- Projects Africa’s Growth To Rebound To 3.8% In 2024
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has raised an alarm that Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola and Kenya are at the risk of civil unrest because of rising food costs and increasing fuel prices.
This is even as the developmental bank projected that growth on the continent will rebound to 3.8% in 2024.
The alarm was contained in the development bank’s macroeconomic performance and outlook for 2024 released recently.
Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook, a biannual publication released in the first and third quarters of each year, complements the existing African Economic Outlook (AEO), which focuses on key emerging policy issues relevant to the continent’s development.
The MEO report provides an up-to-date evidence-based assessment of the continent’s recent macroeconomic performance and short-to-medium-term outlook amid dynamic global economic developments.
“Internal conflicts and violence could also result from rising prices for fuel and other commodities due to weaker domestic currencies and reforms.
“For instance, the removal of fuel subsidies in Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria and the resulting social costs has led to social unrest driven by opposition to government policy” the report stated.
Rising cost of living has become something to worry about in Nigeria with some Nigerians hitting the streets in some states in recent times in protest.
The cost-of-living crisis is blamed on the federal government’s policies of the petrol subsidy removal and floating of the naira.
This rising cost of living has triggered protests across Nigeria with a protest breaking out in Minna, Niger State on February 5, with many other states holding similar protests after.
Similarly, organized labour has scheduled a two-day nationwide protest between February 27 and 28, 2024 over the hardship being experienced by Nigerians as well as the deteriorating security situation in the country.
Speaking in a press conference after an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union on Friday, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the protest will begin a week after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum it issued to the Federal Government which will expire on February 23.
