Nigeria Socio-economic Problems: Causes and Solutions -By Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein

Nigeria has been in war with ample socio-economic problems since her wee hours of independence in the year 1960. The fact that various factors have contributed immensely to the high stance of these catastrophic calamities; I intended therefore to pen down a critical scrutiny of the rationales and the possible remedies as demanded by the theme of this year’s edition of the Champions Educational Foundation. First and foremost, I will state a problem then elucidate the remedy later. Before I launch my point, it will be sensible if I start with a short definition of the main words. Thus; going by the description of the United Nations Organization’s press release in June 1998, “socio-economic problems” means “issues with negative influence or impacts on an individuals’ economic activity including: lack of education, cultural and religious discrimination, overpopulation, unemployment and corruption”.

Peradventure, this definition has been my muse as I will be analysing the main factors it enumerated.

In the first place, the major issue of huge concern that is even as at present shaking the ship of the nation is terrorism. As the days wore on, media outlets in the country break the sorrowful headlines of various deadly attacks by unknown gunmen and brutal bandits. These attacks are circulating into every nook of the country but it is most common in the northern parts of the country. As a result of this, many citizens of the states have fleed leaving their properties since their lives are quintessential than that. A research conducted by Africa Network Forum in Kenya divulged that the flame of this terrorism started to flicker blazingly during the last administration of President Ebele G. Jonathan in 2015 though it had been occuring before then. In a bid to end this awful epoch of evils, the Zamfara State Government shut down the mobile network of the state so that no call or message will be an informant to the hidden louts who are the perpetrators of the evils. A vibrant Professor of History in person of Dr. Murtala Rufai of the magna Usmanu Dan Fodio University, Sokoto State (UDUS) also prepared a lecture on this after a decade of research works in the bandits’ den.

I believe that if the mobile networks of the states in which terrorism is on the hot list are down as adopted by the above-named state, the problem will be decreasing with immediate motion because the bandits would not have the access to any information and their sponsors which are assumed to be politicians and ritualists would also have no means to contact them again. A public awareness program as adopted by the lecturer, M. Rufai of the prestigious UDUS would also do to curb the hands of these toxic and notorious juveniles.

Furthermore, unemployment is another bugbear for the development of the country. With the record on the official site of National Bureau of Statistics in the early 2021, the rate of unemployment in the country is 33.3% which tantamounted to the fact that despite the millions of graduands from the Nigerian higher institutions annually, only few are able to secure employment. Are those employed even in a stable one? This question is by no way rhetorical as the answer is not nebulous but pellucid. It is this unemployment rate that lead to depression and even peradventure suicide as Adeola who is a final year undergraduate of Lagos State University, Ojo allegedly committed suicide on October 8th of this 2021 because “she couldn’t afford her school fees” and Olamide Rubygold (a Nigerian budding poet) also did the same around March on the ground of “no help”. If there are jobs for the labour force, the rate of penury in Nigeria will be dwarfish and innocent lives would not be lost due to hunger or other, so the government of the day should establish a public commission that will see to the provision of employment opportunities for the masses. If it is already in place like the National Employment Directorate (NDE), the government should fund them adequately to enhance their duties as promulgated by the Industrial Court which is empowered by the Section 7 and 254 of the judicial authority’s act. If this is done, socio-economic hitch of the country will gradually be a thing of the past.

In addition, a certain cog on Nigerian wheels of advancement is corruption. Using the words of Ben Gbulie, a writer and retired military plotter of the January 1966’s bloody coup, “corruption is a number one cankerworm disease that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation”. Corruption leads to a chain of knots for the country as the government cannot relate amicably well with the society because of its anti-social behaviours.

Recall the preaching of Sir Eugene Elrich in his school of jurisprudence, the Sociological Theory of Law, he argues that the society are a great determinant of the people’s behaviours in every society and Thomas Hobbes (another erudite philosopher) concurred to his views in his Social Contract Theory where he propounded that life will be very “poor, short, nasty and brutal” in a country with bad or no government. Examining the physical status of Nigeria, it is without any iota of doubt that the government and the sociey are in conflict as a result of the maladministration and embezzlements by the government. In order to decrease the rate of corruption in Nigeria, the law enforcement agencies like the police, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) among others must be very vigilant and dare to step on the toes of any highly-placed individual like the politicians to know the roots of their opulence through thorough investigations. Also, the people caught in the illegal acts must face the wrath of the law as demanded the the Section 419 of the Criminal Code of Nigeria.

Of all the stated problems with solutions, the pivot is the low status of education in Nigeria. The South African president and liberator, Nelson Mandela once says “education is the most powerful weapon in which you can use to change the world”. Looking at the cited quotation, it is not only true but also valid. Unfortunately, the educational system of Nigeria is disheartening as it rests in a low place since these days. Its main features are long time strikes ignited by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a result of the breach of promise by the Nigerian central government; ineffective trainings of the teachers and lectures which slow down the logical reasoning and the academic pursuits of the students. Professor of Baba Zulum, the current governor of Borno State and Alhaji Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State have reportedly sacked a great deal of teachers as a result of the competency tests the two governments conducted in an impromptu manners wherr the teachers performed woefully. For the barricade in the face of education to be removed in Nigeria, the legislature must enact laws and good policies that will better its status. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) could also aid with scholarships for the less privileged students.

There should also be regular and periodic lectures, trainings and seminars for the tutors to instill high level of skills and techniques in them.
It is an undisputable evidence that the socio-economic problems in Nigeria are uncountable like galaxy therefore I am of the thought that the judges will consider my few points and the remedies provided under them. For a better Nigeria, the remedies are inevitable since a problem with a solution is half solved is what an aphorism claims. We can solve our problems by thinking, recall! Here, I rest my pen.

ABOUT THE ESSAYIST
Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed is a Nigerian bilingual creative writer, professional editor, legal researcher, tutor and journalist from Offa, a prominent town in Kwara State.
He is currently a law undergraduate of Usman Dan Fodio University Sokoto State. He is working on his novel entitled AFRICANAH.
His works have found many a place on both national and international sites with several awards establishing as a reputable man of letters.
He is an advocate of Hope and Justice. He writes articles on Law, Politics, Finance and Entertainment for media houses. He is also the UDUS campus ambassador for Lagos Colour Entertainment.
He contributes on Upwrite Nigeria, Scholar Media Africa, Literature Padi, Voice Connect Nigeria, BilalSays among others.
He can reached via email: muhammedtaoheed19@gmail.com or +2349138260938.