Engage market leaders, employ moral suasion, expert tasks government on high goods prices

A public affairs analyst, marketer and banker, Mr. Adebiyi Adesuyi, has called on national and subnational governments to engage leaders in various markets on the need to ensure fair pricing, especially with the recent reduction in the price of fuel.

Adesuyi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Wealthgate Advisors, in an interaction with the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, faulted the continued increase in the prices of goods and services in the country, despite the downward review of pump prices.

Attributing the development to the ‘Nigerian factor,’ the analyst believed this could only be addressed with governments, at all levels,  employing moral suasion while engaging the market leaders.

“It is sad that we are having prices of goods and services going up, despite reductions in the prices of petrol.

“Unfortunately, government is helpless in this situation. It cannot legislate the price down, and its agents cannot also go into the markets to force prices down. What can be done in this situation is for government to engage those leaders in the various market segments to enable them see reasons why there must be reduction in the prices of goods and services being rendered.

“For instance, leaders in the transport sector can be engaged. The beautiful thing is that they are well-known to the government. Government should let them understand the danger in exploiting the masses for their personal gains. Same can be extended to other markets,” he stated.

The Wealthgate Advisors’ boss also believed government could support players in the various market segments, with the aim of bringing prices down. If government is able to do this successfully, resulting in process of goods coming down, this would provide alternative to those exploiting the Nigerian consumer.

“After all, the recent reduction of fuel prices by Dangote Refinery has continued to force other players in the sector to begin to adjust their prices downwards,” he added.

On the recent face-off between Dangote Refinery and the nation’s oil marketers, and the possibility of such development leading to a monopoly, Adesuyi described the situation as leaving the country between the ‘devil and the deep blue sea’.

He noted that while the advent of the Dangote Refinery had gone a long way in stabilizing the Naira, the probability of the Refinery turning the sector into a monopoly, he believed, might be very remote, especially with the likelihood of other prominent Nigerians plying their trades in the sector, in no distant future.

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