A Chair in Business Ethics at the University of Lagos, Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi.
A Chair in Business Ethics at the University of Lagos, Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi, has urged governments and policymakers to accord greater recognition to the informal sector, describing it as the primary engine driving job creation and economic growth in Nigeria.
Amaeshi made the call on Thursday while delivering the inaugural lecture at the FirstBank Samuel Asabia Professorial Chair in Business Ethics Public Lecture, held at the George Ade Ajayi Auditorium, UNILAG, titled Ethical Paradoxes, Small Businesses, and the Informal Economy: Lessons for Tax Compliance and Accountability.
He noted that while large corporate entities like banks and capital market firms dominate public attention and receive government bailouts during crises, they account for only a tiny fraction of direct employment compared with the micro-enterprises that make up the everyday economy.
“Informal sector key for job creation, economic growth,” Amaeshi stated, emphasising that the taken-for-granted invisible economy of ordinary citizens forms the true majority economy where most Nigerians earn their livelihood. He explained that despite the glamour of large businesses and their ability to generate massive wealth, their capacity to create direct employment opportunities remains significantly lower than that of small businesses operating across urban and rural communities.
