#EndSARS Protests May Trigger Inflation, Policy Analyst Warns

It’s been almost two weeks of several demonstrations by Nigerian youths to end police brutality. Experts and analysts are calling on the government to speed up and meet the demands of protesters in order to mitigate the effects on Africa’s most populous economy.

CEO of Cowry Asset Management, Johnson Chukwu, said one of the negative impacts of the protests is a disruption in supply chains which will result in a spike in the prices of food items thereby causing inflation to rise even further.

The policy analyst also said he expects the economy to contract further in the fourth quarter of this year and if the protests are prolonged, he sees more bearish runs in the Nigerian stock markets.

During periods of political instability and social unrest, the industrial goods sector tend to fall because people move away from capital investment and invest more in the consumer goods.

Meanwhile, Arise Business Analyst Chika Mbonu said security is very vital to attract local and foreign investors. He said “(If) an economy that does not have security, investors will stay away from it. Already our foreign direct investment has been falling…”

Mbonu further pointed out that the big picture is that in order for the economy to be secure, Nigeria needs a well-motivated and professional police system.

He called on the government to be transparent and sincere in the process of setting up judiciary panels and ensure the welfare of the police is improved so that they can work more efficiently and attract potential foreign investors.

Lillian Jijingi

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