The fallout of the Nigeria's economy policy.

It is no news that the new administration has initiated some major reforms to improve growth and strengthen the economy of the country.

These major reforms are: The removal of fuel subsidy, Reform in the Foreign exchange market and floating of the Naira.

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These major reforms have recently affected the economy and the masses negatively. They are crucial steps to implement in order to improve the economic situation and also restore macroeconomic stability. It is expected that the implementation of these major reforms should be able to lift Nigeria's growth potential. Because of these drastic changes, many households would be pushed into poverty, many wards might be forced out of school, and the unemployment rate would be very high as many would be out of jobs.

Recently, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria, GlaxoSmithKline popularly known as GSK has announced that they would be shutting down their operations in Nigeria. The obvious reason is progressive high cost of living, reducing the purchasing power and plunging a lot of people into poverty.
The overhead costs of running the company was becoming unbearable as they barely make profits. So they have decided to leave the country to the UK, their parent country.

Direct consequence for this action.
High rate of unemployment.
A lot of Nigerians would lose their jobs ranging from pharmaceuticals representatives and other indirect employees of the GSK company. Their products will be handed over to major distribution companies which will drastically inflate the cost of the product.

Secondly, there are possibilities for other companies to also follow suit which brings to the effect this would have on Nigeria's GDP and loss of revenue for the government through corporate taxes. So, it will be importers bringing in their products to sell in Nigeria which doesn't grow the GDP of the country instead it takes away from the country rather than bringing in. This act makes Nigeria a consuming nation even more, rather than a production nation.

Inflation rate, cost of living, poverty, the list is endless. These are what would keep driving investors from foreign countries out of the country. The more they leave, poverty levels will keep rising.

For clarity sake, recently the Nigerian government floated the naira, currently the dollar rate has increased to over #885(1.16 USD). The implication of this increase is that Nigeria imports over 80% of what she consumes in the country, the cost of goods and services will keep rising. Nigeria relies on whatever the value of the dollar is at the moment.

Serious implications

• Low standard of living.
• People will have to resort to substandard products to keep afloat.
• There will be food scarcity.
• High cost of basic needs like medicine.
  All of these mentioned would cumulate and result in very serious inflation.

Thirdly, another grave consequence is; the more Nigerians lose their jobs due to investors backing out of the country and high cost of running a business ranging from power supply, raw materials, increase in every factors of production, the more increase in crime rate in the country and this will make people resort to criminal activities, fraud, stealing and robbery just to survive.

Let's not forget that student fees were also increased, the federal government-owned university has said that the increments are charges for accommodation, laboratory appliances and maintenance with other charges. These would force parents to pull their wards out of school because they might not be able to pay. It is true that this administration has promised to insure student loans but recently students have been murmuring about the terms and conditions that surround it.

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I am currently running a mini mart business. The prices of goods in the market rise frequently. I have to keep in touch with some of my suppliers in the market so I can get the necessary information about the prices of goods. I procured a bag of sugar last week for #36600(47.07 USD ) but I was informed yesterday that it's #43000(56.22 USD) now(17% increment). This has forced a lot of shop owners to adjust their rates even the smallest denomination that was for #50(0.065 USD) would no longer be sold as that. 1kg of sugar was formerly sold for #1100(1.44 USD) but now it is sold between #1500(1.97 USD) and #1600(2.09 USD).
Garri is known to be a common man's food because of how affordable it is and the many ways it can be consumed. Late last month a bag was sold for #32500(42.50 USD) but I was informed that it has increased to #42000(54.92 USD) a bag. A kg was formerly sold at #350(0.46 USD) but now it's sold for #600(0.78 USD)/#700(0.92 USD). What this means is that a common person might no longer be able to afford this over time.

I own a Toyota Corolla, Before now I used #12,000(15.69 USD) to fill the tank but right now it costs me #35,000(45.76 USD) to fill the tank. I don't use the car unless I am heading to the market just for the comfort of carrying my goods or at a pressing and important occasion. I discovered it's even cheaper to ride on public transport right now. There are a lot of people who have done the same, they prefer public transport to using their car.

A station complained bitterly as regards the subsidy removal, what the sell in a day has been slashed down not because there is no fuel but because people aren't buying enough like before when it was #185(0.24 USD) now it's currently #617(0.81 USD) there is no traffic at the station. This will make the station relieve some of their staff of their duties because they might not be able to pay all the staff.

In the bid to support the people in this hard time and letting the poor breathe, the government has proposed #8000(10.46 USD) worth palliative for 12 million poor households which is very thoughtful of them but then again #8000(10.46 USD) worth palliative? How long will it sustain them?

Suggestions:
I suggest that the government should sit up, declare a state of emergency in the economy.

Individuals should invest in different handworks(menial jobs), double your hustle. If you can! Entrepreneurship should be the masses' target.

Here in the plateau, many households have resorted to subsistence farming for their basic needs. It's now a source of feeding for many. Investing in agriculture is a good investment whether small or large scale.

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