“Pray for Naira”: Shehu Sani Urges Christians, Muslims as Economic Hardship Deepens
- Former lawmaker and public affairs analyst Senator Shehu Sani urged Nigerian Muslims and Christians to seek divine intervention through prayer to save the Naira
- He stated this on the heels of the declining state of the Nigerian naira to the American dollar over the past few days
- Sani took to his X platform to suggest that if the desired miracle does not occur within a week, adherents of both faiths should consider fasting
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
FCT, Abuja - Former lawmaker Senator Shehu Sani has urged Christians and Muslims to pray for the Nigerian naira following its poor run with the Dollar.
On Wednesday, February 21, the Nigerian naira saw a significant decrease in value, hitting a new low of N1,830 against the US dollar in the informal market, commonly known as the black market.
Source: UGC
This reflects a 7.10% drop or N130.00, weaker than the previous day's closing rate of N1,700.
This decline highlights the severity of the ongoing economic difficulties, with this decrease marking the lowest point in the Naira's historical performance.
The persistent depreciation of the Naira in the black market is exacerbated by a considerable increase in inflation, as recently reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for January 2024.
Reacting to this development, Senator Sani stated that it was high time Nigerians switched to prayers to help ravage the situation.
He wrote via X:
"Muslims should pray for Naira this coming Friday.Christians should pray for Naira on http://Sunday.
"You will see miracle on Monday. If you don’t see it fast for 7 days If you still don’t see miracle, it means even miracle hath left thee because of thy sins."
Inflation statistics and black market price
According to Nairametrics, the inflation rate jumped to 29.90%, marking a substantial increase from the 28.92% seen in the prior month.
This indicates a notable rise in the headline inflation rate for January 2024, with a 0.98% uptick compared to December 2023.
Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) implementing various policies to boost foreign exchange (forex) supply, these trends continue.
A trader at the naira black market in Abuja, who spoke to Legit.ng, confirmed the inflation.
The trader, identified as Aliyu, said the Naira sells at N1,800 to $1 in the black market.
When asked, he said:
"N1800 for now."
Further confirming the authenticity of the assertions of the first trader, Shinkafi, who runs the BDC on a large scale, told Legit.ng authoritatively that the black market price is pegged at N1800 to $1.
The value of the Great British Pound (GBP) dropped to £1/N2210 from £1/N2,120 the day before, marking a significant decrease of 4.07%.
Similarly, the naira saw a decline against the euro, weakening by 2.43% to close at N1855/EUR1 compared to N1810/EUR1 the previous day.
Naira vs Dollar: My job is second most difficult, says CBN boss Cardoso
Meanwhile, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, described his position as one of the toughest in the world.
Despite this, he remains hopeful that the reforms implemented during his tenure will bring positive results.
Cardoso made these remarks as the Nigerian naira continues to lose value against the US dollar, with the exchange rate nearing N1,700.
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Source: Legit.ng
