NIGERIA has many problems. These include:
Corruption
Crime and terrorism, specifically Boko Haram insurgency
Unemployment
Education and university systems
The environment
Infrastructure
Gender
It would be impossible to thoroughly examine all of these issues in just one article,
so think of this as an introduction.Crime and terrorism, specifically Boko Haram insurgency
Unemployment
Education and university systems
The environment
Infrastructure
Gender
It would be impossible to thoroughly examine all of these issues in just one article,
Nigeria’s Biggest Problem Is Corruption
Corruption is at the root of many of Nigeria’s problems. Corruption takes many forms and infiltrates all political institutions and economic sectors.
The ruling government is not performing its functions as promised, and officials are too busy enriching their pockets to govern effectively. In 2013, Transparency International deemed Nigeria one of the most corrupt nations in the world, ranking as 144th in Corruption Perception Index out of the 177 countries measured. Mathematically, it shows that Nigeria was the 33rd most corrupt country in 2013. In the year 2012, a Gallup poll found that 94% of Nigerians thought corruption was widespread in their government. The spoils of political corruption—billions of US dollars—are stashed in foreign bank accounts. The Abacha administration in the 1990s notoriously looted upwards of $3 billion. Since then, government institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and President Goodluck Jonathan have vowed to eradicate corruption. Even so, as recently as 2013, the Central Bank of Nigeria reported that 76% of the country’s crude oil revenue intended for the Bank was unaccounted for.
The most currently released result on the level of corruption in Nigeria has improved when compared to that of 2013 and other years. In the 2014 result on corruption ranking, Nigeria is ranked 136 out 174 surveyed countries. This implies that Nigeria is the 38th most corrupt nation in 2014. The result was published by Transparency international on Wednesday, 3rd December, 2014. The result shows that President Goodluck Jonathan administration is making impact to bring down the corruption level in Nigeria.
Election-rigging is not unheard of in Nigeria. The citizens of Nigeria are tired of coming out to cast their votes on election day only to feel their votes haven’t been counted. A Foreign Affairs investigation of the 2007 elections counted around 700 election-related violent acts in the year leading up to the elections, including two assassinations. International observers in 2007 reported rampant theft of ballot boxes, and while in 2011 the situation improved, ballot-rigging was still rampant. During elections, Nigerians and international watchdog groups tell stories of thugs hired by candidates to hijack the ballot boxes and intimidate voters. Many of these thugs are disaffected and unemployed youth.
Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) on 2nd October, 2014, reported that European Union (EU) Committed 15 Million Euros (+15,000,000) in the country’s 2015 election. How will the money be utilized? Will the money be solely used for what it is meant for? Only God knows what those who are ruling the election body will use it for what it is made for or embezzle it as corruption in the country is experienced more in public sector.
Corruption doesn’t only exist in government, but is pervasive in society. For example, what happens in some companies with a male CEOs when a woman applies for a job? Unless they already know them, some of the CEOs demands special and sexual favors from young women seeking employment and at times do not hire them in the end. Those at the top adopt an attitude of “if I do not already know you, I’m not going to hire you,” and exploit their power—this is just one illustration. Those who do not have connections to top officials or executives remain jobless, even if they’re university graduates with top marks. Gender and education will be discussed later, but this is a concrete example of how systemic corruption perpetuates a host of problems in Nigeria.
The press is hamstrung in its efforts to report corruption and election-rigging. Some have been paid off by the governments they report on, a practice which produces weak news and must be stopped. In 2013 the Committee to Protect Journalists, an American NGO which evaluates press freedom around the world, added Nigeria to their impunity list, a list of of countries where journalists are routinely harassed and murdered with little to no recourse.
Though President Jonathan’s administration is working hard to see that election-rigging in Nigeria is eliminated, much more needs to be done. Seminars should be organised for Nigerian youths to be taught the dangers of working as thugs for politicians. This is where importance of youth empowerment comes to play. Television channels in the country should be used to educate the nation about corruption and how to stop it. Political candidates found guilty of election-rigging should be punished more frequently and harshly. If convicting corrupt politicians becomes normal others will learn, and with time, election-rigging in Nigeria can be made a thing of the past.
It is true that Nigeria is blessed with crude oil (petroleum) but the question is on how correct is the volumes that are exported out of the country. For instance a head in one oil servicing company in the country may export about one thousand barrels of crude oil from the country and went back and gave a report to the government that he exported five hundred barrels. What happens to the remaining five hundred? The money goes into his personal account-corruption in the higher order.
