria’s economy.

Mr Omotola disclosed this while speaking at a media parley to mark the company’s 25 years of doing business in Nigeria.

“The problem we have in Nigeria are the so-called business elites, who have little understanding of the game called business. They have a reversed mentality of what business is all about,” Mr Omotola said.

“The Buhari government spent N1.7 trillion on agriculture, and a bag of rice is still around N45,000 to N60,000 in Nigeria.

“This is not Buhari’s fault, but that of the businessmen. They collect the money, lie to the government that they have 50 hectares of land somewhere, and divert the money. When it is time for harvest, they will hire people to cause a crisis in the community and declare force majeure,” he added.

He also said the elite whose only business is to speculate on Nigerian currency constitute a major impediment towards growth.

He argued that when there is a gap of over N300 in the exchange rate, speculators would make a huge return once they can get foreign exchange from the bank, even at the detriment of the nation’s economic development.

“When this present government was floating the Naira, it was to make the difference between the Naira at the official market and the parallel market not to exceed N2.

“That’s the meaning of floating. But government has forgotten that when you float the Naira, there is no dollar in the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) to back that Naira.

“And it’s a matter of demand and supply. Anything in life, if today more people are looking for a particular substance than what is available, the price of the substance would go up. It is fundamental economics.”

He said if fewer people are looking for it, the value will depreciate.

“That’s the issue of demand and supply. So when you now allow the Naira to float, when you don’t have enough dollars, guess those with the dollar. It’s with the market cabals

“There is nothing called market forces in Nigeria’s economy. Nigeria’s economy is powered by market cabals. Regulating the currency has moved from the hands of the CBN to the hands of the market cabals,” he said.

“Let me tell you how they operate. For instance, they know that Nigeria requires $100 million to have that floating that will keep the difference between the official rate and parallel market at N2.

“And the cabals are the ones that have the $100 million. So they will only release $50 million into the economy. Now, when you release $50 million, demand for the dollar will become much higher, and the supply will become lower, thereby influencing and increasing the price of the dollar to Naira. CBN cannot intervene because there is no dollar.

“So the market cabals always have dollars with them. And they work in circles. They have dollars with them, they are the ones supplying dollars to the market, and they make a hell of a profit from the circles. So which business can be better than that?” he asked.

Mr Omotola said his group of companies, in 25 years, had set up about 27 companies in different sectors of the economy.

“In 25 years, we have set up about 27 companies in different sectors of the economy. But I must tell you that a World Bank report says the lifespan of a Nigerian company is five years. We have sustained 25 years. We’ve seen all the crises. We’ve seen the financial crisis, inflation, COVID-19 and now the subsidy crisis. It has been very challenging.

“In Nigeria, the government is not pro-business. We pay all our taxes but don’t get the same compliment. The only thing that can keep you in business for 25 years is God and the power that you have because someone can just come one day and pull down your building. Anything can happen at any time.

“So, you need that resistance that it’s not going to happen. The chaotic environment is what makes a lot of people run away. But the truth of the matter is that there is hardly any country in the world that has the same profit margin that Nigeria has in every sector,” he said.