An Assessment of the Impact of Boko Haram Insurgency on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Gombe State of Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

An Assessment of the Impact of Boko Haram Insurgency onSmall and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Gombe State of Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects IntroductionSince the early part of 2009, Nigerian government has been battling with insurgency caused by Boko Haram activities. Boko Haram is a religious based Nigerian Militant group that believe in extreme religious imposition of Sharia law in the northern states of Nigeria. Ideologically, the group opposes not only western education but also Western culture and modern sciences. The activities of the group have resulted to serious political instability in the affected Nigerian states. The activities of this group have led to critical questions among investors about whether their investments are safe within the affected states and the country at large. It has also threatened the survival, existence and performance of many businesses in Nigeria especially in the north-east part of the country. Their activities include killing of innocent Nigerians, raping of women, bombing of public and major private buildings, bombing of police stations, among others (Mukolu & Ogodor, 2018).The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2019) reports on the crisis within the Nigerian political environment have revealed that between 2009 to early part of 2021 more than 20,000 lives were lost due to Boko Haram militia insurgency in country. Also, in the first nine months of its operation in the early 2009, approximately 815 people were massacre in more than 275 suspected different attacks, also more than 60 police stations were destroyed within Northern states of Nigeria. The crisis within the North-east of Nigeria has resulted to many businesses operating within the area to shut down and some have even moved to other countries. The few existing ones may be operating at low capacity which may possibly lead to staff retrenchments. Thus, people in Nigeria, particularly those living within the north-east states leaves in constant fear. Therefore, one begins to wonder how people who leave within the north-east region go about their socioeconomic activities. This no doubt portent a grave danger for the growth, development and performance of SMEs within the area.SMEs are generally have been mostly refers to as the engine of economic growth and sustainable development. They are labor intensive, capital saving and capable of helping developing countries to attain development. SMEs are also considered as the key to achieving economic growth and poverty reduction. SMEs are also in a better position to boost employment, guarantee even distribution of industrial development and facilitate the growth of non-oil exports.Majority of the SMEs in Nigeria operate as family business or sole proprietorship business and are generally classified into commercial, industrial, and agricultural categories depending on their activities. The SMEDAN (2017) survey on SMEs reveals that the commercial SMEs in Nigeria constitute more than 90% of the entire number of SMEs in

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