Boko Haram Resurgence and Its Impact on the Survival and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) in Northern Senatorial Zone of Adamawa State, Nigeria (Published)
The resurgence of Boko Haram insurgency in the Northern Senatorial Zone of Adamawa State has profoundly disrupted economic activities, with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) bearing the brunt of the impact. These businesses, which form the backbone of local economies, have faced serious setbacks in their operations and long-term sustainability due to renewed insurgent violence. This study investigates the extent to which the insurgency has affected the survival and growth of SMEs in the LGAs. Employing a mixed-method research design, the study combines quantitative data from 150 SMEs through structured questionnaires with qualitative insights from interviews and field observations. The findings reveal that insecurity has negatively influenced critical areas such as investment decisions, daily business operations, customer accessibility, infrastructure reliability, and general business confidence. Specifically, the research identifies a strong link between the insurgency and declines in productivity, restricted access to capital, unstable workforce conditions due to displacement and fear, and limited market reach resulting from movement restrictions. These challenges have not only reduced the competitiveness of SMEs but have also led to the closure of several businesses, thereby exacerbating unemployment and poverty in the region. Based on the findings, the study recommends comprehensive and sustained security interventions to restore peace and confidence among business operators. Furthermore, it advocates for targeted financial support, trauma counseling, and business development services to help SME owners recover and rebuild. Establishing a robust economic recovery framework is also vital to reinvigorate enterprise development and ensure the long-term viability of SMEs in conflict-affected LGAs in Adamawa state.
Keywords: Boko, Growth, Haram, Resurgence, SMEs, survival
Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Public Debt on Economic Growth in Nigeria (Published)
Public debt is the amount of money that is borrowed by the government of a country from individuals, private and public corporations residing inside or outside the country. Debt is incurred by a government when there is a surplus expenditure over revenue and insufficient savings to carry out productive activities that foster economic growth and development. This study examined the impact of public debt on economic growth in Nigeria from 1980-2021. The study utilized the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds model to co-integration for analysis. The results showed that external and domestic debts had negative impacts on economic growth in the short-run, but exerted a positive and insignificant impact on economic growth in the long-run. In addition, the result of the first hypothesis showed that there is a significant relationship between public debt and economic growth in Nigeria in the short-run, while the result of the second hypothesis revealed that there is no significant relationship between public debt and economic growth in Nigeria in the long-run. Similarly, the result of the third hypothesis showed that there is no significant relationship between inflation and economic growth in Nigeria. The study recommends that public borrowing should be tied to specified productive sectors of the economy that would increase growth in the long-run and enhance the payment of the debts to avoid leaving debt burden to the next generation. Also, government should spend borrowed funds on capital goods and infrastructure that could increase productivity rather than recurrent expenditure that potentially leads to inflation. Furthermore, the government should diversify the sources of revenue by increasing effort on taxation, export goods and promote import substitution strategies that will enhance the consumption of domestic products and reduce reliance on debt to finance its budget.
Keywords: Economy, Growth, Public Debt, economic growth