The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the government to intensify its efforts in addressing rising insecurity in order to accelerate economic recovery post-COVID-19.
This call was made in a statement signed by Toki Mabogunje, president, LCCI who said that the rising insecurity in the country has become scary with recurring incidences of banditry attacks, abduction, herders-farmers conflict, vandalism, insurgency among others, the impact of which is profound and multidimensional on the Nigerian economy.
“The crisis has crippled lots of private and public investments across the nation, many households have lost their means of livelihood and many farmlands across the country have been destroyed with a consequent impact on food production and security,” she said.
She added that the rising insecurity has projected Nigeria as an unsafe destination for private and foreign investments which if not addressed could frustrate the government’s efforts in attracting foreign capital into the economy.
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“Investor confidence in the economy had been weak before the pandemic and many investors still see Nigeria as a risky environment despite stronger oil prices and exit from recession. Confidence may not be restored in the near term if there is no significant improvement in the security environment,” she said.
Beyond its impact, Mabogunje noted that the government has been forced to incur additional expenditures mainly to fund security operations at the detriment of other key sectors. This she said could worsen the 2021 fiscal deficit in light of low revenue mobilization.
She recommended a sustainable means of tackling youth unemployment is implemented through the provision of programs and policies that would boost employment opportunities for the youths in the country.
“It is important to have this challenge resolved at all costs, decentralizing the security ecosystem by enabling state and local governments to take key security-related decisions is an option to consider,” she said
Mabogunje also said that that accelerating the pace of recovery also requires both fiscal and monetary policymakers to be well-coordinated in promoting growth-enhancing and confidence-building policies that would encourage private and foreign capital inflows into the economy.
Hence she advised the need to provide a business-friendly environment through the provision of crucial infrastructure and by addressing regulatory constraints contributing to the high cost of doing business.
“Genuine commitment to implementing key reforms would not only stimulate output growth but would also put the nation on the path of macroeconomic stability over the medium term, Our policies and regulations must foster business competitiveness at national, sub-regional, continental, and global levels,” she added.
