As Shoprite Invades South East Retail Markets
One of the earliest proverbs I learnt in my early years in elementary educational faculty was the saying that a 'wise man whose house or yam barns are on fire do not go chasing rats'.
The aforementioned proverb means that when local issues become troubling or troubled the best thing to do is to find permanent solution and not to abandon ship and go about doing good for far distant people.
Nigeria is on a threshold of a national economy that is about collapsing. The National and sub -national governments are in total disarray regarding what economic model to adopt to achieve rapid economic recovery with a fast declining crude oil market globally.
State government can't pay salaries because governors steal the allocations accruing from the Federally shared allocations from the National Cake. The Federal Government borrows averagely the sum of N600 billion yearly to service the salaries of Federal workers, so says the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration since coming to power a year ago has been fishing all over the World for the most suitable and sustainable alternative to the dwindling international asking price of crude oil. The foreign travels which gulps billions of scarce foreign exchange is seen as the evidence that the Federal Government does not have any reliable economic team. The Finance Minister Mrs Kemi Adeosun has been described by the International funders as a light weight when compared with the immediate past Economic and Finance Minister Professor (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
From the USA the Nigerian President has traversed Middle East, Asia and the far East but for the ordinary Nigerians there's no solution that has come close enough to bridge the gap between the few who have stolen so much from our common till with the millions who are absolutely impoverished and poverty stricken.
For three Months motorists and companies can't get enough premium motor spirit and diesel to power their electricity energy and what this means is that millions of people who were hitherto gainfully employed are being laid off by these companies whose operational costs have skyrocketed due to scarcity of fuel and the poor state of infrastructure.
Understandably, the economic outlooks this Year is hovering dangerous within the pricipice of dysfunctionality.
Renowned global audit firm, Pricewaterhousecooper in its recent forecast on the performance of the Nigerian economy in 2016, said with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the economy, it will struggle to grow at 4.0 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Our economists have developed three economic scenarios to help public and private sector organisations prepare for an uncertain environment in 2016. In these scenarios, we explored two types of shocks: an oil price shock and a political shock."
“We expect that even under a benign economic scenario, the Nigerian economy will struggle to realise any growth much higher than 4.0 per cent".
"Nigeria’s economy has tended to suffer following an oil price crash, although its resilience has improved in more recent times. Getting the policy response right matters as falling economic growth imposes a real ‘human’ cost on the population,” PWC said in its recent 2015/2016 World Economic Outlook".
As if this sad analysis isn't enough bad news for Nigerians the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently cut Nigeria’s GDP growth forecast for 2016, to 4.0 per cent growth rate as the country continues to contend with the challenge of declining income from the drop in crude oil prices.
The latest growth forecast by the fund is 2.25 percentage points lower than its last year’s projection for Nigeria.
The Bretton wood institution stated this in its 208-page World Economic Outlook (WEO) titled: “Adjusting to Lower Commodity Prices”, released in Washington DC, recently.
Amidst these ugly economic scenarios graphically projected, the current invasion of several Nigerian retail markets by the South African franchise known as SHOPRITE is troubling.
This invasion is even more destructive in the South East because of all the geopolitical zones the South East's economy depends substantially on retail trading.
But with the flooding of the retail market of the South East of Nigeria by foreign originated and designed trading retail stores, millions of small time traders will be forced to close shops since these South African shops are usually attractive to politically exposed persons especially in the South East who secretly buy into these South African Shops and simply nominate their stooges to be their fronts in these establishment and these politicians such as governors thereby launder their loots in these South African business outlets where return on investment is high because of the powerful propaganda and media mileage these companies awash with slush funds enjoy.
Corruption is no a stranger in South Africa since even President Jacob Zuma has been indicted for theft of public fund to furnish his private residence.
There is the speculations that in Imo State the governor and his family own the magnificent plaza housing the newly established SHOPRITE in Owerri. So far there is no hard proof to back up the speculation but if body language of Okorocha is anything to go by then I think there's no smoke without fire.
