The Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr Olusegun Oshinowo, said that the pervading atmosphere of insecurity in Nigeria was taking a toll on businesses.
Oshinowo in an interview in Ikeja that businesses would never thrive in an atmosphere of violence.
He noted that the insecurity if not decisively tackled would continue to shrink markets and worsen poverty and unemployment.
“Insecurity will shrink markets for products of any enterprise. The survival instinct of any human being is such that once his life is at threat, he will embark on the migration path.
“And when he migrates, everything he has in his previous location would be dismantled and disrupted and that will affect business.
“So, outlets that used to be reliable outlets for sale of our members’ products are no longer existing because people are always on the move.’’
He, however, expressed his optimism that government would overcome the persistent insecurity and save businesses from extinction.
Oshinowo lamented that insecurity had made the nation to lose the economy of the North East, a key geopolitical area where according to him, the insurgency has displaced millions of people.
“Let the truth be told, nothing is left again of the economy of the North East of Nigeria and that should send a lesson to us.
“That is why we expect the government to double its efforts by ensuring the safety of the life and property of Nigerians wherever we are having any sign of insecurity.
“It is a big danger to this economy. First, we are limiting our potentials for meaningful economic growth. Secondly, we are further throwing our people into the poverty circle.
“Thirdly, we are further worsening the already unpalatable unemployment situation in Nigeria.
“More so, we are sending wrong signals to the investing world that as good as Nigeria can be, it is not all parts of Nigeria that are safe for investment.
“And if that is true, it then means that the quantum of foreign direct investment that you should expect should be far less than what ordinarily you should be getting because no sane investor would take his money into an environment that is unsafe.’’