Introduction
What are Nigeria challenges? A challenge can be defined as a demanding task or situation. In this platform, discussed are the challenges that Nigeria faces. The challenges that this country encounters are numerous and cannot all be exhausted in this piece of article. The question is: what are the challenges that Nigeria is facing? How can these challenges be resolved? All hands must be on the desk to tackle these issues.
There are many ideas that can take this nation to next level. The youth has good thoughts for the country, because there are good things about Nigeria. The bad name which the country is bearing can be transformed with our help-the youth. Many issues in this country are addressable with the help of the young men.
Any society without the youth is a dead one. In fact, that society seizes to exist. But come to ask of it, can there be the elders without the youth? The youth you see today are tomorrow, the elders of the society. They have a lot of energies and abilities inbuilt in them. Always ready to carry out one assignment or the other.
This write-up suggests how Nigerian youths can put in their efforts to fight the challenges that the country is ‘suffering’ from. It is believed that the youths can make the country to be in a better state with their efforts and contributions.
The challenges in Nigeria: A very Hard nut to crack
Corruption is the order of the day in our country today. This takes many forms and can be seen in many sectors of the country. What happens in some companies when a lady applies for job where a man is the CEO of the company? In many of these companies, the male Chief Executive officers demand for ‘kind services’ from the young ladies. Those at the top also adopt a system of “if I do not know you before, you will not be employed in this company”. In the other words, those who do not have persons of top ranks in some offices/companies notwithstanding there good results and excellent skills should remain jobless-Corruption in the higher order. Graduates from Nigeria who have good results are not employed in many companies because his or her father or relations do not work in those companies. This system is common in Nigeria and needs to be stopped.
Unemployment is the talk of the moment in Nigeria. This hot potato (current issue) has rendered and is rendering many people frustrated. What happens to our graduates after their series of studies in the tertiary institutions? The situation pisses many Nigerians off. This is one of the major causes of crime increase in Nigeria. When the graduates stay in their parents homes for a long time, the next thing is the inflow of negative thoughts. This makes them to start engaging in filthy things because their minds is occupied with bad thoughts. Till today, some who graduated about four years ago and more have not seen any area of their study to fit in. I must tell you that this torn in the flesh of the Nigerian graduates can be removed. out of over 200,000 graduates that leave Nigerian tertiary education each year, how many are employed? Unemployment in Nigeria is a major problem.
The problem of insecurity is giving many citizens of this country a sleepless night. People can no longer walk comfortably on the ground. Nobody does know if bombs are planted under the ground he just wants to step on. Providing public safety and security of citizens is the most fundamental responsibility of any state. Nigeria as a big state fails in this. Today, Boko Haram is a well known agent of destruction in Nigeria. Many innocent families and individuals have been wiped out, many others maimed and thousands rendered homeless while schools market, churches, media houses have also received bitter doses of Boko Haram tragic attacks. The students in the northern part of the country pray for safety every day forgetting their study because of these hidden anti-security group-Boko Haram. The New York-based rights group said from its deduction from media reports from Nigeria, more than 935 people have been killed in about 164 suspected attacks linking Boko Haram since it launched its campaign of shooting and bomb attacks in July 2009. Recently, report and survey put the number of deaths in the last three years of Boko Haram insurgency at 3000 (2009-2013, Vanguard Newspaper). How many Nigerians were killed in bomb blast in 2011 Christmas celebration (25th December) by Boko Haram at St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, close to Abuja? According to newspaper report, this ugly incidence claimed more forty lives.
On 1st of May, 2014, another bomb blast in Abuja killed many in the country at Bus station. The worst part of this incidence is that it happened on the Workers Day. Some newspapers report in Nigeria said this killed at least nine while others said about 19. But the point is that citizens were killed. Also, many were injured in the attack by the Boko Haram.
The ruling government is not performing their functions very well. They do not allow the youth to be fully involved in decision making. Many who are ruling in many areas do not play their roles very well. They are busy enriching their pockets due to their selfish interests. They have many faults attributed to themselves: the law maker and same time the law offenders; the anti-corruption agents, but the Corruption promoters; the fraud fighters, but the public fund embezzlers; preachers of peace and agents of country disunity.
