Industry, non-industry leaders in Imo express mix reaction to lifting interstate lockdown

THE LIFTING OF THE CORONAVIRUS induced interstate lockdown in Nigeria has elicited mixed reactions from industry and non-industry leaders who spoke to Business A.M. in Owerri, Imo State.

Some are of the opinion that the lifting of the interstate lockdown will encourage mobility of labour and stem the crime wave but others say with a looming retrenchment of industry workers, it could cause a sharp rise in crimes and criminality in the country as many of those to be affected vice means to put food on the table.

If some industries downsize their workforce because they can’t get funds to pay salaries and wages, those retrenched and who would go into the already saturated job market will take to crimes in order to put food on the table.

Rommy Anyanwu, immediate former chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Imo, Abia branch, who lives in Aba, Abia State, said there wouldn’t be a sharp rise in crime wave with the lifting of interstate lockdown but some firms will close down..

According to him, “I believe that it will rather reduce it. How do I mean? Obviously, many more companies are going to close shops and some naturally will reduce their workforce, three months out of real production is a very long period for a manufacturer.

“The interstate opening will encourage job mobility as more job seekers can easily go around other states to look for alternative jobs. For instance, artisans will move to where their services are more needed. Some sacked factory workers may take to other industries like agribusinesses, and that way, instead of crime wave increasing, it will drastically reduce”.

During the interstate lockdown he said that people could not move, even where their services were urgently required but the federal government’s decision to lift the interstate lockdown was a good decision which would ameliorate the economic hardship Nigerians are already facing.

“Not only will there be job mobility, but there will also be service mobility and that way, the economy will open up. If greater percentage is economically engaged, then, there will be reduction in crime wave,” Anyanwu maintained.

But Goddi Ihenachor, chairman, GMICORD, based in Owerri, Imo State, commended the federal government for lifting the interstate lockdown.

But he said, relaxing the interstate lockdown would bring a sharp rise in crime wave in the country because some industrialists would reduce their workforce and crimes may increase

Ihenachor said that already, many people don’t have jobs and those who are going to be retrenched would further bloat the number of people in the unemployment market, and as a result would take to crimes and criminality to survive.

Now, that the downsizing of workforce is also looming, “some of us left in the industrial area are not working or selling the already finished and stocked products, customers don’t come again, the layout has been left fallow for years, it is likely that some manufacturing companies, in the country will retrench their staff,” Ihenachor said.

Furthermore, another worrisome situation, he said, is that “a lot of bank loans will go bad and manufacturers who took such money from banks are not selling and as a result they cannot service their loans. The interest will be counting and eventually, the loan will go bad”.

He lamented the high cost of raw materials due to the fact that it is not easy to procure forex to import the needed raw materials to feed the factories for production, stressing, “the high costs of forex is not helping matters”.

Meanwhile, George OffurumNnadi, a Nigerian American University based lecturer, has urged both the Federal and State governments to initiate policies that would help their economies to contain with the level of crime that might be on the increase after the lockdown, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Warning that the aftermath of the lockdown would be devastating to the economy as there could be a sharp increase in the level of crime for them to contain.

“What could lead to the increase would be the long period of the lockdown. When you confine the people, even domestic animals, for too long, without giving them food or any form of palliative, there is the tendency for them to look for alternative means of survival,” adding that the government should put in place measures to checkmate the excesses that might arise after the pandemic.

“This is what those responsible for the security of life of American citizens are doing now because they know there would be aftermath of the pandemic,” he stated.