High operating cost may force more businesses into extinction in 2023, says Don

<p>With the challenges of increased operating costs on businesses, experts have predicted that several businesses in the transportation, hospitality, as well as food and beverage sector, might go into extinction before year-end.</p>, <p>They predicted that these might cut across the public and private sectors, as well as businesses in the local and multinational space.</p>, <p>Academic Director, Senior Management Programme, Lagos Business School (LBS), Dr. NkemdilimIheanachor, said this yesterday, during this year’s public lecture of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), held at Lead City University, Ibadan, where he spoke on ‘The Dynamics of Leadership in Fiscal and Monetary Policies: The Central Bank of Nigeria in Perspective.’</p>, <p>He lamented that businesses’ profit margins have significantly reduced, thus, creating a huge burden to keep both the employees and the business operational. Differentiating between the fiscal and monetary policy, Iheanachoranalysed an economic snapshot of the economy from 1986 to 2023, stating that despite previous reforms taken when the economy faced myriad challenges, it had always been in shambles.</p>, <p>Citing variables when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 0.061 per cent in 1986 and 2.31 per cent in 2023; inflation at 5.72 per cent then and 22.31 per cent in 2023; unemployment at 5.31 per cent in 1986 and over 35.5 in 2023, among others, he said nothing has changed as the nation had continued to face higher and rising inflation.</p>, <p>Analysing some of the documented structural problems, the don said the economy has been characterised by crony capitalism and rent-seeking challenges; anaemic growth and misallocation of resources; productivity hobbled by structural bottlenecks and high cost of living as inflation spirals out of control.</p>, <p>To address the socioeconomic challenges bedevilling the nation, Iheanachor said policy changes are not enough.</p>, <p>He said there is a need for institutional reforms with penalties attache