A new report by the World Bank has revealed that the destruction caused by activities of the Boko Haram sect caused a 50% drop in economic activities in the north-east part of the country.
The report, the Lake Chad regional economic memorandum, revealed that states in the Lake Chad region, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, saw economic activities decline from 10 to 14 per cent between 2009 and 2013, and by 2018, had dropped to 50 percent.
Lead Economist, World Bank and Co-author of the report, Mr. Marco Hernandez said: “In northern Nigeria, we see that 50 per cent or more of crop yields have been affected as a result of conflict, there is a huge cost that could very well turns into a benefit because that takes into account other factors that have been going on at the time, including, for instance, issues related to climate.
“When you look at the effects of Boko Haram alone, once again, you now isolate it from all the different things that are going on in the region, what we have seen is that there are two messages to highlight on the one hand, that economic activity has fallen and the large reduction in economic activity has become even more apparent with time,” he stated.
Hernandez also noted that Boko Haram is not just on those places where insurgency happens, but also affects neighbouring parts for where the actual attacks happen.
The bank pointed out that for the region to grow, there was the need for enhanced trade, improved infrastructure to move people good and services, improved governance and management of natural resources.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, in a remark, called on the country to urgently tackle insecurity to enhance growth especially in the north east.
