Ifie Sekibo, managing director/chief executive officer, Heritage Bank Limited, has advised Nigerians to patronise locally made goods and services. He said this would stimulate the economy and preserve the country’s foreign reserve.
According to him, Nigeria’s economy cannot grow when its citizens are eager to consume foreign products. Sekibo said that Nigerians should understand that every money they spent shopping abroad or to consume foreign goods and services creates employment for foreigners while the dollar bill would ultimately be paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria from the country’s foreign reserve.
“So, it is important as a people to begin to educate our fellow Nigerians on these because this is a very serious issue and if we don’t, we would all regret it,” he said.
The bank chief also advocated for financial education to increase the rate of financial inclusion in the country. He said: “The ball is shifting, the days when only the formal sector should understand finance are over. Everybody should begin to understand finance. They should understand how they spend their money, why we need to save. Also, we need to teach our children why they need to save from now. These are some of the conversations we need to have to ensure that we promote financial inclusion.
By Dike Onwuamaeze