The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has expressed concern about the spate of looting of trucks conveying food and raw materials by “hungry Nigerians,” warning that it can lead to a shutdown of industries across the country.
Members of the OPS, gave the warning on Monday in separate interviews just as “hungry Nigerians” attacked trucks conveying building materials and spaghetti in Ogun and Kaduna states.
Also on Monday, the Federal Government said it would start the distribution of free grains to states this week.
Several trucks and warehouses, mostly owned by manufacturers and other members of the OPS, have come under attacks from hoodlums as the food inflation and the cost of living crisis worsened across the country.
Last week, some youths stole food items from trucks stuck in traffic along the Kaduna Road in the Suleja area of Niger State.
On Sunday, hoodlums attacked a warehouse belonging to the Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration located in the Dei-Dei area of the capital city where they looted rice, grains, and other relief items.
An attempt by another group to loot a private warehouse in the Idu Industrial Estate, Jabi, Abuja, was rebuffed by soldiers guarding the facility.
Speaking with The PUNCH, The President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, said the current economic hardship was ushering in anarchy.
According to him, the attacks can worsen the problems of companies and lead to their shutdown.
Idahosa said, “The chickens are coming home to roost. The government has asked the people to be patient, but the stomach cannot be patient even if the head wants to be patient. In a state of anomy, it will lead to a state of anarchy.
“There is no distinction between public and private in a state of anarchy. When the government allows chaos to happen, chaos does not know whether it is government or private property. When it rains, it doesn’t rain only on government or private property.
“The looters are not concerned whether it is government or private property. They just want food, anything that looks like food, they will go after it. This is why concerned observers have asked the government to look for concrete measures to reduce the state of hunger in the land.’’
The LCCI president further said a concerted effort is required to stop the criminality.
“We have gone beyond the phase of speculation; we are now in the phase of reality. In the last two or three days, these kinds of events have been escalating. It will require concerted efforts to stop the trend,’’ he advised.
Speaking further, Idahosa, noted that many of the major manufacturing firms in the country recorded significant losses in the 2023 financial year and might choose to shut down their businesses and lay off workers in light of the looting of their wares.
He added, “All of them are reporting losses in billions. The smaller companies are also having their own losses. It just doesn’t make it to the front pages of the newspapers.
‘’Last week, we went to meet the CEO (chief executive officer) of one of the largest food and beverage companies in Nigeria and he said that some of his colleagues, who are foreigners, said they were totally confused that they did not know what to do; that they were frustrated. He was just sharing their frustration with us.
“With the present situation, we are not just looking at price hikes alone. They may decide to close down the business and fire all the people.”
On his part, the Chairman of Kwara/Kogi Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji AbdulRahman Bioku, in an interview with The PUNCH attributed the looting of food items and other goods to the situation in the country.
Bioku who is the Chief Executive of Bioraj Group of companies, said “People are hungry and angry. Manufacturers have laid off many workers because their companies have closed down. The few workers on the job are on half salary.
“The palliative the government gives out cannot solve their problems and that is what caused the looting.
“The government should solve the problem of transportation by providing hundreds of long buses for each state while it should give priority to the issue of provision of raw materials to the manufacturers. It should also ensure security to the people that want to farm.’’
Report originally published in The PUNCH
