Apart from human lives whose value cannot be stated in monetary terms, the northern region is losing no less than N25 billion on a daily basis to the activities of Boko Haram. This disclosure was made by Alhaji Ahmad Rabiu, chairman of the Conference of Northern States Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, in an exclusive chat with LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja.
According to Rabiu, who is also the president of the Kano Chamber of Commerce, businesses that used to thrive in the night hours do not exist anymore due to the palpable fear that pervades the northern states these days. Kano State, he said, is fast losing its status as the city of commerce. “What started in Maiduguri is fast catching up with all of the northern region and the business community is very worried,” he lamented. “We realised that when you have boxed people into a corner, they are not able to operate during the business hours of the night. At night, we don’t do anything and most of the business activities of the day are also having their push in the night. Most supermarkets close at 6pm because of fear of security breach. More than 50 per cent of economic activities happen at night; they don’t happen these days or they have been pushed to the lowest and, in a month, you are looking at a loss of about N700 billion,” said Rabiu, adding, “now, the effect of these is, you are looking at all the components of loss – that activities have not taken place, capital has been eroded.
As the situation of weakening the future revival is occasioned, chances of revival are becoming more unlikely as time goes on and chances of returning to the former situation we were also threatened. “So when you put all these things together you find that the loss is insurmountable, but we, in our estimation, going by certain indices, put the losses at N25 billion daily. And insecurity in Kano State is threatening businesses and sending away companies.” “Not too long ago – I think in 2008 – an agency of the United Nations put the figure of commercial motorcyclists operating in Kano at two million. Given that the minimum return each of these cyclists make to the owners is N500 daily, it pre-supposes that, that sector alone is contributing, at minimum, between N1 bn – N2 bn daily. Yet, there are tens of such sectors; some even bringing more money to the economy. Now, they make far less because they must close by 6pm every day.”
While commending the efforts of the Goodluck Jonathan administration at fixing the infrastructural problem, he said the governors of the northern states have a responsibility to tackle the security challenge in the region. Quit if you can’t end sect’s activities, Arewa youths tell northern governors A pan-northern youth movement, Arewa Youth Forum (AYF), yesterday told governors of the northern region to “leave the stage” if they cannot chart a road map on how an amicable resolution could be reached between members of the Boko Haram sect and the federal government. The Forum, which specifically pointed fingers at the chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, stated that the activities of the Boko Haram sect has crippled the economy of the region under the very watchful eye of the governors.
http://247nigerianewsupdate.com/north-loses-n25bn-daily-to-boko-haram-insurgency/
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