Businesses struggle to stay afloat as Nigeria economic crisis deepens

Businesses are struggling to stay afloat amid Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis.

Nigeria is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, a situation that has stripped it of its status as Africa’s largest economy.

Inflation, coupled with a volatile exchange rate, has driven up the cost of living in this nation of over 200 million people.

The soaring prices of drug imports have resulted in local price hikes and a shortage of essential medicines.

Analysts predict that Nigeria could drop to fourth place among African economies by 2024, with businesses finding it increasingly challenging to stay afloat.

Alhaji Sani Nasidi, a veteran businessman, pointed to the devaluation of Nigeria’s national currency against the US dollar as a primary cause of the current economic woes.

Nasidi believes Nigeria must reduce its reliance on the dollar economy to mitigate the crisis.

Financial analyst and former banker Aminu Philip Yado told DW: “Transportation is one of the major factors that affects the cost of produce in the market.

“When you go to the farm and you have to harvest and transport at a very high cost, there is no way you can come to the market and charge low. You would certainly have to charge profitably and sustainably.

“What is basically wrong with the economy is that the managers of the economy themselves are not really having the economy at heart. Everybody that gets there struggles for his own and not the Nigerian people.

“If there is power in Nigeria today, all artisans that depend on power to do their business will go back to doing their business at a cheaper cost than they are doing now.”