In this discourse, we delve into the pressing problems of Nigeria economy and solutions that hold promise for fostering sustainable growth, equitable development, and a brighter future for its citizens.
Problems Of Nigeria Economy and Solutions: Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country and the world’s sixth most populous country. The burgeoning population has resulted in a slew of new issues, including environmental deterioration and traffic congestion in major cities. Violence is being perpetrated in northern Nigeria by a group known as Boko Haram, which is fighting for a state-controlled by Sharia Law.
The organization has kidnapped children and murdered Christians across the country. Nigeria is regarded as Africa’s country with the highest unemployment rate. As a means of surviving, many unemployed adolescents have turned to internet frauds. Corruption has been a big issue in Nigeria for quite some time. Political leaders have a history of engaging in corrupt practices.
Diseases like HIV/AIDS have also been a major problem that has cost the government billions of dollars to address. Currently, 3% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64.
Major Problems Facing Nigeria
1. Economic crisis: Nigeria’s economic situation has deteriorated significantly. The country’s purchasing and selling situation are dire and depressing. The country’s annual profits have decreased, significantly impacting the country’s population. Inflation is a significant issue in the country.
Inflation is defined as a rise in the overall level of prices for goods and services, resulting in a decrease in the buying power of the currency. Workers’ incomes are no longer sufficient to purchase physical goods from marketplaces. It poses a serious threat to many people’s lives, which is one of the reasons why many workers are requesting pay raises.
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 11.23 percent in August 2018, up from 11.14 percent in July, which was higher than the market’s forecast of 11.11 percent. It was the first time the inflation rate has risen since it began to fall in January 2017, when it hit a 12-year high of 18.7%. (Trading Economics 2018).
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing at a slow pace in recent years. The gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the most important indices of a country’s economic health. In addition, the GDP has decreased during the last few months. In the first quarter of 2016, it fell by -13.98 percent. In addition, the country’s GDP fell by -13.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
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2. Ethnicity: Nigeria, Africa’s colossus, is the world’s most populated black country. Nigeria has a population of around 180 million people. The country’s population is diverse, with over 250 ethnic groups represented. Nigeria’s multi-ethnic character has many advantages as well as disadvantages – ethnicity issues in Nigeria.
Naturally, when it comes to ethnicity, Nigerians are extremely sensitive, with tempers frequently flaring and occasionally resorting to violence. Below are some of the difficulties impacting ethnicity in Nigeria, as well as proposed.
3. The problem of Amalgamation: The British colonial authorities constructed Nigeria as a geographical place to make administration easier. Despite being neighbors, the mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south were never united until 1914. Some of the current conflicts in the country may be traced back to this forced union.
Even though the country has been together for almost a century, it has failed to fully integrate. Northerners continue to be suspicious of their southern counterparts, and vice versa. There is a lot of debate about the “Northern agenda” and the “Southern agenda,” but not much about the “Nigerian agenda.”
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4. Inequality: This is due to the government’s and its agencies’ apparent favoring of people or regions belonging to one tribe over another. There is an unspoken belief that ethnic majority dominate the affairs of the country, which makes minorities feel like second-class citizens in their own country, not for any fault of their own, but just because they are few.
This frequently causes a sense of perceived unfairness by the government and its agents towards these communities.
5. The problem of Internal Land Conflicts: Land ownership disputes have frequently caused conflicts among Nigerians. Border settlement inside the country is still a work in progress. Many lives have been sacrificed as a result of land ownership disputes, and many more are likely to be lost until these concerns are resolved once and for all.
6. Resource Management: Tensions frequently arise when it comes to the control of the country’s natural resources. Across the country, groups have emerged to compete for control of resources located on their land. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is a good example (MEND).
This organization has filed a lawsuit against the government for control of money derived from the sale of crude oil produced in their territory. They claim that, despite being the golden egg-laying chicken, their territory is severely undeveloped. Members of the Niger-Delta militants have reintroduced the use of weaponry in expressing their grievances.
In their pursuit, they have damaged oil pipelines and abducted oil employees. Even if they have suspended operations for the time being, their actions have drastically reduced crude oil output in the country.
7. Corruption: Many of Nigeria’s issues are caused by corruption. Corruption manifests itself in a variety of ways and infiltrates all political and economic organizations. It is heartbreaking to learn that the government, which was established to strengthen the country and combat corruption, is taking from its citizens.
The government officials tasked with combating corruption are unconcerned about what is expected of them. Non-governing citizens are also judged guilty, even though they are supposed to be free of corruption. Power abuse may be found in practically every branch of the federal government. The present ruling administration is not fulfilling its promises, and officials are more concerned with stuffing their wallets than with properly governing.
Nigeria was ranked 144th out of 177 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2013, making it one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Nigeria was the 33rd most corrupt country in 2013, mathematically.
