As 2020 moves to the end, a lot is happening worldwide. Almost all countries are dealing with shocking grips of COVID-19 which appears to have changed our lives forever. Not only are individuals seeing new possibilities, corporations are embracing new ways doing business. New powers are rising by the day. Who would believe that Zoom would take us to where we are today? When the streets of London and Lagos became empty, and when CNN showed us clips of places that used to be over-crowded, fear gripped many.
It is hard to tell if we have seen the worst of COVID-19 at this time. There is still no reliable and widely acknowledged vaccine for coronavirus although there have been attempts in several parts of the world, even in Africa. Madagascar introduced a coronavirus drug months ago but now not much about the drug is spoken in places where health experts debate. So, there is a shift in thinking abilities of people who make up the leaders of the post- COVID-19 era. Never could anyone believe that if we are not in the office we could do so much.
Since January, some companies have changed their mind-sets as they struggle to save staff from untimely death, while they help them to perform even more in the comfort of their homes. One thing is certain, the successful business person is the individual with a willingness to adapt to the times we live in.
COVID-19 is not the only concern we have. In Nigeria, a plethora of challenges stare us in the face. While COVID-19 raged, some parts of the country were ravaged in some sort of famine. It was bad enough that people believed that hunger would claim more lives than coronavirus in this country. I can hardly tell what the situation is because I’m unable to throw figures and stats about how many people died from malaria, Hepatitis A or B, but we have a picture to look at when we think of deaths from COVID-19.
This week is time for reflection on where we want to be not just now but in the future. The pages of newspapers are bleak with reports that take smiles away from our faces. Just as food security is a big challenge, the security of lives and properties is utmost. Leaders are getting a hang of it as there have been accusations from different quarters of the country’s leadership.
Latest economic figures show inflation rate hits 13.22% — records highest jump since Oct 2016, experts and analysts say. That’s scary! The situation between Ghana and Nigeria when it comes to trade is equally of concern. Some Nigerian traders in Ghana also accused the Ghanaian government of closing their shops over non-registration with the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), which requires $1,000,000 minimum foreign equity. How should business men and women who make profits less than $1,000 collectively deal with the situation?
PMS retailers began selling petrol at different prices ranging from N158 to N162 per liter after an increase in the ex-depot price was announced. This is the first major sign that deregulation has fallen heavily on Nigerians. We can see how these pointers above will affect businesses.