Nigeria's Ugly Foreign Exchange Restrictions

President Buhari was elected with a lot of goodwill by Nigerians and when he was sworn in on May 29, 2015, there was very high hopes from the populace.

He seemed like fresh air. Here was a man of high integrity, with a proven record of probity and seen as incorruptible. This was a departure from the common image of Nigeria as a country whose political class are seen as chronic kleptocrats.

It was with these high expectations he mounted the saddle and he promised to deliver in his inaugural address.

Sadly, one of the first steps he took was to reject any further depreciation of the naira. His reason was that any devaluation would not benefit Nigerians as the country exported very little other than oil so it would not boost exports but only inflict sufferings on the citizenry.