The Implications of the Global Financial Meltdown for Nigeria

Abstract

The current global financial crisis, unprecedented in the history of the modern world, has been described as Wall Street’s biggest crisis since the Great Depression in October 1929. From the Wall Street financial headquarters in the United States, across to Europe, Japan, and China, the global financial system around which modern free market economy and capitalism are built is crashing like a pack of cards. In the case of the developing countries of which Nigeria is one, the implications are noticeable in the areas of crash in shares prices, dwindling revenues, few direct investments from developed countries, dwindling remittances from Nigerians abroad, developed non-oil exports, possible erosion of foreign reserves among others. Nigeria is called upon to re-orientate the economy towards production activity, adequately deploy the available financial resources, and utilize the excess crude oil revenues more judiciously, among other suggestions.