BRIEF NOTE
The West and its allies have to rethink their Russia strategy. They imposed some of the harshest economic sanctions against Russia, and Russia’s economy has not collapsed or gone into recession. Instead, it is nations in the Western bloc, like the UK and Japan, who joined the US to impose sanctions on Russia, that have gone into a shock recession, and the Eurozone is facing a near recession.
In contrast, Russia recently posted above 3% GDP growth for 2023. What can be responsible for this unexpected turn of events?
It seems Russia was forced to either produce what it could not buy from the West, or they found other sellers. While I am vehemently against the Ukraine war, Nigeria can learn some lessons from Russia’s resilience.
The first thing we can learn is that we need to start producing what we cannot afford due to the devaluation of the Naira. We can no longer afford a network like MTN, which repatriates billions of dollars from Nigeria to South Africa annually. Ditto for DSTV. We must use Nigerian networks and watch Nigerian TV stations.
This is what I have been calling for with the #GrowNairaBuyNaija. Let’s
Drive with Innoson
Call with Glo
Build with Dangote
Eat with Nasco
Additionally, we can no longer depend solely on Western pharmacopoeia. We have to consider alternatives, like homeopathy. King Charles III was recently diagnosed with cancer and has turned to homoeopathy. This is the King of England! Homeopathy is not jazz or juju. It is an alternative and sometimes better medicine.
For example, Ose dudu (dudu Osun) can cure almost any skin condition. Chewing sticks clean as good and sometimes better than toothbrushes. Unripe plantains boost male libido. Wild African ginger relieves respiratory problems. Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) has been scientifically proven to roll back diabetes. And there are other African herbal remedies. Not only do they work, they also have fewer or no side effects. Just being around herbs and plants alone is advantageous to your health.
A third thing we could learn is that to revamp our economy. We can do what Russia did and give targeted salary increases to our military. Like Russia, our soldiers are fighting a war. Ours is a war on terror. When you increase soldiers’ pay, you motivate them, and their increased pay will be spent and positively affect the economy. The combination is powerful. A more loyal army, and a more buoyant economy.
And another thing that we need to learn from the failure of sanctions on Russia is that we need to either revive the Nigerian National Shipping Line or encourage the private sector to go into shipping by giving them grants and generous tax breaks. Because transportation is a massive part of the cost involved in the provision of goods and services. And if we can control our own shipping, we will not only be more economically resilient, like Russia has been, but we can also better control the costs of goods and services within our borders.
Finally, we have to question the effects of our own sections on the Russia-aligned nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. If Western sanctions have not crippled Russia, and instead made her economy more resilient, can we expect our own sanctions to weaken these countries? Are we not losing markets to Russia?
And let us not think that the West will bail us out. Obama and Hillary Clinton caused the Boko Haram insurgency by toppling Muammar Gaddafi. When Gaddafi’s mercenaries returned to Nigeria with more weapons than even our own military and turned to the Islamic State – West Africa Province, the same Obama and Hillary, who caused the problem, refused to sell us weapons to fight ISWAP.
What these guys did in toppling democratically elected governments is terrible, and I condemn it. But should we not look at the bigger geopolitical picture here?
Look at the unintended consequences. They have left the Economic Community of West African States and are even considering forming a confederation.
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