Developer laments lack of support for structured retail growth

Mall developer and CEO of Topservices Limited, Chief Tokunbo Omisore, has said that structured retail development which holds the potential to mitigate Nigeria’s youth unemployment crisis is not receiving the support it deserves from government and financial institutions.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, Chief Omisore said that it is shameful that a nation such as ours rather than to encourage investors/developers by providing enabling environment ignores such requests.

He wondered why developers that borrowed forex from banks, prior to the devaluation, will have no consideration after using such funds to provide platforms for employment and SME opportunities.

Chief Omisore said the failure to encourage developers to provide more neighbourhood mall developments at an affordable cost, anchored by a key retail supermarket brand like Shoprite, which provides employment to more than 2,000 directly and multiple that number indirectly, leaves much to be desired.

“Our vision to grow a structured retail business, expected to support our unchecked population increase has been handicapped by this act of neglect.”
The developer noted that infrastructural developments with no human development index consideration will fail as the people will be economically challenged to service and maintain the same.

“The US economy flourishes heavily from structured retail growth that has kept lives of all her citizens to be much sought after,” Omisore noted.

He said the private sector needs to be empowered and the political class must be of service to rescue the nation from an impending twin crisis of overpopulation and unemployment.