Good morning covenant friends and Partners. Greetings of blessings and do hope that the week has been of tremendous importance in the history of our collective pain as a result of Coronavirus pandemic. Listen there is SURE HOPE FOR THOSE WHO PUT THEIR TRUST ON THE RESURRECTED LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. We are glad to bring you update reflections and meditations from last week till today. Once again we want to acknowledge your encouragement and sincere questions, honestly they challenge us to look at other areas of neglect. Your areas of concern of course will be addressed as we embark on today’s economic outlook of the Global. Statistically based information is what you need which ought to enable you to take purposeful and deliberate actions not expression of fear and anxiety. Fear was an acquired experience not inbuilt. Fear is external influence factor that emanant from complex and inadequacy. Fear doesn’t give you easy way out rather it compounds your challenge. So brace up to the challenge ahead and adjust your lifestyle and surely you will conquer and break new grounds. The situations around us are gradually defining itself and the data of pursuit are clearly presenting us concrete and absolute options. If I were you I would join the Psalmist to say ” MAY GOD ARISE, MAY HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED, MAY HIS FOES FLEE BEFORE HIM. AS SMOKE IS BLOWN AWAY BY THE WIND, MAY YOU BLOW THEM AWAY; AS WAX MELTS BEFORE THE FIRE, MAY THE WICKED PERISH BEFORE GOD”. Mind you the enemies in reference is not your enemies but God’s. Meaning anyone or group of persons who put themselves together in any guise against your God’s promises, favour and graces have made God their enemy. Covid-19 pandemic and its associates are God’s enemies not yours. The battle is God’s not yours. Stop playing God and take your appropriate position. He promises Abraham to make his enemies His own enemies, hence instead of fear take courage in the already won victory over coronavirus. Coronavirus pandemic you are dead on arrival. It’s obvious that seeing this pandemic ravaging the whole world and not only destroying human life with impunity but also destabilizing every aspect of economic sector is scary and unnecessary unimaginable anxiety. Listen this one will also come to pass in the name of JESUS CHRIST AMEN. Hence, today we will be considering THE ECONOMIC CRISIS OCCASIONED BY COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND LESS COMPLEX SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME ITS EFFECTS. If you have been following the trend of things especially the impact of Covid-19 on the economy of various countries whether developed, developing or undeveloped you will observe that Life without palliatives now means deeper poverty for low, middle class income earners especially in Nigeria; Hospitality industry is almost bleeding to non existence as business remains shut; WHO has said that 73 million in Nigeria risk hunger and others; FG plans to distribute food stuffs to 3.1 million targeted households in Nigeria; SMES grounded as lockdown stifles sourcing of raw materials; organised private labour demands stimulus package from FG; low IGR drives states into distress; Lagos reserve down by 30 percent, Kano, Osun, Rivers, Benue, Plateau and others affected and if you are observant you will agree no less that these states mentioned are actually the economic hub of the nation, therefore whatever that affects them adversely will automatically affect the rest of the nation; FG has proposed to give loan to 500,000 traders as Covid-19 bailout, this is very well intended but we hope that our political leaders who will administer this FG gesture will not become the traders themselves; Experts have raised alarm and concerns put together over FG’s intention to deregulate oil sector, this may portend danger and its associated problems; it’s expected that unemployment will hit 45% before the end of this year; there is a prediction that there may be $17 billion decline in Nigeria oil revenue; the recent address from the desk of the government says, in recognition of the global impact of Covid-19 on economics and the need to stimulate and positively turn around our economy, the federal government has been implementing various stimulus packages offered to businesses and states government through the CBN and these initiatives include, reduction of interest rates from 9%to 5% for all CBN intervention facilities, restructuring of loans to longer tenors for all companies whose businesses are adversely impacted by Covid-19, #50 billion facilities to households and businesses adversely impacted by Covid-19 through NIRSAL Micro finance bank, #100 billion facilities to Pharmaceutical and health sectors companies to retool their business, #1 trillion facilities to Agriculture and manufacturing companies to expand and set up new factories and suspension of repayment of all state governments loans for one year to give states ample financing room to pay salaries; experts have warned that Nigeria 2020 budget needs a rethink as oil revenues are dwindling, more borrowing won’t fix it; Nigeria’s active oil rigs fall by 24%to 16; more states slash salaries, allowances and staff strength; more companies sack their workers while negotiating new salary structures for the time being;Nigeria losses #125 billion oil revenues to Covid-19 as prices slumps in first quarter while excess crude account balance drops to $72.4 million and GDP contract by 8.94%in 2020 and more than 2/3 of the states in the Federation have slashed budget to reflect the current economic reality. This indices raised above may bear on us the following consequences:
(1) A drastic reduction in our foreign earnings and reserves,
(2) High unemployment rates will definitely emerge which will lead to increase in crime rate and other vices,
(3) There will be another increase in vat and other duties both at national and state levels,
(4) without deliberate government intervention SMES may not survive post Covid-19 pandemic hurricane,
(5) The fight between herdsmen and farmers will be no the increase as each will competing for the space. Reason is that many people will go into farming this year and a lot of land that hitherto had remained fallow will be cultivated and herders will not have enough to feed their cows hence will be forced to go into farmlands to feed their cattle,
(6) From the major supports from government it will be advisable for you to look at these areas with an essential and eagle’s eye to agriculture and manufacturing with government facilities up to #1 trillion, this is huge if properly implemented and funded,
(7)Another area you need to look at is Pharmaceutical and health sectors for those who want to get involved,
(8) IGR of all the states of the Federation will continue to be at low ebb till early next year and reasons are bound,
(9) Schools should fashion out how to manage their school fees for this third term because the scarcity of funds will almost mar some pupils chances of going back to school especially those on salary,
((10) Landlords need to know that house rent in the next few months in short till the beginning of next year will not come as often as you expect and there is nothing you can do about. Do you know why? Tenants will be in short supply as many will change to smaller accommodations and if you go to court ,you are not promised victory as long as the case may last. Just need to be patient,
(11) Church offerings, tithes, seedfaith, vows, projects offerings etc. will definitely plummet and stipend of workers may come hardly except for very few churches. Again few churches will face undue pressure in supporting many other churches,
(12) Hard to say this if God’s intervention delays some church workers will accept a downward review of stipends or accept downsizing. We are really in obvious moments of our lives though will improve but before then let us plan to handle the present situation,
(13) There will food insecurity in the land,
(14) The structural factors will worsen the economic crisis if not properly understood and managed,
(5) Then, of course naira to dollar relationship will not be better except the government intentionally formulates a policy to patronize more of home made products.
