Why economy is in recession — Expert

The Chairman of Health Assur Limited, who is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Mr ‘Bade Adeshina, has blamed the dwindling economy on the inability of governments to curb the high rate of people living below the poverty line.

Adeshina, an investment banker for over three decades, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to make a choice between life, death and the economy.

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He spoke at the NIM’s Management Day lecture in Lagos.

The alumni of the prestigious Harvard Business School, while quoting the World Economic Forum, 2020, said an aggregate loss of the health and economic crises is estimated at $9 trillion between 2020 and 2021.

Nigeria, he observed, was facing its worst economic crisis with over 82.9 million persons classified as poor by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Nigerian Living Standards Survey (NLSS) Report, May 2020.

Adeshina said: “Attention should be given to business continuity, cost management, productivity, and implementing safety measures, however, innovation-led growth should not be totally ignored.”

Also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Adeshina stated that businesses must be prepared for a crisis, as “it is a matter of when and not if.”