Similarly Anambra has followed suit with the opening of branches of these South African shops and sadly millions of younger persons turned out to patronise these foreign businesses because the owners use the South African controlled MultiChoice to market through DSTV the propaganda glamorising these South African shops. Most undergraduates and younger persons now see it as a status symbol to take selfie shortly after shopping or just roaming around the colourful business premises of these Shoprite companies. These youth are copying their elders who have insatiable taste for anything foreign.
It is pathetic that state and Federal Governments have yet to provide a buffer for the petty traders in their millions in the South East who will inevitably loose out if the current invasion of these South Africans in the South East to take control of the retail economy isn't checked.
It is baffling that South East governors are celebrating the coming of these retail outlets from South Africa as a big achievement even without giving a thought to what will become of their States should these foreigners be given unfettered access to dominate the South East retail markets.
Governor Rochas Okorocha abandoned all official duties to personally open a multimillion naira company called Shoprite in Owerri the Imo State capital. Observers say this lends credence to the claims that he knew more about SHOPRITE Owerri than he has spoken out.
Delivering his speech at the opening ceremony of the company, Mr Okorocha stated that the rescue mission government has opened its arms to welcome investors to the state and enjoined all Imolites, irrespective of political divides to come and invest in the state.
In his words “we must now irrespective of political affiliations unite and save the lives of these numerous young Ndi-Imo who are looking up to us for leadership.” He continued, many of you will wonder what will an APC governor be doing in a business championed by a PDP chieftain?
Okorocha's empty rhetoric continued: "Let me say to you, in political parties we must learn to defend our political parties but in governance for the people, we must learn to unite and provide to our people the much needed dividends of democracy. "That is the singular reason why I have supported this project", Okorocha stated.
The local press reported that Okorocha who is facing a wave of criticism for leadership failure thanked the facilitator of the project, Nze Herbert Chikwe for partnering with the government in its quest to boost the economy of the state, stating “I am here to challenge all Imolites especially the privileged ones irrespective of political affiliations to come down at home just as Nze Herbert Chikwe has done.”
Mr Chikwe is the husband to the erstwhile National women leader of Peoples Democratic Party Mrs Kema Chikwe that ruled Nigeria between 1999 to 2015. This same man recently had a brush with the law over alleged land related fraud. Mrs Kema Chikwe was a one time Aviation minister.
The Anambra State governor followed Okorocha's pathetically irrational footsteps by pouring encomiums on the owners of this South African franchise.
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State commissioned the Shoprite Mall in Onitsha, the Anambra State commercial hub. Onitsha is known as the town with the largest market in West Africa but years of neglect by the State government to provide functional infrastructures and the failure of banks to provide funds and credit lines to enable these traders to upgrade their businesses have allowed the fortunes of most traders of Onitsha to nosedive.
But why is Okorocha and Obiano celebrating the advent of foreign owned businesses that threaten the existence of the Indigenous retail markets?
In Lagos whereby Shoprite also have significant presence it is easy for the State and the South West economy to absorb the shock since virtually 75 percent of the manufacturers operate from Lagos but in the entire South East the dominant business of most adults is retail business.
How then will the coming of retailers from South Africa be of advantage? As I stated earlier there are allegations that the public fund are laundered through these shops and almost 90 percent of what is sold in SHOPRITE are imported wares.
How come people think that SHOPRITE will boost the economic prospects of Nigerian farmers if even Oranges sold in SHOPRITE are imported?
I think the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bank of Industry must jointly partner to rescue the Indigenous retail markets by sustainably rendering credit facilities to these traders who are on the brink of extinction because of the invasion of the local retail market by foreigners. Nigeria will be unstable and unsafe if Government allow these foreigners to chase the local traders out of their retail markets in Nigeria. It is of urgent national security interest that the future of these traders are constructively analysed and a permanent soft landing provided.
In other climes foreign Direct investors aren't allowed to go into common retail markets especially if such businesses will depend on imports to stock back their shops. For instance most retailers in the food and becerage sector in tge United Kingdom who are Asians simply bring in their funds and set up these shops and stock their stores with oroducts prmade in Britain.
Responsible State governments must act before it is too late.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is Head of Human rights Writers association of Nigeria and blogs @ www.huriwa.blogspot.com, www.rightsassociationngr.com, www.huriwa.org.