Nigeria, A Sick Country That Needs Urgent Cure

AGUNLOYE ADEWUNMI BASHIRU

Nigeria as a country, has been infested with many illnesses that require urgent cure. In recent time, it has become a known fact that Nigeria, the most populous black Africa nation, has been engulfed in many crisis ranging from insecurity that includes but not limited to (ethno-religious conflict, terrorism, armed banditry, herders carnage),  unemployment, corruption, falling standard of education (due to incessant strike by both the Academic Staffs Union of  University and  Non Academic Staffs Union of University) , high level of poverty, high cost in (housing and food), cultism and street gangs fighting among others.

In the last five years, the situation has become worse with no remedies in-sight. Terrorists such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State’s West Province, have continued terrorising and killing citizens of North East Nigeria. They engaged in barbaric, devilish and senseless acts by kidnapping, massacring, murdering innocent citizens and military personnel at will. Fulani Herders are killing people in the middle belt of Taraba ,Benue, Kaduna, Plateau and Adamawa States, while armed bandits are engaging in kidnapping for ransom escapade mostly in the South West of Oyo, Ondo and Ogun States and North West Nigeria of Niger, Zamfara States, and as a result this, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost to the nefarious activities of the criminals engaging in this barbaric act.

Corruption continued to be cankerworms in government from local government, state and federal levels whereby funds allocated for projects to serve as dividends of democracy are being siphoned with impunity, while all agencies of government responsible for checkmating financial recklessness are rendered toothless bulldog because of lack of political will to enable them to function appropriately in accordance with the law that set them up. The order of the day is stealing with impunity and selective trial of corrupt public officers and politicians. Our judicial system has been corrupted, justice is being delayed and sometimes cases on corruption are strike out frivolously on technicality.

It is on record that this present federal government recovered some looted funds amounting to billions of naira from corrupt government officials and politicians, but the whereabouts of the recovered looted funds are not known and majority of the citizens of Nigeria continue to live in abject poverty because funds meant for provision of good road infrastructure, social amenities, good and affordable housing, qualitative education and food security amongst others have been looted by some few individuals.  

Education they said is the bedrock of development but in Nigeria, education has been relegated to the background. The standard of education in Nigeria has continued to fall from primary to tertiary institutions because of lack of adequate funding and neglect by the government. Mostly affected are the higher institutions of learning because of incessant strike action by the Academic Staffs Union of Universities (ASUU) and Non Academic Staffs Union of Universities (NASUU). Because of the strike, education of students in Nigeria universities is being destroyed for more than Nine (9) months before the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged Nigeria last year. The strike action persisted because of the insensitivity of the government to reach an accord with the striking lecturers and staffs of the universities and the effect of that is continuous dwindling in our educational standard and this no doubt has resulted in the country producing half-baked graduates by Nigeria universities because students are being subjected to crashed programmes which is not good for our education standard. Governments are not being proactive in dealings with universities unions whenever there is industrial action.  They always handle this with levity. This action of the Nigerian government in the last two years has adversely affected our university education and it is worrisome because no responsible government all over the world can be so comfortable allowing universities to be closed down for more than nine (9) months without finding an urgent solution to the crisis.                                  

The leadership of 9^th National Assembly and its members that are supposed to be playing the role of checks and balance as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution are only rubber stamping most government policies. The Senate just approved the request of the Presidency without considering the implications. One of  the examples of these is the recent confirmation of the immediate retired Service Chiefs of the Nigeria Military as Non Career Ambassadors as requested by President Buhari. Before those Service Chiefs were forced to retire, there has been agitation from Nigerians that all of them should be sacked because of non-performance to secure Nigeria as a result of insecurity most especially the terrorists attacks in the North East Nigeria. Even the Nigerian Senate was among the agitators that wanted all the Service Chiefs sacked for non-competency. Surprisingly, it is the same Senate that now confirmed the Service Chiefs as non-career ambassadors. What a country?

In 2020, the unemployment rate in Nigeria was approximately 27.1 percent. In the last 5 (five) years, Nigeria’s unemployment rate has more than tripled. There are more unemployed graduates in Nigeria after graduation and after serving in the compulsory National Youth Service (NYSC) there are no available jobs. Many Nigerians graduates are roaming around the streets, majority are engaging in meaner jobs such as factory work, bicycle (okada) and tricycle riders. While the unemployment rate continues to rise in Nigeria,corruption steadily increases, the allowances of the legislators in the Senate and Federal House of Representatives are always increased during the yearly budgetary allocation and our graduates are unemployed,the education sector is being neglected and our roads are bad.

No country can progress when facing the myriads of problems Nigeria is experiencing in the last five years. Nothing seems to be alright in Nigeria. Security of lives and properties not guaranteed, education Standard is decaying, unemployment Rate nose- diving, our roads are bad and accident rate on the roads is alarming.

Now is the right time for the government to cure Nigeria of its numerous sicknesses if Nigeria as a country must progress.

Agunloye Adewunmi Bashiru can be reached at bagunloye@gmail.com