Real Estate Marchant, Amb.(Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo, has commended the forex policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but urged the administration to also focus on sustaining the improving Naira value against the dollar.
Amb.(Dr) Adeyemo expressed the confidence that the Nigeria’s economy will bounce back to the path of prosperity if the Naira value appreciation could be sustained for the next six months to a level where N1,000 exchange for a dollar.
The entrepreneur urged Nigerians to be patient and not expect overnight drop in prices of most items in the market or the forex to fall.
He explained that it will take a little while for the economy to recover from the forex policy shock and oil subsidy removal, stressing that if it keeps fluctuating, up and down, it won’t augur well for the economy.
Amb.(Dr) Adeyemo, who is an ECOWAS Youth Ambassador, made this position known on Thursday at The Podium within Pelican Valley Estate Laderin while fielding questions from reporters shortly after Boseri, a Yoruba language newspaper, bestowed the prestigious OBA AWON ABULE SOWO ILE YORUBA title on him.
He expressed the concern that given the nation’s challenging economy amid inflationary trend, access to affordable housing will no longer be practicable for the low income earners, also warning that the situation may worsen the country’s housing deficit.
He advised that the government should tackle bad economy, inflation, identify credible real estate entrepreneurs and support them with single digit interest credit facilities and make land available for them to build low cost housing for the Nigerians of low income brackets to access.
He noted that government should provide enabling environment for businesses to sprout and thrive, for the betterment of the society.
Amb.(Dr) Adeyemo commended the newspaper and the management team for singling him out for the honour, assuring that he would continue to sustain the goodwill, integrity, character and trust both in personal life and real estate business that earned him the OBA AWON ABULE SOWO ILE YORUBA award, promising to support journalism continually, describing it as a profession that sharpened and gave him mileage before venturing into real estate business as his second address.
He said, “The best the Federal Government can do now is to work on the economy, of which I believe the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing his best to control the foreign exchange rate. It is right step in the right direction.
They need to sustain the downward trend of dollars. If they make it N1,000 to a dollar and they’re able to sustain it for six months, automatically things will start to adjust, but if it keeps fluctuating, it will just be like having a power source that is fluctuating.
“We just have to urge the government to maintain the downward trend of the dollar for the economy to bounce back fully. It is still a long distance dash for us. As the government is working on the economy, it needs to also look out for people that have integrity and character in the real estate business, the real estate entrepreneurs who have integrity, prudence, and character and channel some funds to them by way of support or assistance so that they can build low income housing for low income earners and Nigerians who are in need of shelters to access.”
Commenting on factors making affordable housing in the country appeared like mere wishful thinking, he said, “The real estate entrepreneurs or the government are not the manufacturers of cement, iron and they don’t own quarries and once those inputs or building materials are on the high side, there is no way you can get an affordable housing unless you want to experience building collapse.
“So, that is why we need to work on the economy first. It is not a day thing. It is going to take like 20 or 30 years plan to accomplish, and the FG can’t use all her funds meant for many other projects like education, health, agriculture, coastal road and channel all only to housing. And it can’t leave debt servicing obligations unattended to subsidize housing.
Earlier, the Publisher of Boseri, Evangelist. Johnson Akinpelu and professional colleagues – Mr Kunle Idowu, Mr. Johnson Onifade and Mr. Segun Ayinde in their separate remarks, said Amb(Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo’s integrity, character, philanthropy and support for widows and the downtrodden, earned him the respected title, even as they prayed God to uplift him the more in his service to humanity and society.