By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
With Nigeria’s inflation rate still heading skyward and food inflation index spiked to 22.95% from 21.79% recorded in the previous month, Small Businesses are fast closing down nationwide.
PROMPT NEWS investigations have revealed that Small Business owners are being compelled to close down their businesses in the face of high cost of running the businesses.
Specifically, Small Businesses like eatery houses, barbers’ shops, business centres, food vendors and printing press owners have been hit by poor patronage despite the high cost of operation.
This sad situation may not be unconnected with spiralling Nigeria’s inflation rate which surges to 18.17% in March 2021 from 17.33% recorded in February 2021.
Worse still, food inflation, a closely watched index spiked to 22.95% from 21.79% recorded in the previous month, according to statistics available to the media.
PROMPT NEWS can confirm that many privately owned Small Businesses across the nation are in peril with many already closed down for lack of turnover or return on investment.
For example, Mrs. Ibukun Joseph who opened a small Coffee/ Smoothie Shop a few months ago inside Luzumba Complex near Cyprian Ekwensi National Arts Center in Area 10, Garki District, Abuja, has shut down.
The visibly disappointed Mrs. Joseph blamed the hurried closure of the business less than seven months after she opened the shop on the ground floor of the 3-storey complex popular for printing and publishing in Abuja on high cost of running the business.
According to her: “It’s a big disappointment for me to be operating at a loss every day we opened this place. I pay my three staff monthly salaries, pay for the shop, buy fuel to power the equipment we use for juicing and preparation of snacks, yet we can not break-even at the end of the month then there is no sense in it to continue the business”.
Also, Emeka Kalu who owns a lock-up shop at Dakwo suburb, Lokogoma in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has also closed down after operating for six months.
He said he could not cover the humongous amount of money he paid to rent the shop where he sells unisex wears like footwears, bags and clothing.
A visit to some of the major daily markets in FCT showed that many traders have closed shops, a situation which has resulted in many shops being empty as people are not renting the shops.
Like in FCT, many Small Businesses in the big cities of Lagos, Ibadan, Aba, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Kano, Sokoto, etc, are fast closing down. The spate of insecurity in Nigeria has also resulted in people holding onto their little cash rather than using it to invest in businesses that will not yield return on investment.