The power sector is not helping matters in this country, Nigeria. Those that manage power department are filled with corrupt practices. The managers are not managing the sector well. Also, some worker in this sector are not Skilled in the field of electricity. How can we progress effectively when there is no constant power supply in this country? The production company fails to do well due to this problem. Many foreign countries find it difficult to establish their companies in Nigeria because of power failure. Any country that wants to develop should have constant power supply. This problem of power makes Nigeria to answer developing country from year to year.
Also, what do we have to say on the tarred road networks in this country? Many have failed in their businesses today due to this menace. People have met their waterloo in life due to this challenge. The government are busy embezzling public fund. This makes them to be careless on the nature of road networks in Nigeria. The roads construction projects lacks implementation. The government do not monitor the road project they give to the construction engineers. Some government officers go through back door and collect some percentage of the money that the contractors use during their construction works. This is what makes the contractors to leave their construction work or construct weak road networks in the country.
Furthermore, crime rate in this country is growing as the number of the citizens increases. Nigeria is ranked 8th most corrupt nation in the world in 2013. Many who were frustrated in life get themselves engage in some illegal and bad activities. People cannot browse the internet without fear again. The citizens want to make money overnight. This makes them to indulge in many criminal acts. They paint the image of the nation black due to their bad acts. There are many internet scammers in this country and they take advantage of the ignorant internet browsers.
I have a friend by name Sampson C. This friend of mine was heading to night vigil on 13th June, 2013 at Onitsha in Anambra state when a group of young men stopped him. They collected everything Sampson had. He pleaded with them saying “collect everything you want but give me my wallet back because I have some important documents in it”. Do you know that these young men refused? This condition is pitiable. It is a typical example of crime in Nigeria.
Another solid problem we have in this country is the non-patriotic behaviour of the citizens. Some wealthy men in the country do not want to use what they have to help the masses. Instead, they transfer the money to foreign banks rather than using it for the benefit of the nation. These rich men are too adamant and careless about the development of this country. When they want to go on leave, they travel to already made countries like United States or Canada. They overlook that the countries are as good as it is because of the combined efforts of the government and the rich in the countries.
What is the standard of the Nigerian education system? The are problems with education sector of Africa of which Nigeria is also among. Can you compare that with that of Canada, USA, or Spain? Wait a minute; I am even going too far, what is the comparison between ours and Ghana-our fellow African country? Can we compare the standard of education in Nigeria with that of South Africa? In 1997 and 2000, statistics showed that federal government expenditure on education was below 10% of overall expenditure. There is no enough practical equipment for the students in the tertiary institutions. The money appropriated to the education sector in the 2013 budget was ₦426.53billion which amounts to only 8.67percent of the total budget of ₦4.92trillion. Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendation to the education sector is 26percent of the total sector which is very vital to national development.
The masses do not patronize the goods manufactured in Nigeria. People believe that any goods manufactured in the country are inferior. They promote the industrialization of the Europe and make ours ‘impotent ’. This makes many production companies in Nigeria to make less gain in their businesses. Also, it discourages these production companies to produce more goods and it makes the Nigerian government to spend more through importation of goods. Imagine, Nigeria as exporter of crude oil also imports refined oil from other countries. That is to show how Nigerians like goods imported from other countries.
The challenge of low agricultural output needs to be washed up in this country. I mean that it needs to be defeated. The first danger signal is that the productivity of agriculture has not grown but has declined in some sectors: consequently Nigeria has been unable to feed its population. In Port Harcourt, a cup of ‘garri ’ is sold at the price of fifty naira.
I cannot end without writing on gender inequalities in Nigeria. Many people still believe that men are to be the only ruling persons as far as life is still in existence. Some archaic traditions and customs do not permit the female gender to occupy top offices.
The environmental and health standard of the country is in a bad situation. The oil spillage is affecting the land of many communities negatively. At times this weakens the micro-organisms and the soil nutrients. Wastes are littered in many roads and streets in this society. These worthless materials contribute to the spread of diseases. Some of the doctors we have are not well trained practically. Most of them mishandle the lives of the patients. Also some of the hospitals are not well funded. The Nigeria ’s health system is in a poor state and this is traceable to several factors especially the gross under-funding of the health sector and shortage of skilled medical personnel at the primary health care level. This makes their service to be of low quality.
The Way Forward: How to Transform Nigeria to A Better Place for Her Citizens
One thing is challenge and another more important thing is how to address the challenge. A prophet can tell you all the most negative things that happened in your life and those yet to happen. But, what are more fundamentals are how to prevent or reduce the “negatives”.