In Nigeria, election tampering is not uncommon. Nigerians are tired of going to the polls on election day only to discover that their ballots haven’t been counted. In the year preceding up the 2007 elections, a Foreign Affairs study found about 700 election-related violent actions, including two killings.
International monitors witnessed widespread vote box theft in 2007, and while the situation improved in 2011, ballot-rigging remained widespread. Nigerians and foreign watchdog groups describe accounts of candidates using thugs to steal ballot boxes and threaten voters during elections. Many of these assailants are disgruntled and jobless teenagers.
8. Terrorism: Terrorism is a major concern in Nigeria daily. The daily massacres, kidnappings, bombings, and rape carried out by Boko Haram throughout the country are quite concerning. Nigeria was rated fourth in the world with the most international war deaths in 2016, according to the Global Peace Index.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram is known as a destroyer, and the northern section of the nation has been so badly damaged that even students are unable to complete their studies In Nigeria, Boko Haram is a well-known terrorist organization. Even if you don’t live in Nigeria, you’ve probably heard of Boko Haram’s kidnappings of hundreds of children, predominantly girls, from schools and communities in northern Nigeria in 2014.
Boko Haram kidnapped roughly 276 Chibok schoolgirls on the night of the 14th and 15th of April in 2014. According to a source, the females were between the ages of 17 and 18. They were pupils of Government Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria’s Borno State.
9. Unemployment: In Nigeria, unemployment is spreading like a virus. Due to the economic recession, there has been a high rate of unemployment; no jobs are available for the youths; 24 percent of Nigerians are unemployed; now, let’s move on to the youths; there is no rating I can give you for that because there are so many jobless youths on the street; however, based on some facts, I can estimate that 8% of youths under the age of 24 are unemployed. 500,000 job hopefuls were in a rush to apply for roughly 5,000 openings in Nigeria’s immigration agency in 2014, and 16 people were murdered in a melee. Unemployment is also one of the key causes of social vices in the country; even graduates have difficulty finding work.
Students who attend tertiary education institutes frequently leave with no employment and low morale. Nigerian education has a significant difficulty. Many Nigerian graduates did not acquire useful skills during their education. They were too preoccupied with reading textbooks to understand how to apply what they had learned. They apply for employment but are not recruited due to a lack of qualifications.
Graduates frequently have to stay in their parents’ houses for an extended period, leading to dissatisfaction and pessimism. This negativity is one of the main reasons for crime among Nigerian youth; they turn to illegal activities since they have nothing better to do with their time or money. 200,000 students graduate from colleges each year, yet many struggles to find work and others resort to less-than-honorable ways of subsistence.
10. Education system: Students who attend tertiary education institutions are usually unemployed and depressed. Education in Nigeria is a major challenge. During their schooling, many Nigerian graduates did not learn practical skills. They were too absorbed with reading textbooks to see how what they had learned might be applied. They apply for jobs, but owing to a lack of credentials, they are not hired.
Graduates are usually required to live with their parents for lengthy periods, which can lead to discontent and pessimism. One of the biggest causes of crime among Nigerian young is negativity; they turn to unlawful activities since they have nothing better to do with their time or money. Every year, 200,000 students graduate from college, but many struggles to find jobs and turn to less-than-honorable means of sustenance.
Another issue in Nigerian schools nowadays is political meddling; politics is the most powerful factor in the Nigerian educational system. Many educational institutions are now founded and administered on political grounds in many states; entrance to universities, colleges, and polytechnics, particularly universities, is sometimes influenced by politicians rather than academic merit.
Today’s parents utilize their political clout or influence to affect their children’s education. Malpractices and a lack of preparation Test malpractices have been identified by education experts, with poor examination preparation by pupils being another setback in the educational system. Due to the escalating costs of education (school fees, enrolment fees, the cost of books and other materials), students and even their parents will not want to be held behind by any type of deficit or failure in any of the needed topics, and would thus go to any length to avoid being held back.
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11. Infrastructure: Following other issues such as Boko Haram, infrastructure may appear to be a minor concern, but how can a country advance without a steady power supply? The power sector is crooked and mismanaged, and many personnel in the energy industry lack the necessary skills and training. Domestic output suffers as a result of these conditions, but frequent power outages also make it impossible for many international enterprises to do business in Nigeria. Nigeria is a third-world country year after year due to this issue.
Without a reliable road system, business suffers. Roads are in disrepair due to corruption and misappropriation of public monies Only 67 percent of paved roads and 33 percent of unpaved roads were in good or fair condition in 2011, according to the World Bank. Between 2001 and 2006, just $50 million of the $240 million needed for road repairs was paid.
