Nigeria needs to stop over-reliance on imported goods, says ASSBIFI
By Joy Obakeye
President of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye has advised Nigerians to value and patronise locally produced goods, instead of relying on foreign goods.
Comrade Olasanoye who disclosed this to journalists at a press conference on the state of the nation concerning the financial sector, recently in Lagos, stressed that as long as Nigeria’s economy depends on foreign-produced goods and forex has to be sourced, there will be little that the country can do.
“It is not only the forex that is increasing inflation, inflation is a demand and supply thing. As long as our economy depends on foreign production of goods, there will be little that the country can do.
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“When we talk in the labour sector about the minimum wage a lot of people challenged us wondering why are we complaining about minimum wage with the effect of the economic situation in the country, but one thing they don’t understand is that our ability as Nigerians is to purchase goods that will increase productivity.
“We lack social security and zero welfare. Before the working age falls, one has no hope from the government and that is why they have been increasing some of these sharp unnecessary practices in the country because people are afraid of what they will eat tomorrow, but if there is a little amendment in our system like in education, health, and manpower, then there will be little of our demand for minimum wage.”
Speaking earlier, she urged Nigerian workers mostly those in the banking industry to adopt information technology to make them relevant in this digital world.
She stressed that as the Nigerian financial industry cannot be exempted from the harsh environment of doing business in the country, some banks and other financial institutions may be forced to cut jobs. We cannot stop them from doing so, but we can only force them to follow a proper due process whereby those to be affected by such cuts would not just be thrown into labour markets.
“And those workers should not just by one-period assessment be thrown out of a job. At least, the normal way of assessing performance is three years
