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The naira has witnessed a downturn in its purchasing value across all markets. Business Day reported a record low of N1,851 per dollar at the parallel market and N1,571.3 per dollar at the official rate platform on Feb. 21, 2024.
Amidst this unsettling development, a broadcast message circulating on WhatsApp compared the value of the Naira and the American Dollar and the social developments that contributed to it.
DUBAWA discovered that the claim had been shared on X in 2020, as seen here and here.
Below are the significant claims in this message and our findings on their authenticity.
Claim 1: Naira traded at N0.80k per dollar in 1980
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) news pidgin, the Naira traded at N0.55k per dollar in 1980. Moreover, available data given by CEIC reveals that the Naira against the Dollar reached an all-time low of N0.530k in November 1980.
Verdict: FALSE
Claim 2: Nigerians rode in locally assembled cars, buses and trucks. Peugeot cars are in Kaduna, and Volkswagen cars are in Lagos.
A Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) document details how the Federal Government of Nigeria entered a Joint Venture Agreement with the Automobile Peugeot of Paris on August 11, 1972. The agreement aimed to establish a passenger car plant in Nigeria to produce and market different models of Peugeot brands. The plant is located at Kakuri Industrial Estate, Kaduna.
According to Motoring World International, as far back as 1972, the Nigerian government partnered with Volkswagen of Germany to establish the Volkswagen assembly plant along the Lagos-Badagry expressway. The publication also divulges that as of 1981, the Volkswagen plant produced about 30,000 cars per annum.
Verdict: TRUE!
Claim 3: Leyland produced trucks/buses in Ibadan and ANAMCO in Enugu
Nigerian-based business directory and search engine Finelib.com reveal that Leyland Motor Company, established in 1976, is an automobile manufacturing company. Leyland produces vehicles, including coastline minibuses, city buses, light trucks, garbage trucks, and other products and accessories. It is based in Ibadan.
ANAMCO resulted from an agreement by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Daimler AG, a pioneer technical partner and co-shareholder. The company was incorporated on Jan 17, 1977, and the factory was commissioned on July 8, 1980. The factory’s first commercial production of trucks commenced in Jan 1981.
The company’s headquarters is in Enugu, according to the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).
Verdict: TRUE!
Claim 4: Steyr produced agricultural tractors in Bauchi
The Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) mentions Steyr Nigerian Limited, Bauchi, as a reputable four-truck plant. The People’s Gazette also reported in 2021 that the company, which is more than four decades old, used to assemble trucks, tractors, and buses.
Verdict: TRUE!
Claim 5: Vono in Lagos produced car seats.
Vono, established in 2016, is a Vitafoam Nigeria Public Limited Company (PLC) subsidiary. According to its website, it produces furniture products for hospitality, offices, homes, and institutions.
Verdict: FALSE!
Claim 6: Exide in Ibadan produced batteries and distributed them within West Africa
The company in question needs a detailed website on the internet, which makes its existence doubtful, especially since it claims to export products to other West African countries. Excide Industries is the only Exide battery company displayed online via its website, based in Kolkata, India.
The Indian-based company is renowned for producing lead-acid storage batteries for automotive and industrial engines.
Verdict: FALSE!
Claim 7: IsoGlass and TSG in Ibadan produced windshields
According to a 2014 Business Day newspaper, Isoglass has been producing glasses for automotive purposes for over 30 years. The newspaper mentions Isoglass as the “dependable supplier” to automotive firms such as ANAMCO and Volkswagen.
According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the National Automotive Council (NAC), and Tripex Security Glass (TSG) also produced windscreens for local Nigerian automobile companies. It was among the companies set up between 1970 and 1980.
Verdict: TRUE!
Claim 8: Ferodo in Ibadan produced brake pads and discs
Ferodo is a British brake company that is an original equipment choice for over 25 million vehicles in a year and is appreciated globally by customers in the automotive world. However, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, National Automotive Council (NAC) did not mention any Nigerian-owned Ferodo on its manufacturers’ list as a local producer of motor brake pads and discs.
Verdict: FALSE!
Claim 9: Dunlop produced tyres in Lagos, and Michelin tyres were produced in Port Harcourt.
