Japa, Naira redesign and other major trends in the Nigerian economy in 2022

• This year, “Japa” became one of the most popular words on social media due to mass immigration.
• Crude oil theft became more intense, the naira depreciated severely, cryptocurrencies collapsed once again, and the inflation rate continued to rise.
• These and more were the top trending economic issues in Nigeria in 2022.

The year 2022 has been nothing but a roller coaster for the Nigerian economy. While there have been some notable achievements by the government of the day, the negatives far outweigh the positives.

From Japa to inflation, from crypto crash to naira redesign, legit.ng brings you some of the most popular discussions on the Nigerian economy in 2022.

japa

You could say that the word “Japa” is one of the most popular on social media this year. Since the beginning of 2022, a week has never gone by without words trending on social media. The word Yoruba is now widely adopted when referring to someone migrating from Nigeria to another part of the world, a trend that has become more prevalent of late, attributable to harsh economic realities.

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While many have chosen the education and employment route to ‘Japa’, others have chosen more extremely dangerous expeditions, either crossing the deserts of North Africa or attempting perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea. The belief, therefore, is that migrating to other parts of the world would provide them with a better education, better career opportunities, better paying jobs and, of course, a more secure future for their children. These benefits, they believe are quite elusive in Nigeria at the moment.

Inflation

This year, Nigeria’s inflation rate continues to move northward, having recently risen for the 10th time in a row to 21.47% in November 2022. The continued rise in inflation figures is a mainly attributable factor which includes an increase in food prices as a result of supply disruptions, an increase in the cost of production, and of course, increases in import costs as a result of the depreciation of the Nigerian naira.

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naira redesign

On November 23, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, unveiled the newly redesigned Naira banknotes. According to CBN, the notes were redesigned to curb money laundering and inflation in the economy. The new N200, N500 and N1000 notes went into circulation on December 15, 2022, but the public is still having trouble getting enough notes from banks.

fuel shortage

In 2022, Nigerian motorists and travelers were constantly challenged by fuel shortages. At the beginning of the year, the cause of the shortage was attributed to the recall of adulterated fuel, which caused the closure of gas stations and long lines at the few that sold clean fuel. Another cause of the shortage was the lack of supply on the part of the marketers and the unnecessary hoarding of the product by some gas stations.

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Naira/Dollar exchange rate

The pressure on the naira became more intense this year with the Nigerian currency plunging as low as N900 to the dollar on the black market. In addition to general inflation, another reason for the depreciation of the naira was panic over meeting the CBN’s January 31 deadline for depositing old naira notes at commercial banks.

crude oil theft

Problems of oil theft, illegal fueling and pipeline vandalism in Nigeria have been a threat with consequent loss of revenue for the country. Illegal activities have also affected the monthly remittance of income to the federation’s account. Increasing and indiscriminate oil theft has prevented Nigeria from benefiting amid a sustained oil boom and is hurting the country’s accumulation of foreign reserves.

Aviation strike/diesel price hike

Nigeria’s aviation sector has been plagued by various issues since the beginning of the year. Aside from the threat of a strike and actual strikes by various unions in the industry, there have also been threats by Nigerian airline operators to shut down operations as a result of the rise in aviation fuel, also known as jet fuel. A1. The price of aviation fuel has continued to rise, causing serious headaches for airline operators, airline passengers and, of course, the government. The product that used to be sold at N190 per liter increased to around N800 per liter in June this year.

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crypto crash

Although it remains one of the most crypto-adopted countries in Africa, interest in the asset has waned in 2022. The price of Bitcoin and other crypto assets has continued to fall, with the bitcoin price hovering around $16,000, 75 % decline from its all-time high of $68,790. The bitcoin crash of 2022 is just the latest reminder of the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies, given their extreme volatility.

List of jobs in Nigeria that are likely to disappear as technology takes over

As we move towards further technological advancement in 2023, there are a large number of jobs that will start to disappear.

From construction to banking, manufacturing to business, these threats cut across different sectors, which in turn will cause many people to lose their jobs.

In a previously published article, legit.ng listed some of these jobs, including print shop operators, bank tellers, bank tellers, data entry clerks, and postal service clerks, among others

Source: Legit.ng