Nigeria’s recession could worsen Ghana’s unemployment – Economist

An economist, Dr Adu Owusu Sarkodie, has warned Nigeria’s market recession is likely to compound Ghana’s unemployment rate. He argued the contraction of Nigeria’s economy will have a spill over effect on Ghana due to the ECOWAS protocol which allows those within the region to move freely.

“The free movement in the ECOWAS region can make them migrate to Ghana. Don’t forget that the unemployment rate in Nigeria is huge and so if you have over 800 Nigerians moving to Ghana, then it will result in a competition,” Dr Sarkodie said Speaking on 3FM’s Business Weekly Program, Dr Sarkodie who is a lecturer of Economics at the University of Ghana said “We already have our problems. Our economy is also not doing so well.

They will compete for space with our local traders he highlighted”. Figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows the country has slipped into recession, as the economy has contracted by 2.06 per cent between April and June. Crude oil sales account for 70 per cent of government income.

The price of oil has fallen from highs of about $112 a barrel in 2014 to below $50 at the moment. A Nigerian journalist with AFP, Olatunde Ogoi, told 3FM the situation in Nigeria is dire.

But Dr Sarkodie has advised the Nigerian government to among other things, ensure that cheap trade relations between Nigeria and other African countries as a means of attracting foreign trade into the economy of the populous West African nation.

“They can revamp their economy, by making their exports to other countries cheaper. They form a large chunk of the African economy and if they revamp the economy it will be able to shoot up not only theirs but the African economy as well” he emphasized.