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By Brown Chimezie
Okoro Ebuphiho Blessing is a mechanical engineer who specialises in the maintenance of equipment like pumps, gas and diesel engines, compressors for oil and gas industries.
In this interview, he said Nigeria’s harsh economic environment is killing businesses and also proffers solutions to the problems.
What are the challenges affecting business in Nigeria?
Lack of steady power, high exchange rate especially dollars, inflation, insecurity and many more. As a maintenance engineer in the oil and gas sector, I need steady electricity to power my equipment. But because power is epileptic, I have to run generators in order to function optimally. On the impact of the high exchange rate, the effect can better be imagined. Most spare parts for equipment are imported, and to source for foreign exchange is an herculean task, and at the end of the day, the cost impact would be shifted to the client. The resultant effect is low patronage as most customers either abandoned their projects or look for cheaper or inferior spare parts.
How is insecurity affecting your business?
You know that the security of life and property is so very important in every move one makes in life.
Insecurity ranges from the petty thief in the neighborhood, armed robbers, kidnappers, militants, and banditry. But the greatest threat is kidnapping. Insecurity also drives investors away from the country.
How economy policies are affecting your business
The high rate of inflation is almost ruining businesses down. It raises operation cost. The cost of components of doing business; materials, spare parts, tools, everything has gone up
The Nigeria environment today is not that conducive for business. With the rising cost and rising inflation and interest rate, many businesses are folding up on a daily basis.
Is insecurity part of the reasons people are leaving the country through ‘japa’ syndrome?
You may not be far from the truth. When the livelihood of people is badly impacted by poor government policies, what do you expect? So it is not surprising that thousands of youths in their droves are leaving the shores of Nigeria to seek greener pasture outside Nigeria.
What we’re doing to touch other people’s lives.
I have been able to use my profession to touch lives by providing solutions, solving problems and creating future solutions in my place of work, for friends, family, and the general public.
What federal government should do to improve the economy?
The Federal Government has a lot to do to improve the economy, such as fixing the refineries so that they can start producing. We shouldn’t be importing fuel as a nation. Rather, we should be exporting refined petroleum production.