Corruption is also rampant among Nigerian businessmen and woman. How many have bought any electronic product with a particular capacity and the product gives him or her result of what is written on it? In Nigeria, many populations of those who deal in electronic products buy products of particular lower capacity and use their own manufactured stickers to high the capacity on the products. For instance, a businessman may buy a Tiger generator of 4.5h.p (horsepower) and change the capacity to 6.5h.p to sell at higher price. In other business sectors, some sell inferior products to costumers to make high profits. There had been lots of cases of misunderstanding in the country’s market places between sellers and buyers because of inferior products sold to the buyers.
Boko Haram and Terrorism in Nigeria
TERRORIST attacks are on the rise in Nigeria, which is the increased activities of Boko Haram over the past year. Bombings, kidnappings, and other violent activities of Boko Haram prevent many Nigerians from feeling safe.
Boko Haram is a well-known agent of destruction in Nigeria. Even a casual observer who doesn’t live in Nigeria has likely heard of Boko Haram’s recent 2014 kidnappings of hundreds of children—mostly girls—from schools and villages in northern Nigeria. On the night of 14-15 April 2014, about 276 Chibok school girls were kidnapped by the Boko Haram. These girls were between 17 to 18 years according to a source. They were secondary school students at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria. Only God knows the nature of what is in-between the legs of the female students at the moment. In the northern part of the country, students cannot complete their studies because of the looming threat of kidnapping and murder.
The news report from Channels Television of Nigeria (The best television station of the year) on June 18, 2014, had it that Boko Haram killed 15 students from bomb blast in a school at Kano state of the country.
What is Boko Haram? It is a militant Islamist movement with ties to Al-Qaeda whose name translates into “Western education is forbidden.” Their ideology is based on a fundamentalist Sunni Islam, and their intent is to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and cleanse the country of any and all Western influence.
Boko Haram’s campaign of bombing, shootings, and kidnapping was launched in July 2009, but has recently intensified. On 1 May 2014, International Workers’ Day, a car bomb blast in Abuja killed at least 19 people at a bus station. The summer of 2014 has been especially violent, with bombings, massacres, and mass shootings being committed on a near-weekly basis. In July 2014, Human Rights Watch estimated 2,053 people had been killed in 95 separate Boko Haram-linked attacks in the first half of 2014 alone, and the number is likely much higher by now. Thousands more have been displaced by the violence.
There was bomb explosion at the Bauchi Central Market on December 22, 2014 at about 17:30hrs. As a result of the blast, the market was in flames. At the early hours of the bast, 19 persons died in the incidence and 25 injured.
Boko Haram in the most recent time has adopted new method of terrorizing Nigeria. These wicked souls now use children for carrying out their evil motives of suicide bombing. When they enter any community, they make sure that they gather enough little children to work for them. According to a Nigerian newspaper report, on Sunday 22 February 2014, a girl of not more than eight years indulged in suicide bombing in Potiskum market which killed about five and injured many.
Boko Haram is a well-known agent of destruction in Nigeria. Even a casual observer who doesn’t live in Nigeria has likely heard of Boko Haram’s recent 2014 kidnappings of hundreds of children—mostly girls—from schools and villages in northern Nigeria. On the night of 14-15 April 2014, about 276 Chibok school girls were kidnapped by the Boko Haram. These girls were between 17 to 18 years according to a source. They were secondary school students at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria. Only God knows the nature of what is in-between the legs of the female students at the moment. In the northern part of the country, students cannot complete their studies because of the looming threat of kidnapping and murder.
The news report from Channels Television of Nigeria (The best television station of the year) on June 18, 2014, had it that Boko Haram killed 15 students from bomb blast in a school at Kano state of the country.
What is Boko Haram? It is a militant Islamist movement with ties to Al-Qaeda whose name translates into “Western education is forbidden.” Their ideology is based on a fundamentalist Sunni Islam, and their intent is to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria and cleanse the country of any and all Western influence.
Boko Haram’s campaign of bombing, shootings, and kidnapping was launched in July 2009, but has recently intensified. On 1 May 2014, International Workers’ Day, a car bomb blast in Abuja killed at least 19 people at a bus station. The summer of 2014 has been especially violent, with bombings, massacres, and mass shootings being committed on a near-weekly basis. In July 2014, Human Rights Watch estimated 2,053 people had been killed in 95 separate Boko Haram-linked attacks in the first half of 2014 alone, and the number is likely much higher by now. Thousands more have been displaced by the violence.
There was bomb explosion at the Bauchi Central Market on December 22, 2014 at about 17:30hrs. As a result of the blast, the market was in flames. At the early hours of the bast, 19 persons died in the incidence and 25 injured.
Boko Haram in the most recent time has adopted new method of terrorizing Nigeria. These wicked souls now use children for carrying out their evil motives of suicide bombing. When they enter any community, they make sure that they gather enough little children to work for them. According to a Nigerian newspaper report, on Sunday 22 February 2014, a girl of not more than eight years indulged in suicide bombing in Potiskum market which killed about five and injured many.
