Stakeholders have warned that except government arrests the impending nationwide protest fast enough, if allowed to last as planned, the effect of the protest may cost the country a whopping N70 trillion in economic losses.Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise on its part said that the proposed nationwide protests portend a grave dangers for an economy which is already in a very fragile state. The protests it said could inflict an estimated daily loss of N400 billion, if not properly managed. The consequences of such a huge loss for the country and the citizens would be very severe. There is a high risk of shut downs and disruptions in major sectors of the economy. These include trade and commerce, manufacturing, entertainment, transportation, logistics, financial services, hospitality industry, agriculture, aviation, ICT, and construction sectors. This is in addition to risks to lives and properties of innocent citizens and corporate bodies. Safety of government assets are also at risk. Chairman board of trustees of the communities development committee of Niger Delta oil and gas producing areas, CDC, Joseph Ambakaderimo, said the economic implications on the country would be devastating if the proposed protest takes effect as planned. “Right now, no one knows the resultant effect of what is going to come and the magnitude of the protest. If we read between the lines, one can decipher ulterior motives other than hunger protest going by the demands being put out. Another issue is non identification of the organisers, meaning the protest doesn’t have a face so the effect no one can imagine right now. “However, when you go through the demands, you know where and how it will end, therefore one can conveniently draw some estimates as to the losses to the country.
“We look at all of the possible public and private infrastructure that will be targeted, transportation in all of its ramifications, hospitals and other public heath institutions that will not function, Oil prospecting activities will be halted, movement of persons will be curtailed, general trade and commerce that will fold up and never be able to be resuscitated and many more can be estimated to be in the region of Seventy Trillion Naira”.
Ambakaderimo said that the amount is what the country could loss to the protest and that with this amount the protest will compound the economic hardship being experienced currently. “The wise thing to do is for all of us to stand down the protest as we have already done advising our people to desist from any action that will lead to a more deplorable condition. Dialogue is the only way to go and let us continue to dialogue with the government at all levels”.
Collaborating Ambakaderimo’s position, the former Governorship candidate in Rivers state, Prince Tonye Princewill said “I’m in support of freedom of speech and giving a voice to the voiceless so it should be no surprise that I’m in full support of the protest. My only caveat is that it should be a peaceful protest with a crystal clear message, no looting and no violence. On all sides”. Princewill said that “the economic implications can only be ascertained after the protests, but we are seeing the economic impact of doing nothing. My hope is government and leaders use this opportunity to reflect on the promise of Nigeria and how far we have drifted away from it”. The international business guru explains that the cost of the protest will only depends on the scope and duration of the protests. “But my prediction is that it will grow with time and peak before it will subside. How long it lasts will depend
“We plead with the organisers of the protests to cooperate with the police to make the planned protests peaceful and orderly. It is in the overall interest of all for this to happen. Peacefulness of a protest does not detract from the potency of its messaging. The protest organisers should not offer a platform for elements in the country who have criminal intents and whose agenda is to inflict pains on innocent citizens and corporate organisations and destruction of public assets. We cannot fix a problem by promoting such negative tendencies. Additionally, the CPPE would like to advise that the duration of the protests should be short, possibly one day. Experience has shown that the chances of protests degenerating into chaos and anarchy increases with the duration of the protests. Prolonged protests create opportunities for hoodlums, miscreants and other criminal elements in the society to build momentum to unleash mayhem and destruction on the country. Over 90% of employed Nigerians are in the informal sector. Employees in this space are dependent on daily income and any disruption to their economic activities beyond 24 hours could snowball into a major social unrest. This underlines the country’s vulnerability to prolonged protests.”
Meanwhile, CPPE said “we urge the administration to expeditiously implement its economic stabilisation plan to ease production costs and ultimately reduce inflationary pressures. Trade costs are still prohibitive and needs to be drastically reduced across board in a manner that would not undermine domestic production. High cargo clearing cost is a major factor driving inflation which needs to fixed urgently. Revenue drive should be managed in a manner that does not impose additional pressures on citizens and corporate bodies. There is also an urgent need to prioritise fiscal frugality and transparency in public sector in all tiers and across all levels of government coupled with appropriate signalling and messaging that reflect current economic conditions. These are essential to earn the confidence of the generality of the people”.
