The Upcoming General Elections And It’s Possible Impact On Your Business
It’s the election season, and with every passing day, we get closer to one of the most important general elections in the future of Nigeria since its return to democratic rule in 1999.
Nowadays, you can’t tune into the news or walk around without hearing, seeing or feeling the election frenzy building up. It’s literally in our faces and really hard to ignore.
I’m sure you must be thinking, what has my business got to do with the upcoming elections? Well, let me break it down for you.
Being a democratic state, the president of Nigeria is responsible for implementing policies that bring about growth and development. So seeing as the country is in an economic mess currently, you would agree that the next president has to absolutely get it right, wouldn’t you?
Therefore, between now, February 25th (election day), and after the elections, your business could be impacted in so many ways.
So why should you care?
A lot of things could change in the next couple of weeks or months. As a business owner, here are some things you should be concerned about.
Exchange rate and Inflation
Since the current administration took over in 2015, the exchange rate has always been fluctuating. However one thing has been very constant, it has always been on the rise.
This has contributed massively to the current inflation rate that has affected the prices of goods and services, and as you would agree, yesterday’s price is never today’s price as far as Nigeria goes.
Now this does not only affect you as a business owner but it also affects your customers because when you buy products at an increased price, you’ve got little to no choice to also sell at a higher price.
Therefore this drastically reduces your profit margin, making it difficult for you to make tangible profits – such a nightmare!
Insecurity
Even though as a nation, we’re no stranger to insecurity, it doesn’t make it normal. It’s been really difficult for people to travel by road to conduct their business activities interstate because of the incessant bandit attacks.
Even business people who would usually embark on long trips to various destinations locally to buy goods and resell are taking a pause on that due to the current attacks in the northwest.
Now the big question is, would this be stopping anytime soon? Your guess is as good as mine. But the fact that people aren’t making these business trips is leading to an increase in the prices of goods like tomatoes.
Now imagine what would happen at this period when people are more paranoid about leaving their current locations due to the election frenzy? So right now, we have no other choice but to prepare for an increase in the prices of food items.
What can you do?
Even though the president and people in public offices hold the power to create policies that will make your life much easier, you have much more power to affect things than you realize.
Running a business is difficult, but it’s even much more difficult when you’re running one in Nigeria. So here is how you can get involved to make things easier.
Educate yourself and don’t be deceived
Many of the policies that will be implemented by the next administration will directly affect you, and I’m sure you realize this by now. Therefore, staying up-to-date with the latest information regarding the political state of affairs is a priority.
Try as much as possible to pick the best candidates amongst those running for office based on their character and competence rather than by hear-say or sentiments.
Remember also that the policies affecting your business are not limited to the presidential and governorship elections. Therefore, you should also get yourself interested in the local government, house of reps and even senate elections.
Vote
I hope that as patriotic Nigerian concerned about change, you have your voter’s card already? If you still don’t have it, then you should make time to go and get it as they are being collected at different locations nationwide.
It doesn’t end at PVC collection, but rather, ensure you go out and cast your vote for your preferred candidates on the election day. By doing so, you’re creating a better environment for your business to excel.
Run for office
One of the biggest mistakes that has been made by Nigerian citizens is relinquishing politics to just a select few and going about our lives like it’s none of our business, when in fact, it is.
The only way to create change is from within, so as a business owner right now, aspiring to become the next president might be impossible, but you can become a councillor in your local government or occupy other minor positions in your local government area.
Because only you know how difficult it gets trying to run a business, you’ll be able to formulate great policies and create an impact once you’re in a position to do that.
Join the Shecluded community
At Shecluded, we’re more than meets the eye. If your business is being affected by the current economic decline and you need finance to bounce back, then we’re here to service your needs.
All you have to do is visit our website (shecluded.com) to apply for a business growth loan or join our community to get access to amazing opportunities.
