Cardoso's Candid Insights: The Truth About Nigeria's Exchange Rate Challenges"

For those who expecting exchange rate magic, Cardoso was brutally candid here. 

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“I must tell you that, inasmuch as the strategy of the Central Bank is to unlock as many diversified sources as possible into the foreign exchange area, it is not enough. It can never take the place of fundamentals — never. We may like to think it can, we may like to dream it can, but it can’t.”

“Until the fundamentals are fixed and in place, you will continue to sub-optimize. Oil production has to be ramped up to the level that will carry the economy, and I think we’re all witnesses to the efforts that are being made in that sector. It has to happen. Non-oil exports — and I spoke about the sad situation that we, as Nigerians, face today — whereby we are a monolithic economy. As long as we are a monolithic economy, the constraints to having the strong exchange rate that we all desire will continue to be hampered.”

“We need to diversify our economy. There’s only so much that the Central Bank can do. Without the fundamentals in the right position, we will continue to support and optimize. Again, as Nigerians, we must look for ways of import substitution. It cannot all be about import, import, import. Our taste for foreign goods also must be calibrated accordingly.”

“These are all things that will essentially determine where we settle with respect to our foreign exchange rates. As I said, we may want to wish it away, but it’s not going to go away. The Central Bank is determined to play its part in ensuring that the markets operate efficiently. Those who game the market, if we catch them, they will pay the price, but that will not substitute for the fundamentals. It will help along the way, it will make the road to recovery easier, but ultimately, it’s the fundamentals.”

“Thank you very much.”