So what is your advice?
(1) No land should be left fallow from now. Every available land should be farmed it doesn’t matter how big or small,
(2) Agriculture and manufacturing should be destinations in the next few years to cushion the effects of food insecurity,
(3) Churches should adjust their approach to MINISTRY and finance ,control flamboyant lifestyle because it will be outdated and obsolete meaning no more fashionable,
(4)Learn to save amid post Covid-19 and when you do you enjoy the following benefits, it creates some financial independence, handling the unexpected emergence, start your own business without borrowing, proper planning on paying your children’s school fees, you live an active life beyond active SERVICE, you become contented without attending programs you were not invited, you engage your lifestyle. The culture of savings makes us reject rat race competition, you increase your net worth, you maximize your savings capacity, reduce your unnecessary and unsolicited expenses,
(5) Target unnecessary expenditures and neglect from the outset as never required in the house no matter the pressure, avoid unbudgeted and impulsive purchases or what is called superfluous buying, shop less and buy bulk if you have a disciplined family otherwise buy daily. If your family is not disciplined enough to control what they eat daily we beg you to buy daily or you will be spending three months salary in one month and portends borrowing to make up and any money borrowed for just feeding is a bad investment,
(5) Establish a written budget and make it your DOCTRINE except extreme emergency, make a comprehensive list of your assets and evaluate each of them and see if you need to reprioritize or to sell off, consider possible sources of additional income,
(6) Ignore and avoid competitive lifestyle you are not living your life to please anyone except God and once you are good with Him every other opinion is less important. Try to be contented with what you have because contentment brings gratitude. Grateful people are persons who have learnt to focus on the good things in their lives, not the things they lack. Contentment drives you to begin to save and teach you to be satisfied with what you have ,
(7) You must decipher who you are which is called self awareness. You must stay true to yourself. The worst crime on earth is telling yourself lies about yourself. With self awareness and understanding your strengths and weaknesses, you open up opportunities that are ordinary not available if you don’t know yourself. Covey (1999) defines self awareness as our capacity to stand apart from ourselves and examine thinking about our motives, our history, our life scripts, our actions, habits, and tendencies. It enables us to take off our glasses and look at them as well as through them. It makes it possible for us to become aware of the social and physical history of the programmes that are in us and to enlarge the separation between stimulus and response, it is an ear to the voice of conscience, it helps us to recognize that there are principles independent of us, to understand the futility of trying to become a law unto ourselves. To have self awareness is to know the difference between the good and the best and to act based on mission, conscience,and principles .
(8) In all of these things listed above, we admonish that all of these is centred on God, remember planning belongs to man but approval is absolutely God’s. Knowing Him and His plans for your life and existence is very crucial. Got JESUS?.
Think we should draw the curtain here and hopefully we will meet again here.
Let us pray
Almighty and most merciful Lord we thank you for helping us again this week, we are glad that you are actually preparing us for obvious CHRIST centered life and approach to our economic and spiritual wellbeing.
We ask you Lord to help us understand that in the midst of this pandemic you are working out your purposes, therefore we banish fear from the life of your people and we command every induced anxiety to be suspended and cast out into outer darkness in the MIGHTY name of Lord JESUS CHRIST AMEN
We continue to reiterate that you are the owner of this world and no other person or pandemic has right to destroy it or control it, so we demand that all man’s gimmicks to frustrate us will scatter and straight to oblivion in the name of JESUS CHRIST AMEN. Our blood vessels are contaminated with the blood of JESUS CHRIST, so any virus that touch our bodies knowingly or unknowingly will die in the name of JESUS CHRIST AMEN . God’s grace continually and Greetings of blessings to you and all yours in the name of JESUS CHRIST AMEN. Stay away and safe. Keep focus help is very close. Joy cometh. +His BONDSERVANT.
