Stephen Oyedemi writes:
In Nigeria...We have seen a lot of protectionist policies come up in recent times, and this needs to be questioned. The real value of the Naira (Nigerian currency) is unknown as the government continues to fix the exchange rate. Not less than 41 items are on the Central Bank’s Prohibition List, preventing many dealers and traders from accessing the Nigerian Foreign Exchange market. This has led businesses to seek foreign exchange from the black market where the exchange rate is much higher, contributing to the instability in the financial market and the inflation being experienced. A deep-cycle battery, for example, that was sold for about N55,000 in January now goes for N115,000 making it more expensive for people who use renewable energy as these batteries are imported.More here