Water resources and railways have similar problems with insufficiency and corruption. Nigeria must address its infrastructure challenges by providing adequate financing and clamping down on the misappropriation of public monies intended for infrastructure. Any engineer or contractor who does not complete his work properly should be held accountable.
Nigeria’s environmental and health standards are deplorable. According to Amnesty International, hundreds of oil leaks occur each year in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, owing to pipe degradation, sabotage, and carelessness on the part of oil firms. Oil spills deplete soil microorganisms and nutrients, which impacts Delta fishing and farming communities as well as the broader economy. In Nigeria, litter is strewn across the highways and streets. The spread of illness is aided by improperly dumped waste.
12. Lack of skilled personnel’s: Brain drain has become a common phenomenon today, as our highly skilled professionals are now relocating to countries where there are quality infrastructures to work, great standard of living, and a good pay to match.
This issue of lack of highly skilled personnel and sufficient manpower has led to reduced productivity in most sectors of our economy, and as such has limited our economic development and growth.
13. Inconsistent economic policies: In Nigeria, every Government comes into office in with their own economic policies which often differ from the policies of the previous administration, hence the previous policies suffer fatally from poor implementation because before it is fully implemented to produce maximum result in our economy, the tenure of the initiator will elapse, and the policies will not be implemented further by the proceeding administration, so therefore resulting in a situation of an ever changing and poorly implemented economic policies which does no good to the growth of our economy.
14. Electoral malpractice: Election malpractice is corruption defined. It has become a disturbing menace in Nigeria that elections are hardly conducted freely and fairly. The 2023 election was an eye-opener for everyone. Regardless of the various measures that were put in place to curtail election malpractice, all were to no avail. The good news, however, is that the recent innovations in the electoral law, policy and practice made the electoral irregularities very obvious.
15. The removal of fuel subsidy: After the current president Tinubu was sworn in, his opening statement included the intention to remove fuel subsidy. Nigerians know exactly what this entails. This led to the abrupt outrageous increase in price of fuel in Nigeria. This is the worse Nigeria has recorded so far from the history. The president later on, made a statement, stating that nothing can be done to remedy the situation. Recall that the announcement for the intended removal of fuel subsidy was made without any single measure being put in place to remedy the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.
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Solutions to the Problems in Nigeria
a. Nigerians must come to embrace the truth that, despite the fact that the country was founded by the British, we are all one people.
b. Those who advocate for one tribe’s supremacy over others should be warned and potentially sanctioned. This will contribute to the country’s unity and build greater trust among all tribes.
c. All tribes and areas should be treated equally by the government. The Principle of Federal Character, which stipulates that all states are represented in the federal government, was included in the constitution to address this issue.
d. Resource management should be prioritized so that groups like MEND can no longer exist in our country.
e. Land disputes, many of which have been dragging on for years, should be resolved as soon as possible to avoid further loss of life and property.
f. The educational sector should receive enough funding. The Nigerian government requires a rebirth. Especially for all of the promises they made on education. As stated in the Nigerian constitution of 1999, basic and secondary education would be free. Every kid has the right to an education in a safe and healthy setting.
g. Since we are all aware of our economy’s job dilemma, everyone should strive for a “back up plan.” If there are no jobs in the economy, try to create some. This can be accomplished by learning one or two different trades. Attending school provides you with extra information, allowing you to become an educated tailor, baker, or shoemaker, for example. Being your own boss pays better than anything else.
h. Finding a remedy to corruption has proven to be a dead end throughout the years. This is because corruption affects practically all Nigerians on a daily basis, not only crooked politicians. It might be by bribery or connections, or by attempting to force someone who lacks quality into a position he does not belong. Corruption must be combated as a team effort. We must all take a stance to expose corruption and tell the truth about issues that affect our environment.
I. The use of violence to combat violence is unlikely to succeed in eliminating terrorism since it will result in the deaths of many innocent people. According to studies, the most effective approach to terrorism is effective security and dialogue with terrorists to tackle issues related to the source of terrorism, and the government must prioritize the benefits of the people. The government is responsible for this discourse, which must be conducted in order to keep the country secure.
j. To begin, the government should put in place policies that have already been developed, such as a gender policy that aspires to achieve gender equality. The administration has also pledged an equitable transfer of wealth to the people, which should be implemented.
Conclusion
The use of violence to combat violence is unlikely to succeed in eliminating terrorism since it will result in the deaths of many innocent people. According to studies, the most effective approach to terrorism is effective security and dialogue with terrorists to tackle issues related to the source of terrorism, and the government must prioritize the benefits of the people.
The government is responsible for this discourse, which must be conducted in order to keep the country secure. The government should put in place policies that have already been developed, such as a gender policy that aspires to achieve gender equality. The administration has also pledged an equitable transfer of wealth to the people, which should be implemented.
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