4 benefits of recession you didn't know

I was in a shop to buy a soft drink when a lady came in to buy just two cups of rice. The lady asked the owner the price of a cup. One twenty naira, the owner responded unconcerned. The lady was alarmed. I thought it was eighty naira, she said.

The owner first shoots her a look as if saying… where is this one from, is she even in this country.

In this Buhari regime, the owner said.

Virtually in every conversation, you will hear the phrase… in this Buhari regime.

Stop an Okada man and dares to haggle the price with him, he will defend himself that this is Buhari’s regime. Go to the market to buy pepper, fish, vegetable, anything, the response is all the same.

Times are hard. The collapse of oil prices has plunged our economy into recession. Food prices have gone through the roof, high energy costs have led to high transportation costs, the most family can barely survive.

This dire situation does not only affect individuals and companies, it has a devastating effect on the finances of our government thereby pushing the economy more and more into the abyss.

But how did we get here?

Just a year ago, everything was fine. We enjoyed a period of sustained growth between 1999 and 2015. Houses were rising around the country with speed never seen before. Millions were lifted out of poverty, the middle class exploded which led to massive sales of consumer goods. Banks became more efficient. You no longer have to wait for five hours or even the whole day waiting for the cashier and his piles of thick cover long notes. Virtually all of us now own a mobile phone and most have access to the internet.

Life was good.

All of a sudden, bam! It feels like we are back to the dark ages again. The recession is biting hard.

But the recession is a good thing.

Let me tell you why.

The Benefits of Recession

1. It removes waste

Can you imagine that a country like Nigeria which is known for its corruption is now blowing the fans of 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.

You will think that fighting corruption is in APC DNA. But it may not have been this fierce had it not been for the dwindling revenue that has impeded their economic plans.

2. 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.

3. We get more creative

During the recession, resources have thinned out. 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.

4. 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 will not have seen civilization. We might probably 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.

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 time of prosperity, nobody cared.

Let the lessons of recession remain with you that 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

Guard yourself, do not be wasteful, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.