Dunlop has been operating in Nigeria since 1961. According to the Dunlop Nigeria Public Limited Company’s website, the company manufactures grader and agricultural tractor tyres in Nigeria. Furthermore, the company is recognised as a pioneer manufacturer of various tyre products, including Crossply tyres and low aspect ratio car tyres, in the Nigerian market. It was also the first Nigerian tyre company to attain the E.C.E Certificate- an export requirement for car tyres to Europe, and the first company in Africa, aside from South Africa, to acquire the ISO 9002 certification.
Michelin operates in some African countries, including South Africa, Cameroon, and Nigeria. In an interview with Business Day, the Managing Director of Michelin, Chioma Alonge, stated that the tyre brand had a manufacturing plant in Port Harcourt and its headquarters in Lagos. Ms Alonge also mentioned that Michelin has operated in Nigeria for over 63 years.
Verdict: TRUE.
Claim 10: Thermocool and Debo were producing freezers and air conditioners used by Nigerians
Haier Thermocool is a brand of PZ Cussons, which started off in Sierra Leone when its founders, George Paterson and George Zochonis began trading with the United Kingdom (UK). Haier Thermocool has been operating in Nigeria for over 40 years.
Verdict: MISLEADING
Claim 11: Clothes produced by the United Nigeria Textile Limited (UNTL) in Kaduna and Chellarams in Lagos were made from cotton grown in Nigeria.
According to a Cambridge University Press publication, raw cotton was sourced from Nigeria for the United Nigeria Textile Limited (UNTL) production. UNTL is a partnership between Hong Kong-based Cha Limited group and Northern Nigeria Development Corporation.
Likewise, Chellarams Public Limited Company (PLC), owned by Hindu immigrants- Chellarams, set up shops in Lagos, Nigeria, according to Forbes Africa. They later became renowned for retail sales in groceries, cosmetics, textiles, luxury items, and electronics between 1950 and 1992.
Verdict: TRUE!
Claim 12: LPG gas was stored inside gas cylinders produced at the NGC factory in Ibadan
According to the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), which is a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was incorporated on July 25, 1981, and commenced operations in 1988.
The BPE further mentions that the NGC distributes natural gas to its customers, markets natural gas and its derivatives in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, develops a pipeline network and recommends policies to the government on gas utilisation and price.
According to BPE, Major gas pipelines in Nigeria are the Escravos-Lagos pipeline, Oben-Ajaokuta pipeline, and Alakiri-Obibgo, Ikot Abasi.
Verdict: FALSE!
Claim 13: Cables were produced by the Nigerian Wire and Cable, Ibadan, NOCANO in Kaduna, and Kablemetal in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
According to the Nigerian Wire and Cable Public Limited Company (PLC), the company was incorporated in 1974 to cater to the wire and cable needs of the Nigerian market.
SavyCon, renowned for rendering outsourcing services to clients and freelancers, describes Northern Cables Processing and Manufacturing Company (NOCACO) as a cable-producing company incorporated in 1978. It has produced all kinds of cables that meet international and domestic standards since 1980. It is based in Kaduna.
However, Kabelmetal was established by Kabelmetal, Hannover, Germany, in 1966. Kabelmetal Nigeria Public Limited Company, which remains an affiliate company, considers itself Nigeria’s pioneer cable and wire leading market. Its manufacturing facility is in Lagos.
Verdict: MOSTLY TRUE!
Claim 14: Bata and Lennard’s stores produced shoes that Nigerians wore, and shoe materials were sourced from Nigeria, not imported.
According to information from Bata’s website, Bata opened its first store in Nigeria in 1932. The company established a Kano network to purchase raw materials, including leather, cotton, and rubber, in 1935. Subsequently, in 1965, a modern shoe factory was opened.
Adexen, a human resource business partner for Africa, mentions that Lennards Nigeria Public Limited Company has been involved in Nigeria’s footwear and allied products marketing and distribution business. It was incorporated on Feb. 24, 1953, and was a subsidiary of Greenlees Lennards Limited, England, under the name Lennards Lagos Limited. It was eventually changed to Lennards Nigeria Plc on Mar 26, 1991.
An article by Fortune and Class mentions that Bata and Lennards operated in Nigeria; ironically, raw shoe materials were exported from Nigeria to other countries for shoe production.
Verdict: PARTLY TRUE!
