By Uche Amunike
Entrepreneurs in the country have expressed their concerns that the Nigerian protests that kicked off yesterday, August 1, might affect productivity and attract an estimated loss of N400 billion on the Nigerian economy.
So far, stakeholders in the business industry have shown apprehension, afraid that the demonstrations might likely bring about loss of lives, property, as well as their business holdings.
Speaking to newsmen, during an interview, the National Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Segun Kuti-George stated that the fear of arson from the EndSARS protest still haunts Nigerian business owners who almost lost their factories to the protest.
As he recounted the experiences that entrepreneurs passed through during the EndSARS protest, he explained how their factories were nearly burnt down and how they would have been left without any businesses.
He also talked about the ongoing Nigerian protests that started on August 1, noting that most of the rallying looked like they were done on social media platforms, most especially, X, formerly known as Twitter.
He lent his voice to the Nigerian political class in appealing to the protesters to remain calm while joining security agencies who have called out to the protesters to eschew violence, to see that peace and order is maintained so that the demonstrations would be as peaceful as possible.
According to him, more Nigerians would restrict their movements on the day of the protest, and this would lead to low productivity and even foot traffic would be being slowed down on a business day, because people would be scared of coming out, thereby risking their lives. He also stressed that most employers might ask their staff to remain at home for their safety.
On his part, a development economist, Rotimi Oyelere, stated that when protests force workers to stop working, it brings about a loss of output and income. He maintained that the magnitude of the ongoing Nigerian protests could seriously affect workers who earn money on a daily basis. His words: ‘There will be a micro impact in immediate income loss for households, and businesses, then a macro impact that will affect general output and on a national aspect.’
‘It could get out of control and lead to indirect loss if there is a need to restore any destroyed property.’
He recommended that they would be more transparency between the people and the state, because losing trust will only succeed in igniting the brewing social unrest in the country.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has also stated, during an earlier analysis, that the Nigerian protests taking place nationwide will definitely not be good for the Nigerian economy which is already in a very bad state.
Speaking, through a statement, the Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr Muda Yusuf explained that if the process is not well-managed it could affect earnings and cause an estimated daily loss of N400 billion.
He stated: ‘Employees in this space (informal sector) depend on daily income and any disruption to their economic activities beyond 24 hours could snowball into major social unrest. This underlines the country’s vulnerability to prolonged protests.’
He recommended that the the protests be limited to one day, because, the longer the days of protests, the more chances of having more chaos and anarchy in the country.
