•Nigeria not significantly affected-experts
There are fears that the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is beginning to bite into Nigeria’s economy and that of the continent at large.
Already many business appointments in the sub region have been cancelled or scaled down while fears are rising that this may do harm to the economy of the country.
However, Dr Jonathan Aremu, an economist, said if the Federal Government and states across the country keep up with the tempo of activities especially campaign meeting to raise awareness on the dangers of the disease, it will not have any adverse effect on the nation’s economy.
According to him, “With the kind of seriousness shown by government at all levels, in terms of education that has helped to limit the spreading of the disease to the extent that the WHO even commended us, I think it is a good development.”
Aremu who consults for ECOWAS said Nigerians for the first time seem to have gotten it right. “As the entire hub of the entire Africa, Nigeria does appear to have handled this whole thing very appropriately. Even in the villages the awareness level is high. So, I think on the economic front if we go ahead with the level of seriousness we have shown, all will be well.”
On his part, Dr Austin Nweze, a political economist at Pan African University, Lagos, holds a different view.
According to him, the virus has a huge economic impact in diverse areas of life. “From preliminary findings, one can say that the Ebola virus is already taking its toll on Nigeria’s economy. Even in sport the news that our people were asked not to participate in some sporting events is a negative development.”
Other sectors, it has impacted, Nweze said are aviation and banking.
“Flights would not be full again because most countries are closing their borders. Even the banking sector is already feeling the pinch because a lot of people are not coming into the banks to transact business as much as before. Most customers are using online banking while those who can’t are staying out of the banks.”
Nweze, however said the Ebola epidemic may have brought economic boom to some sectors as it has led to an upswing for businesses built around hygiene and other allied products.
“Again those that are already benefitting from the outbreak of Ebola are those businesses involved in hygiene products and sanitary wares. So, I think this is a wakeup call for prospecting in this sector to go into the business,” he stressed.
The Ebola epidemic is believed to be threatening the continent’s hard-won image as a rising economic star.
The outbreak, declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organization, has killed more than 1,000 people and ravaged the small, fragile economies of the three worst-hit states, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Consequently, scarce financial resources are being diverted to contain the epidemic in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
The Federal Government has earmarked N1.9billion to fight the scourge which has claimed four lives in the country.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has admitted that the Ebola scare has slowed down its operations at the ports and border stations.
The Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the downturn in the activities of the service to current operational emphasis on the protection of its officers and men against the virus.
He said that measures were being taken to provide necessary facilities for the safety of the personnel and those they come in contact with in the course of their duties, adding that not much was being done operationally.
“So, for now we are not really concerned much about revenue collection but we are concerned on how to ensure that officers and men do not contract the virus while doing their jobs,” he said.
Besides, he said that the traffic of port users who deal with the Customs had reduced as everyone was being cautious of the virus.
Adeniyi admitted that the current situation could negatively impact on revenue generation by the service.
“The panic created by Ebola is definitely slowing down our operations particularly at the border stations, and if the current situation negatively impacts on revenue, I believe it will be perfectly understood,” he said.
He said that officers and men of the service who made contact with passengers and their luggage would be equipped with adequate protective facilities to prevent them from contracting the virus.
“We are also following this up with sensitisation of all stakeholders in the ports and borders to stress the importance of personal hygiene in curtailing the Ebola spread.”
“We have installed hand sanitisers in strategic positions in our offices to encourage officers and stakeholders to imbibe the practice of keeping their hands clean all the time,’’ he said.
Eateries and bars have also been experiencing low patronage as people avoid contact with others for fear of getting infected.
Suya and bush meat sellers as well as hunters are particularly hard hit.
Many bush meat sellers have decided to stay at home for now until the situation improves while hunters asked for the sack of Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu for saying that consumption of bush meat can cause Ebola infection.
The hunters said the minister’s statement has made life difficult for them.
Investigation by The Nation revealed that activities in the banking and other sub-sectors of the economy are being slowed down by the outbreak of the debilitating ailments.
When The Nation visited some banks within Lagos metropolis and its environs, there was low customer attendance.
A staff of one of the banks who would not be named because he was not authorised to speak disclosed that “patronage has dropped significantly as few people come into the banking hall these days for fear of contracting Ebola.”
A delegation of Brazilian executives has just cancelled a business trip to Namibia ,typifying the problems of perception raised for African countries which are remote geographically, economically and culturally from those suffering the outbreak in a corner of the continent.
The Namibian capital, Windhoek, lies about 4,500 km from the outbreak’s West African epicentre – far further away than at least one major Brazilian city and scarcely any closer than Rio de Janeiro. Yet the delegation still called off the trip to southern Africa due to pressure from families and employers.
