Nigerians ‘Crying for Money’ as Naira, Boko Haram Hit Trade – Bloomberg.
At one of Nigeria’s busiest markets, Ndubuisi Benjamin Nweke complains about the toughest business environmentAfrica’s biggest economy has faced in years.
“Customers are not coming the way they’re supposed to,” said the 46-year-old, whose trade in Chinese-made fabrics at the Idumota market in the commercial capital, Lagos, like many Nigerian importers, is being squeezed by a plunge in the naira. “Everyone is crying for money.”
Nigeria is being hammered on two fronts as it heads toward general elections in February. In the face of plummeting crude prices, the central bank devalued the naira and the government proposed budget cuts. At the same time, Islamist militants of the Boko Haram group have stepped up attacks in their five-year insurgency, and the security forces in Africa’s top crude producer are struggling to stop them.
Northern Nigeria is faring even worse than the south. Cosmetics seller Madu Masa Fantami has witnessed a drop in business after suicide bombers killed dozens at the Monday Market in the northeastern city of Maiduguri last month.
