Scope for industrial prosperity in Lake Chad Basin as firms navigate security threats  

Protracted conflicts cause far-reaching damage to the social, economic and political affairs of affected areas. They create a negative reinforcing loop because they make it difficult to deal with the underlying causes of the problem.

Violence in the Lake Chad Basin has been fed by the relative deprivation of communities that face insufficient jobs, low incomes and inadequate public services. Providing jobs through private sector investments in industrial activities could help resolve the conflict by depleting the recruitment pool of Boko Haram’s factions. 

But the ongoing clashes make this difficult to achieve. Violent extremism directly threatens the assets and operations of industrialists who do business in conflict zones. For instance, the factory of cement conglomerate Lafarge in north-east Nigeria was attacked by Boko Haram in November and December 2014. 

Unsafe transport routes also make the movement of assets risky and may dampen demand for produced goods by customers too afraid to use certain roads. Problems of market access affect both the movement of raw materials and finished goods.

Emigration, death or displacement in conflict zones present another challenge by reducing the capacity of the labour force. Since the crisis started in 2009, 2.8 million people in the Lake Chad Basin have been forced to leave their homes. This means that industrialists may struggle to find locals to fill jobs at different skill levels, making it difficult to boost the incomes of communities. 

The ongoing conflict also means governments may divert resources to military activities, often at the cost of public investment in infrastructure and development needed for private sector growth. This could affect spending on public education or the building and repair of roads, for example.

It is also true that businesses can fuel conflicts. They can create new tensions in the competition for jobs or resources such as land. Extractive commercial practices can have the same effect, adding another layer to the hostile environments that communities face. Companies can also inadvertently strengthen violent groups when their assets are captured during attacks. Boko Haram members procured dynamite and vehicles during the assault on the Lafarge plant.

These problems haven’t prevented the establishment and running of large commercial enterprises in northeastern Nigeria and other parts of the Lake Chad Basin. Some have found ways to make their operations more resilient. 

In November 2018, Coca-Cola opened a new bottling facility in Maiduguri, Borno State — an expansion of the production plant established in 1983. When the ongoing conflict threatened its distribution network, the company adapted by limiting distribution to Maiduguri, which is considered safer than other parts of Borno. Traders must travel to Maiduguri to receive supplies, which although not ideal, has enabled operations to continue without interruption. Coca-Cola has even indicated plans for expansion.