Understanding Yesterday’s Oil Price Drop As a Nigerian (II)
If you read previous post, you will recall that Ronald Nzimora had broken down what the drop in Oil prices means for the Nigerian economy (if you’ve not read it, don’t continue without reading it HERE, else this post may make little or no sense to you).
In this post, I reproduce the email he sent to me as he promised in the last email (again, see last post)
Dear Tosin,
Do you see the picture above?
Do you know what it is?
It's an ant hole.
I remember growing up in Gusau, Zamfara State (we eventually left due to the incessant riots targeting Igbos and Christians), and on my way back from school each day, I'd stumble on one of these ant holes.
I'd kneel down beside it with my face close to it, enough to see the movement of the ants going in and out carrying items in their mouth but far away enough to not disrupt the ordered work.
It was fascinating to observe how the ants worked their asses off.
I always wondered why they spent all that time working and working, non-stop.
Sometimes because children are mischievous, we would use a stick to disrupt the long orderly line of ant going to and from the hole, and pandemonium would ensue.
The ants would scatter everywhere in confusion, but surely after a while, they'd all come back again in some hours, and the ordered procession would continue.
I always wondered how come, the figured it out?
It was when I was in secondary school Biology class that I learn that what those ants did helped the earth and humans stay in equilibrium.
The holes helped open up the ground, for water to seep in, and for crop to germinate, or something like that.
I don't have the exact details anymore, it's been over 23 years I last studied this.
You must be wondering, "Why is Ronald talking about ants today?"
Why am I showing you a picture of an ant hole?
What does it have to do with anything?
The answer is A LOT.
You see I am worried for... you.
That may come off as cheesy but let me explain.
You see, a lot of people, maybe you too, aren't aware their lives are like that of the ants above.
"Woah! Whatchu talking about Ronald?"
I didn't mention one thing that happens to those ants.
You see those ants above, in their orderliness and helping the earth's crust, are powerless against natural forces.
These forces could be a farmer, coming in with his hoes to dig up the
floor.
Or a huge rain that would fall, flood the hole and drown the entire colony.
Today, as I looked at the picture I saw so many parallels.
Nigerians are like those ants, really industrious people, work really hard,
obedient and generally follow instructions.
But what do they get for that?
High insecurity to their lives and property, lack of a quality lifestyle because
there is no infrastructure and no social welfare, and a thieving morbidly
corrupt Government, that simply wants to share "oil money" and do nothing
else to lift the country.
All that is required for the populace to fall into trouble like those ants whose
hole would get flooded, is for something like Corona to happen.
And alas here we are. Corona happened. We are shut in for one month. With no end in sight.
If you work somewhere, and you still got paid for this one month, count yourself lucky. More people did not.
If this situation continues for another month or two, virtually every company
will not pay.
And as if the situation wasn't bad enough, oil prices started crashing.
Seeing as oil is how Nigeria earns money that is used to pay salaries, which then is used to stimulate other economic activities, it's not hard to see why
we are completely - forgive me for using this word - FU*CK*ED.
So we are back to yesterday's email. Which was about this country's dependence on oil.
If the email from yesterday rattled you, it wasn't my intention to make you feel bad (if you did). It was my intention though to make you feel uncomfortable enough to DO SOMETHING about this craziness we call...
NIGERIA!
So let's get right into it.
You need to save yourself.
Simple and short.
This whole Corona virus event and the crash of oil prices (our Brent oil crashed 50% yesterday, from $24 to $12 a barrel), has exposed a few things everyone NEEDS to understand.
Which are:
- Relying on one source of income is no longer sustainable.
I have been preaching this for the last, if I am not mistaken, 12 years.
A one source of income life is NOT sustainable.
You must as a matter of urgency decide or and start thinking about what to do to have a second income source.
If you work at a salaried job, you DO NOT have to quit to do this. There are plenty things you can do on the side to have a second source of income.
I reveal one below as you read on.
2. Depending on the Naira to save you is a fruitless exercise.
Tosin, the naira is a useless currency. You probably knew that already. It's only useful within the borders of Nigeria. And even within, it is becoming increasingly useless as with each passing day, prices are rising and you need more and more Naira to buy the same things.
Sigh. 😞
One of my prayer points is that we don't have the same problem Venezuela has had and continues to have.
If that happens Tosin, it will be BLOODY.
Venezuela has just one tribe and they all speak the same language, but we saw what havoc that country is going through.
Their money is so useless, they are burning it on the streets.
For example, it costs 1,200,ooo bolivars (their currency) to buy a small loaf of bread, the normal "Agege" size, 14,600,000 bolivars to buy a whole chicken, 5,000,000 bolivars for 7 round tomatoes, 2,600,000 bolivars for a roll of toilet paper and a bar of soap costs 3,500,000 bolivars.
And that is if you see these things to even buy. And each new day, the prices go up!
And there are riots and infighting EVERY WEEK!
Worse their people are trooping out of the country EVERYDAY with nothing but the clothes on their back.
It's easy to say "God forbid, It's not our portion in Nigeria" but bear in mind that here in Nigeria, we have over 260, and most hate themselves. I hate to imagine what will happen here when there's a breakdown of law and order.
So what do you do about this?
Now while there is some measure of peace and quiet is the time to start planning ad putting your strategies in place!
While choosing a side income source, it will pay you to choose one that earns you DOLLARS instead of naira.
The dollar is the currency of choice now. If you earn it, you will have suitors, and you can change some into plenty of naira.
No, don't worry about this being hard. There are ways to earn income in dollars that don't require you being a rocket scientist.
It will only you require you learn some fundamentals, which I will teach you of course as time goes on.
And here's the biggest benefit of all, if you earn some income in dollars, unlike the naira, you can protect it, which is my next point. And that is...
3. You need to start protecting your wealth
One of the biggest things I have learn in the last 17 years since I started getting money for myself is that if you live in NIgeria and you understand how fragile this country is, you MUST NOT wait until you have Dangote kind of money before you start protecting your wealth.
I have done threads about this on Twitter many times.
Please protect your wealth, create foreign bank accounts or at the very least, open cryptocurrency accounts online, and each month put something away inside there. Even if just $50 or $100 a month, put it in there.
That will be your "in case NIgeria goes to pieces" savings fund.
Call me a doomsday prophet but I do not see this coutnry lasting another 20 years if things continue the way they are.
Unless things change drastically, we are heading for a catastrophe of immense proportions.
And when that happens, only those with money outside of the country's banking system will be safe. All they need to do is take themselves across the border and find an internet conenction and they're back in the game.
So to recap, how do you save yourself?
1. Don't rely on one source of income. It's no longer sustainable.
2. Start looking for a way to make money in dollars. it's easier these days, and especially online too.
And now since you're home, you have time to learn. Hit Google!
3. Keep some of your wealth where Nigeria's problems can't touch it.
If you do these three things, you can live in Nigeria without worries, ready for any eventuality.
To help you achieve this, Below I am sharing two links with you:
The first one is a course that will show you a way to earn a side income, in dollars too, without a lot of scruples. No need to learn a ton of technical stuff and the creator is someone I have knows for 12 years and counting. That means he's been doing this for nearly that long.
Here it is:
https://expertnaire.com/manager/product/6299103870/6457450825
Check it out and see if it catches your fancy.
The second is a resource that shows you how to keep your money safe outside of Nigeria.
It covers opening bank accounts, some you can open without travelling anywhere, which options are available and how to open cryptocurrency accounts too.
You can check it out here: https://paystack.com/pay/bankea
Alright, we end today's installment here.
If you have any comments, follow and hit me up on Twitter @ronaldnzimora.
