A former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida has said that his administration devalued the naira and stopped foreign exchange from remaining a deity to be worshipped by all.
Babangida made this disclosure in his recently release autobiography titled, ‘A Journey In Service’, which was launched last week.
In chapter seven of the book, the former military general accused his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari – who served between 1983 and 1985 – of failing to do the needful to save the Nigerian economy.
Babangida also accused the Buhari military regime of setting an artificial exchange rate which he claimed hurt the nation’s economy severely.
He said “The primary cause of the crisis in the economy itself was a total mismatch of supply and demand. The shortage in the supply of essential goods was occasioned by uncertain access to foreign exchange.
“Importers, manufacturers, government goods and services, and the general public could only access foreign exchange through the red tape of a bureaucracy that needed to be more transparent,” Babangida wrote.
Further condemning the crackdown and arrest of individuals carrying foreign currency, Babangida said that the Buhari administration failed to improve Nigeria’s economic system.
“I must confess that I felt assaulted and hurt that my predecessor had arrested, detained and harassed some prominent Nigerians because they were found at the airport travelling with a few dollars or pounds sterling.
“We decided to deregulate the foreign exchange market by floating the exchange rate instead of fixing it at a predetermined level by government fiat.
“We were satisfied that the demand and supply of foreign exchange determined the exchange rate. At least foreign exchange stopped being a deity to be worshipped by all and sundry since it could now be accessed more liberally,” Babangida wrote in his book.