Crime and Problems of Public Safety in Nigeria
The Nigerian crime problem gives many citizens in this country sleepless nights. In many places, people feel they can no longer walk around their own neighborhoods unharmed. Public safety is the most fundamental responsibility of any state, and Nigeria has failed in this regard.
Please bear with a personal anecdote on the subject. I have a friend by the name of Sampson C. On 13 June 2013, Sampson was heading to a night vigil at Onitsha in Anambra when a group of young men stopped him. They took everything he had on him. He pleaded with them saying, “Collect everything you want, but give me my wallet back because I have some important documents in it.” The young men refused, and took the documents which were of no use to them. This situtation is pitiable and is a typical example of rampant petty crime in Nigeria.
As of 2004, Nigeria has a high murder rate: 17.7 homicides per every 100,000 people. Mugging and piracy are endemic. An overall increase in crime against foreigners in particular led the US State Department to consider the situation in Nigeria as “critical” in 2013. People around the world cannot even browse the Internet without fear of being scammed by Nigerians looking to make money overnight.
One cause of Nigerian crime is the drug trade, in which organized criminal groups in Nigeria are heavily involved. According to the American FBI, ethnic Nigerians in India, Pakistan, and Thailand provide Nigerian gangs with easy access to 90% of the world’s heroin supply.
People engage in illegal and bad activities when they are frustrated with legitimate options. Lack of opportunity makes them indulge in criminal acts, and their actions make the whole nation look bad. Instead of allowing persistent unemployment to continue, the government should increase security in the country and hire youth as security agents.
The Nigerian crime problem gives many citizens in this country sleepless nights. In many places, people feel they can no longer walk around their own neighborhoods unharmed. Public safety is the most fundamental responsibility of any state, and Nigeria has failed in this regard.
Please bear with a personal anecdote on the subject. I have a friend by the name of Sampson C. On 13 June 2013, Sampson was heading to a night vigil at Onitsha in Anambra when a group of young men stopped him. They took everything he had on him. He pleaded with them saying, “Collect everything you want, but give me my wallet back because I have some important documents in it.” The young men refused, and took the documents which were of no use to them. This situtation is pitiable and is a typical example of rampant petty crime in Nigeria.
As of 2004, Nigeria has a high murder rate: 17.7 homicides per every 100,000 people. Mugging and piracy are endemic. An overall increase in crime against foreigners in particular led the US State Department to consider the situation in Nigeria as “critical” in 2013. People around the world cannot even browse the Internet without fear of being scammed by Nigerians looking to make money overnight.
One cause of Nigerian crime is the drug trade, in which organized criminal groups in Nigeria are heavily involved. According to the American FBI, ethnic Nigerians in India, Pakistan, and Thailand provide Nigerian gangs with easy access to 90% of the world’s heroin supply.
People engage in illegal and bad activities when they are frustrated with legitimate options. Lack of opportunity makes them indulge in criminal acts, and their actions make the whole nation look bad. Instead of allowing persistent unemployment to continue, the government should increase security in the country and hire youth as security agents.
Unemployment in Nigeria
UNEMPLOYMENT is a hot issue in Nigeria, and many people are frustrated with widespread joblessness. Unemployment in Nigeria is like a disease that the cure is not yet discovered. According to official statistics, 24% of Nigerians are unemployed. These numbers are worse for young people. Official Nigerian statistics say 38% of those under 24 are unemployed, but the World Bank estimates this number to be closer to 80%. In March 2014, 16 people were killed in stampedes when 500,000 desperate job-seekers rushed to apply for under 5,000 vacancies at the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Students at tertiary educational institutions often graduate into joblessness and low morale. There is a great challenge in Nigeria education. Many Nigerian graduates did not learn good skills during their studies. They were busy reading only textbooks without knowing the applications of what they read. They apply for jobs for which they aren’t hired because they lack skills. Graduates often must stay in their parents’ homes for a long time, with mounting frustration and pessimism. This negativity is one of the major root causes of crime among young people in Nigeria, as they turn to unscrupulous activities because there is nothing else to occupy their time or generate income. Each year, 200,000 students graduate from universities, but many fail to find a job, and some will seek out less-than-honorable means of supporting themselves.
Students at tertiary educational institutions often graduate into joblessness and low morale. There is a great challenge in Nigeria education. Many Nigerian graduates did not learn good skills during their studies. They were busy reading only textbooks without knowing the applications of what they read. They apply for jobs for which they aren’t hired because they lack skills. Graduates often must stay in their parents’ homes for a long time, with mounting frustration and pessimism. This negativity is one of the major root causes of crime among young people in Nigeria, as they turn to unscrupulous activities because there is nothing else to occupy their time or generate income. Each year, 200,000 students graduate from universities, but many fail to find a job, and some will seek out less-than-honorable means of supporting themselves.
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