With only about six months to next year’s General Elections in the country, three dominant issues have continued to engage the attention and concerns of many Nigerians. These are: the worsening security situation in the country, the economy and, the controversial Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the ruling All-Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with NATIONAL ACCORD in Abuja during the week, PASTOR WILSON NWACHUKWU, the National President of Christian Traders Market Fellowship of Nigeria (CTMFN), outlines the position of Christian traders on the forthcoming elections, the continued fall of the Naira against the Dollar and high interest rate on lending, among other things.
What is the Mission and the Objective of the Christian Traders Market Fellowship of Nigeria?
Our mission is to preach the gospel in commercial places – whether at shopping complexes, street trader or Market places. The objective is to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to win souls for the kingdom of God.
Traders in Nigeria constitute an important segment of the society, particularly given that you deal in essential commodities that people buy, like building materials, electricals etc. So, as traders, are you satisfied with the economic situation in the country and the state of the nation in general?
No, we are not satisfied, because there are a lot of things happening in this country that are not supposed to happen. Take insecurity and the harsh economy for instance.
In the area of insecurity, commercial activities are being hampered as people are afraid of moving from one place to another. As a result, business is not flourishing and goods are becoming more and more expensive. Things are so expensive to a point that most traders borrow money to add to what they have to buy goods. This is a major problem because traders are finding it difficult to cope with.
In special terms, how does insecurity affect your business?
People are scared of traveling because they can be attacked, robbed, killed or kidnapped on the road. That is why people now buy goods through electronic means. And because you are not physically present on ground, sometimes, they package substandard products or goods and send to you at a very high cost.
If you have your way, what would you want to see the government do to address the growing cost of goods in the country?
There are a lot of things that government needs to do. Let me take them one by one. Number one is the high customs duty. Traders are not carried along in this area. The cost is imposed on them without allowing them to make any input. I want government to revisit this issue and reduce the custom duty on all import commodities.
One of the reasons advanced by government officials the high custom duty is a deliberate policy aimed at encouraging and protecting local manufacturers. Do you agree with this?
I don’t totally agree with government on this. The only area I agree is that all these our local products are of good quality. However, they cannot meet the market demand and this is where I disagree with government on the issue. Government should look at the custom duty and review the cost to an affordable level. Another area is that traders need loan facilities to enable them cope with the high cost of doing business. There is need for the creation of Traders Bank, where traders can be able to access loans without hitches in terms of high interest rates. Remember, we are talking about reducing poverty in the country and the largest workforce in the country today is the market. University graduates who cannot afford white collar jobs find themselves in the market to eke a living, but unfortunately, they don’t have the capital to set up a business of their own. So, if there is such a bank, traders and potential traders can go there and take loans at low interest rates to set up themselves. Our unemployed youths venturing into business will be able to access loans to set up their businesses.
Are the Micro Finance Banks not playing this role?
The interest rate charged by those MFBs is too high. They will tell you that is what it is, but if you venture into it, you will fall into a trap because the charges are so much. What we are asking for is interest-free loans or loans with little interest. Nigerian traders are ready to engage in flourishing businesses but they lack the capital to do that. If our traders are given loans, such loans will be paid back because the two main religious groups in the country have their leaders among the traders and none of these religious leaders would sit back and allow any of its members to default in paying a loan facility granted to him. The religious leaders among us will guarantee the safety of loans that will be granted to us by government.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), introduced a facility for Agric farmers in the country. Is there no such facility for traders?
There is nothing like that. Even if there is such a facility, how many traders will be able to access it? When you say ‘Traders Money’, how much is it? N10,000? What can N10,000 do for you? Will you use it to cook a pot of soup to eat and die tomorrow?
We always keep saying Africa is poor. But if Nigeria traders are properly funded, Nigeria will be able to bail the entire African region and compete favourably with other traders in the world. By now, we should be exporting our products to other African countries and not traveling with them to China, Dubai and Turkey.
The next General Elections will come up in February/March 2023. Has the Christian Traders Market Fellowship of Nigeria as a body taken a common position with respect to the political parties or candidates to support?
That 2023 election is a game to watch and many Nigerians, including members of our association, are keen to know who will win.
In that election, Nigeria is no more looking for a ruler but a leader. Leadership is very important because you cannot give what you don’t have. We need people who have the brain, who have what it takes to lead us to the promised land. We don’t want leaders that will only speak grammar and make vain promises, but leaders who will promise us good roads, electricity, but those who will tell us how they are going to actualize those promises.
Our members are ready with their PVCs and ready to vote for credible candidates, not along tribe, religion or party lines, but candidates that can deliver. Tribe and religion cannot bring the desired development in Nigeria. Only credible and God-fearing candidates can develop the country for us and our children.
That is what we are looking forward to in the forthcoming elections. It is not going to be business as usual. The era where people collect N10,000 and sell their conscience is over. Today, things are changing and our youths are getting wiser.
Talking about tribe and religion, is your association comfortable with the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket that is currently generating controversy in the country?
No, we are not comfortable with it. You know Nigeria is a religious nation and we don’t want anything that will divide this country along religious lines. We are not comfortable with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. It could have been a Muslim/Christian ticket so as to strike a balance among the two major religious groups in the country.
You talked about your ideal candidate – a candidate who can deliver and not “those that speaks only grammar here and there” (as you put it). Now, there are more than 15 presidential candidates 9at the federal level), including three from the leading parties. Have you seen anyone among them with kind of qualities you talked about?
Yes, only one. He said something that touched the traders. He said he will make Nigeria an exporting country and not a consuming country. He promised that if elected, he is going to encourage production, and we are watching that candidate with keen interest.
When he made that pronouncement, he bought the minds of traders. But we need him to say more and tell us other areas and how to improve trading in the country. We are organizing prayer sessions in six states across the country. We shall offer prayers to God and at the end, we shall formally announce to the Nigerian public, the name of our preferred candidate.
Your association has a large population, have you agreed to vote in block for one candidate?
Yes, we are going to give block votes to that candidate of our choice. But before we give this block vote, we want the candidates to come out with their manifestoes and blue print so we can choose the best among them. We are not going to vote for a dark horse at a dark night. We want to vote a white horse at broad daylight.
The Naira, our national currency, has continued to fall against other national currencies, particular the US Dollar. How has this situation been affecting your members?
It is a very terrible situation and its seriously affecting our business negatively. Prices of goods keep fluctuating every now and then. Prices keep rising per day and it is affecting sales. If you buy a particular thing today at a particular amount, tomorrow, the amount will change and this is affecting the cost of goods and sales.
Back to the forthcoming general elections in the country: You talked about the kind of candidate you would prefer for the presidency. Is your association also showing interest in other elective positions at the State level where you have Governors, Senators, Members of House of Representatives and Members of State Assemblies?
The state governors have not been carrying traders along in their scheme of things. All they do is come to the market and spread money or go to market leaders and feel that they have captured the traders. No, it will not work this time around. They should remember that we are human beings. Our leaders can talk to them, but we will certainly do what we want. Our own (association) is a faith-based group. Governors build markets but who are the owners of those shops. They give these shops to their loyal members and cronies, who in turn let or sale it to traders at high costs. If they build these markets and shops, they should hand them over directly to the traders. The governors don’t want traders to own shops but they want their votes. This time, the governors will be disappointed, because it is not going to business as usual.
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