Insecurity crippling economy, worsening unemployment- LCCI
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said the insecurity challenge in the country is crippling economic activities and making the unemployment rate worse.
At the chamber’s 2021 edition of the Security Meets Business Conference in Lagos, the President, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje said despite the government allocating N878bn in 2020 and N840.56bn in 2021 to defence expenditure in the Appropriation Act, the security situation in the country had not fared better.
She said, “This vote of resources to defence operations show the commitment of the government to making Nigeria a safer and more peaceful nation.
“Despite these efforts, the security situation in our nation is still a narrative of challenges, apprehension, anxiety, disrupted supply chains and increasing economic cost from the impact of insecurity.
According to her, insecurity and armed conflict results in death and injuries, paralysis of economic activities, GDP losses, cost of peace building and peace keeping activities and refugees and IDP camps.
Citing data from the 2020 Global Peace Index by the Institute of Economics and Peace, Mabogunje said the economic impact of violence increased in 2019 to a total of $453.1bn or $433 for each person in sub-Saharan Africa. She said, “Insecurity does not only impact society, but it also reduces the positive benefits that security and peace bring to the macroeconomic performance of countries”.
She noted that it was necessary to distinguish between the different causes as it might require different approaches.
She explained that the high level of unemployment and poverty among Nigerians, especially the youth might have resulted in criminal acts.
She said, the failure to address the challenges of poverty, unemployment and business failures was one of the factors causing insecurity in the country.
