Nigeria threatened by economic, political violence..As shortage of skill, energy risk rise – Allianz Risk Barometer 2023

By Favour Nnabugwu
The country may suffer from economic and political risk if the violence threatening around refused to subside according to report from Allianz Risk Barometer 2023
In Nigeria, the top three risks are Macroeconomic developments from  Political risks and violence maintains second position and Cyber incidents .
For Nigeria, the report put forward that political risks and violence is another new entry in the top 10 global risks while Shortage of skilled workforce rises  Changes in legislation and regulation remains a key risk while Fire/explosion drops two positions
It ranks as a top three risk in Nigeria which ranked No 1 on the list, is followed by Burundi, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, and Tanzania.
Macroeconomic developments such as inflation or economic and financial market volatility rank as the third top risk for companies globally in 2023
The Allianz Risk Barometer is an annual business risk ranking compiled by Allianz Group’s corporate insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), together with other Allianz entities, which incorporates the view of 2,712 risk management experts in 94 countries and territories including CEOs, risk managers, brokers and insurance experts.
The Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, AGCS, Mr, Joachim Mueller comments on the findings: “For the second year in a row the Allianz Risk Barometer shows that companies are most concerned about mounting cyber risks and business interruption.
Mueller further stated, ‘At the same time, they see inflation, an impending recession and the energy crisis as immediate threats to their business. Companies in Europe and in the US in particular worry about the current ‘permacrisis’ resulting from the consequences of the pandemic and the economic and political impact from ongoing war in Ukraine. It’s a stress test for every company’s resilience.
“The positive news is that as an insurer we see continuous improvement in this area among many of our clients, particularly around making supply chains more failure-proof, improving business continuity planning and strengthening cyber controls. Taking action to build resilience and de-risk is now front and center for companies, given the events of recent years.”
Further to the report, In 2023, the top four risks in the Allianz Risk Barometer are broadly consistent across all company sizes globally  large, medium and small as well as across core European economies and the US (energy crisis excepted).
“Risk concerns for businesses in Asia Pacific and African countries show some deviation, reflecting the different impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its economic and political repercussions.
Digital and disruption dangers”
The Chief Economist at Allianz, Ludovic Subran assures that there is reason to despair,  “2023 will be a challenging year; in purely economic terms, it is likely to be a year to forget for many households and companies.
“For one thing, the turnaround in interest rates is helping, not least for millions of savers. The medium-term outlook is also much brighter, despite or rather because of the energy crisis.
Subran also stated, “The consequences, beyond the expected recession in 2023, are already becoming clear: a forced transformation of the economy in the direction of decarbonization as well as increased risk awareness in all parts of society, strengthening social and economic resilience.”
The AGCS Board Member and Chief Underwriting Officer Corporate, Shanil Williams noted that for many companies the threat in cyber space is still higher than ever and cyber insurance claims remain at a high level.
‘Large companies are now used to being targeted and able to repel most attacks. Increasingly, we see more small- and mid-size businesses impacted who often tend to underestimate their exposure. They all need to continuously invest in strengthening their cyber controls,/.” .