The youth should be given the room to partake in democratic government. The problems we have can die out easily with their involvement. They have a lot of capacities in them. The young pastors and the priests of places of worship should speak sense into the government without fear maybe through “talks”.
With the youth as the top banana (headman), there will be improvement and good education system maintained. The percentage of the youth in the tertiary institutions is very high. He can pull the socks of education because his fellow youth are there. When this is done, the education sector of Nigeria will be improved.
Nigerian government and individuals should help and tackle the challenge posed by road networks through proper funding. Any engineer or contractor that fails to do his work well should be brought to book. Many successful persons in this country can be pleaded to by the government. With their supports, the road networks will be improved.
The old believe of some traditions and customs that prevent female gender from being the big cheese (leaders) in top offices must be nailed to the cross. Agencies that will enlighten those in this old fashion should be set up.
Many megawatts should be generated to boost power generation. The workers in this sector should be paid well. Workers with good skills and morals should be employed to run this sector as skill acquisition is very important. The citizens should carry out a peaceful movement telling the government the importance of power supply to the country.
Still writing, more machines for agriculture should be imported. Everybody have to participate in this topic. The function is not for the government alone. More mechanized agriculture should be practiced. Some manure and other helping devices should be given to the farmers.
People should not fold their hands when the desirable job they need do not come their way. A graduate should be versatile. They should search online for bodies that help the jobless. The citizens should learn “skills and not books”. Many Nigerian graduates did not learn good skills during their studies. They were busy reading only text books without knowing the applications of what they read. This makes many companies to reject them when they apply for jobs. Youth empowermentis important to reduce Unemployment in the country.
The citizens should abstain from crime by saying no to smoking and taking of hard drugs. Teachings on the dangers of crime should be advanced through the market places and other means of spreading information. Strong anti-crime organizations should be set up by the governments of various states.
The writings of the press companies should not be limited. They should not be fought by the government. The government should change to good if the truth touches their hearts. Those that are affiliated with the governments must be stopped from given the country weak news.
The citizens should cherish the goods manufactured in this country. They should encourage industrialization for the community to grow. When the citizens do this, more money will be generated by companies. This will make them to expand by building more production companies. With this, more jobs will be created for the masses. Economic freedom should be encouraged in the country for good business platform.
The environmental and health sector should be well treated. The proper waste channels and agencies must be created. The wastes should be disposed in the proper areas. Waste recycling companies should be promoted. The waste management agencies should advance even to the rural areas. Those that vandalize the Pipelines when caught should face the music. Bush burning must be limited so that the micro-organisms that promote crops output should not be sent to their graves. Proper funding must be made in our individual hospitals. The individuals and government should play this role together. Some group of qualified young doctors should be appointed nationwide. They will be the one that will test the newly employed ones to know if they qualify practically or not.
I do not forget the Corruption challenge at all. For that in the government, a body that will monitor them should be introduced. They will contain good religious headmen. I mean those that will not compromise in any way. Any government official that messes up in any way should be treated severely. The mere citizens that indulge in corrupt practices should be fished out by the youth without any fear.
Also, for the security challenge, tight security should be maintained in the areas being tormented. Any suspect of anti-security men should be reported immediately. The youth should be of the highest percentage of the security agents.
Conclusion
The challenges in this country are many. But we can limit them if the youth work together with the government. The youths of the nation has the ability to make positive changes to the country.
There were many possible solutions explained to control and conquer those challenges. Honestly, I cannot list all the challenges and the possible prospects. I think if these are put into practice, Nigeria will be a better place for all. People will feel like a million dollars. But, we have to start step-by-step.
References
Education: problems and challenges in Nigeria, what to be done? by sundaytrust publication.
Nigerian Agricultural and the Challenges of the 21st Century.
The Challenges of realizing Nigeria ’s Vision 20:2020 by Ejeviome Eloho Otobo, p. 3.
The Nigeria Health Sector and Human Challenges.
Nigeria Vanguard Newspaper on the topic “As Boko Haram ’s attack increases, death toll rises”.
DOES THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE WORK ENVIRONMENT? by Idris Alao.
Sun Online News Report on First May, 2014.
, Challenges in Nigeria and Solutions on How to Resolve them www.ozeldersin.com bitirme tezi,ödev,proje dönem ödevi