Since late 2015 after the prices of oil crashed, Nigeria has been in recession. The recession has proved stubborn to all the policies of the government.
As a result, it has been a tale of suffering for Nigerians. Everybody is feeling the pinch of the bad economy.
So I understand when someone thinks that there is nothing good about the recession.
How could there be? When we cannot buy essential things of life because of recession, when it has deprived us a lot of fun time.
But the recession is a good thing for an economy, at least once in a while. Let me tell you why.
Benefits of a Recession
It removes waste
Can you imagine that a country like Nigeria which is known for its corruption is now crying for efficiency?
This is what recession brings you. You will agree with me that in the boom time, there was a lot of waste going on in the country, from the government, to companies, and to individuals. Everybody was spending money with careless abandon. We didn’t care, after all, more will come in the next day.
Then the recession came around and jolted us back to our senses. Individuals who buy luxury items just to show off to their friends now think before they buy those items. Companies that engage in luxury expenditures has postponed those expenditures till God knows when. Our government now realize the waste and are giving corrupt officials hell. (Don’t even know if that one is real or just to deceive everybody. Only time will tell)
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We go back to the basics
The federal government is now trying to get us back to agriculture. The reason? They don’t want us to depend on a single commodity any longer. Which is the right thing to do. But they didn’t do it earlier, why? We were enjoying oil at $120, nobody cared, the petrodollars were coming in.
If not for the recession, the FIRS would not have the ambitious goal to raise five trillion naira from taxes for the government.
These are the basic things that a robust economy thrives on. But they were neglected because of economic boom.
Now the boom has gone bust and we are back to the basics.
We get more creative
During a recession, resources are scarce, to survive, you must make use of the little you have. This forces you to be creative in what you do.
Companies that source their raw material abroad have found creative ways to make use of local raw materials because of the high cost of foreign exchange.
Individuals who have lost their jobs have found ways to survive in this difficult times.
Inflation simply forces us to use our head. When this is done well, it is those things we managed to create in the time of recession that will gradually pull us out of it.
Bad time is good for everyone
Finally, I believe that we will get out of this stronger.
The government will be better and more efficient. Companies will be stronger and you will be better financially.
This is because bad times is exactly what we need to get us out of our comfort zone and switch on our creative juices that will enable us to push on to the next level.
If we woke up every day and we are comfortable with our lives, no challenges whatsoever, we would not have seen civilization. We might still be in the jungle, jumping among the trees and striving every day to escape wild animals.
The Lessons of Recession
The best lesson of recession is this… bad times will always be there.
No matter how hard economists, policy makers, financial experts have tried to banish recession away from our world, it has always come back, sometimes even stronger.
Why? Because we human are wired that way. No matter how our leaders try, some people will still be greedy, some will still cut corners, some will make poor decisions, there will still be bad management. All these will inevitably plunge us again into recession.
That is why you must learn to protect yourself by taking the pain to manage what you have in time of prosperity. You must start to do the right things with your money. Don’t spend it as if there is no tomorrow. You must learn basic money management skills that will enable to you get better in managing your own money and help you pull through in any economic hardship whether self-inflicted or the one caused by poor economic environment in a country.
During the credit crunch of 2008, discount stores Aldi and Lidl gave UK traditional retailers like Tesco and Sainsbury a massive scar because shoppers realized that it was a major waste of money to buy things at high prices. But in the time of prosperity, nobody cared.
No matter how rosy things look at a particular time, there is always a chance that things might go wrong. It might be an accident, health issues, death of a loved one, even recession. There is always a chance.
The recession is a good thing, if not for anything, it reminds us to take stock of how well or how poorly we have been able to manage what we have.
What other benefits of the Recession do you know
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