South East Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (SECCIMA) have warned that the ripple effect of the just-concluded EndSARS protests by Nigerian youths could push the economy just struggling out of recession into depression.
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The Chamber described the effect of the protests on businesses as huge, stressing that the action dealt devastating blow on the economy with lots of ripple effects.
It’s President, Humphrey Ngonadi, said in a statement yesterday, that businessmen should make contingency plans to forestall the damaging effect of this kind of unforeseen circumstance in the future.
Ngonadi posited that the aggrieved youths could not be persuaded by the government because of what he called ‘trust deficit’ on the part of government, which had pervaded over time.
He said: “In the South East, many businesses grounded to a halt in most commercial cities and this had a devastating impact on the already fragile economy, trying to pick up from the ruins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recall that the protest was supposed to be an approach to a peaceful resolution towards bad governance but that seemed farfetched. The trust deficit on the part of the government, ranging from the empty promises in the past, hindered a mutual understanding between them and the masses.
In summary, this whole saga has hit the economy below the belt and the experts have listed the losses and the challenges the nation would face, while reviving its struggling economy and this should be done in earnest to avert the economy that had gone into recession from possibly going into depression.
“It is, therefore, advised for businessmen to have contingency plans in case of such unforeseen circumstances to enable them survive in this kind of context.”
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK