Interrogating the Effects of EndSARS Protest on Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

Protest is a means of communication to the authority or government of a nation signaling the adverse effects of a situation experienced by the people of that particular state or nation. The endSARS protest of year 2020 was a significant socio-political event in Nigeria. It was initially a call to end police brutality and the scrape of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Three research questions were raised to guide the conduct of the study. Mixed method of qualitative and quantitative was used to generate data from 250 purposively selected participants and six (6) in depth interview used in the study. The study reveals that 233 (93.2%) of the respondents strongly agree and agree that the protests disrupted the supply chain of most affected SMEs. The study equally revealed that 234 (93.6%) of the respondents strongly agree and agree that the protests affected the SMEs by drastically reducing the market sales of most SMEs owners. In the same vein the study revealed that 223 (88.8%) of the respondents strongly agree and agree that most SMEs victims of the protests resulted to personal emergency fund help as one of the strategies to recapitalize their businesses. The study concludes that the protests had serious and damaging consequences on SMEs by incurring financial losses, economic stagnation, and unpardonable destructions. The study recommends among others the need to encourage digital transformation for SMEs to build a strong business economy, peaceful economic atmosphere, and sustainable economic development of Lagos State in particular and Nigeria as a nation.