Turning the worst times into the best times

As i see the Naira free falling to its current level of N400 to a $1 so many questions permeate my mind, key amongst them is "how will we survive", what does the average Nigerian who does not directly influence monetary policy do about the falling Naira. These are my thoughts: 1. We need to face our new reality head on. To the new graduate, the chances of finding a secured job just got a lot worse, they were bad before but now they are infinitely worse. We all can`t be bag makers or tailors and you can't wait to finish school before starting out. Wherever you are, regardless of what you may or may not have, start something. To the loyal worker, there is a real chance that you will loose your job, companies who are afraid of rapid price increases in their products will cut costs to save on OPEX. In a best case scenario you may not get a salary increase, in a more realistic scenario you may lose your job. 2. This is not the time for unnecessary spending nor is it the time to save like crazy. If you save and consumer spending reduces in an economy with very little Oil income, the value of your savings will steadily but surely depreciate, unless of course you are saving in dollars. Your best option would be to convert part of your income to investments in the non-oil sector of the economy. 3. In times like these we need to go back to our roots, we need to stop being nostalgic about the groundnut pyramids and cocoa farms and go get them back. Companies tired of currency fluctuations will be in search of local alternatives, why not change from being just an employee to an investor in those areas. We have spent far too long as a nation in a consuming mindset, we badly need to start producing. We may not have money for big factories but we can innovate, borrow smaller, faster and more cost effective solutions and deploy them. 4. keep your eyes open for opportunities, it could mean the difference between poverty and financial success. Gone are the days when a tush job meant that you didn't need to use your head. Nigeria has so many problems and we can't all just focus on opening grocery stores, we need to start finding real solutions to the problems we have. We need to innovate locally and not just copy what we see in other climes. Remember that all the money we are going to borrow to fund this years national budget will still have to be paid back. Innovating locally means using local raw materials, using a mixture of technology and local understanding, it means community versus individual solutions. 5. We need to start running in packs. Our biggest issue is a complete lack of trust for each other. Decades of tribalism and this belief that everyone is out to destroy the other person has created an endemic lack of trust. The challenge is that no one wins when everyone is fighting. least of all the country that we have. Somehow we have to move past this and start building together. Even as i write this my mind asks me if this is not being utopian, but one must call a dog by its name. A country that fights its self can never prevail against any common enemy. 6. You need to get off the blame train and start thinking. Other countries have had it a lot worse. The tipping point always came when an idea was found that everyone could believe in. We can`t wait for our leaders to solve all our problems or get the Naira back. Everyone needs to contribute in their own way, everyone. 7. We need to fall in love with out nation again and let national pride be the fuel that motivates us to build her. It gets so tiring to see how easily the rich bolt at the smallest signs of trouble and how the poor go to extreme lengths to get out of this nation. How will we ever grow if the best of us continue to help build other nations and forget our own. Pride, Greed, the love of money and all things glamorous are the reasons we are where we are today. If this great ship is to change direction, real change is needed in the people too, not just the government or an election mantra. 8. Accountability starts from each of us, including the author of this article. We have no right to ask anyone not to steal $5 billion when we are fine to steal NGN 100. Culled thoughts