Nigerian economy challenged, may set another record ― OPSN

With an inflation rate of 18.12 per cent (as of April 2021), high unemployment of about 33.3 per cent and worsening insecurity, the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) has described the nation’s economy as ‘challenged on all fronts’, warning that the country might set a new record of having the highest unemployment rate, in the world.

The association’s Chairman, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi, made the remarks, in Lagos, in his state of the nation’s economy address to the media.

Adeniyi, in the address, tagged ‘State of The Nigerian Economy and A Call for Urgent Action’, described as alarming, the fact that despite being the largest in Africa, the nation’s economy still remains one of the most challenged, in the continent.

According to him, out of the list of 82 countries monitored by Bloomberg, recently, a third of the country’s labour force are either unemployed or work for a few hours per week, a development, he argued, that made the country, second only to Namibia.

“It is important to note that Nigeria’s unemployment rate is the highest among Africa’s top ten largest economies. We cannot deny that the increase in unemployment in 2020 represented a slowdown in economic activity, owing largely to the global pandemic and the resultant drop in demand for oil that led to a drop in oil prices.

“Over the last five years, unemployment has more than quadrupled, and the World Bank warned even before the Coronavirus pandemic that Nigeria could house a quarter of the poorest people in the world within a decade,” he stated.

The OPSN’s boss, however, expressed the optimism of the nation’s business community, and key stakeholders in the Nigeria Project, that the situation could still be salvaged through the application of a mix of fiscal, monetary and trade policies.

He, therefore, called on the federal government to address the issue of foreign exchange for productive activities. This, OPSN’s boss added, had become imperative since the availability of foreign exchange for importation of raw materials and machinery had become one of the critical means of ameliorating the challenges facing the manufacturing and other real sectors of the economy.

Adeniyi, therefore, urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to, as a matter of urgency, consolidate the unification of the exchange rates, and shun the practice of multiple currency practices, which, he argued, had not demonstrated the true reflection of the Naira in the market.

“We believe that CBN action in defending the Naira has a limit; therefore, we advocate for a more deliberate measure and drive in increasing local production for export potential,” he stated.

He also tasked the federal government with the need to move the economy beyond focusing on the development of primary sectors like Agriculture and mining sectors and be more deliberate in creating high skill and technology-intensive opportunities in the manufacturing and services sectors.

According to him, the time had also come for the federal government to begin to consider production for exports even for intermediate goods, in the nation’s manufacturing sector as the country gets ready to effectively participate in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

While applauding the various intervention programmes of the CBN, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Adeniyi however called on the apex bank to review its strategies and reduce the bureaucratic bottleneck currently associated with accessing the funds, to enable genuine Nigerian businesses to have access to such intervention schemes.

The Organized Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) comprises the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI) and Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME).

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