Nigeria Is History, Where Goes Nigeria -By Adebode Taiwo Adefunmilayo

According to the former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo stated that “Nigeria has no business with poverty. With our human and material resources, we shall strive to eradicate poverty from our country.” Nigeria is the most important country politically and economically in west Africa. It is richer than all other West Africa nations and holds considerable power. Nigeria most important export is Crude oil, more than half of which is “shipped to the United State.”

The nationalists also known as Legends were the history of Nigeria because they fought endlessly for Nigeria to gain her independence. They were the pillar that held Nigeria from falling. They fought with everything they had. Where goes this NIGERIA?

A country blessed with crude oil but still have to export to the US in order to refine then sold back to Nigeria. What can we say this logic is?

It was stated by the Independent Petroleum Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), that the scarcity is due to the unavailability of vessels to ship the product into the country. Now, we are talking about a country which has crude oil but ineffective refineries. NNPC manages Nigeria’s three refineries, which are: The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, and Port Harcourt Refining Company. Then again, is Dangote’s refinery owned by Aliko Dangote which was inaugurated on the 24th of January 2023 at Lekki, Nigeria. When in full operation, it is expected to have the capacity to process about 650,000 barrels per day of crude oil, making it the largest single-train refinery in the world.

Most importantly, Nigeria will no longer import refined petroleum products from mid-2023, the Federal government declared. This is based on the expected completion of the ongoing maintenance of the nation’s refineries and the inauguration of Dangote’s refinery.

Corruption runs through every level of Nigerian government. Chinua Achebe, who is regarded as ‘Father of Literature’ stated that “The trouble of Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. “From considerable contract fraud at the top, through petty bribery, money laundering schemes, embezzlement and seizing salaries from fake workers. It is estimated that corruption within the state apparatus coats the country billions of dollars every year. Corruption devaluates the quality of human life. It robs schools, agricultural sectors, hospitals, and welfare services of funds. The biggest challenge for the country therefore is not just to punish corrupt behaviour, rather to impeach the corrupt leaders in the country.

The unemployment rate in Nigeria saw no significant changes in 2021 in comparison to 2020 and remained at around 9.79%. As at 2022, Nigeria’s unemployment rate was about 33%. This number reflects only those who were actively seeking employment.

Many Nigerians have given up looking for jobs after years of fruitless effort. The number of Nigerians living in poverty rose by 35million in 2022.

The alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria has brought about the rapid increase on rural-urban migration. There has been a decline in the national output. High rate of poverty, increased crime rate in the country which makes it more unsafe.  Why do people migrate to other countries? Preferably, people migrate because they feel it is more safe and availability of job opportunities. Nigeria is majorly now a country “Nigerians wish they were never Nigerians.”

Poor education system is when the government is unable to provide the entire school-age population with a primary education. Education in Nigeria suffers from several challenges. These includes: poor funding and thus poor educational infrastructure, inadequate classrooms, teaching aids (Projectors, Computers, Laboratories, and Libraries), etc. The effects of poor education to the country could be seen as ‘threat’ because it definitely will affect people in different ways. These effects are due to poor education, which includes: Higher crime rate, exposing residents to greater risk of trauma and deaths from violence, and the stress of living in unsafe  neighbourhood. People decide to get involved in things that are unpleasant due to poor education.

Where goes Nigeria then if the problems continues? Can we say for a fact that Nigeria is moving forward? Why are we still considered as underdeveloped?

Chinua Achebe stated that “Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be. “Basically, from the issues listed above, one could say for a fact that If things does not get better, Nigeria goes EXTINCT.