The year 2016, most expectedly, comes with great expectations for most Nigerians. This, in itself, is not surprising, given the many political, economic and social issues that arose in 2015 which, in themselves, heated the polity and painted very scary pictures of what to expect in 2016. Such issues as agitations from various ethnic movements such as the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), in addition to acts of terrorism by the murderous Islamic sect, Boko Haram, threatened to awaken old sensitive national scars while the rot being unearthed by the nation’s economic watchdog, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) amid the falling global oil price, have sobered Nigerians to the expectation of a harsh economic reality in the years ahead.
However, in spite of these adversities of 2015, Nigerians still expect to see positive changes in 2016 that are capable of ameliorating the anticipated harsh global economic realities. They look up to the government of the day to come up with policies that will see Nigeria rise above the effects of the falling price of oil, the cascading value of the Naira and the consequent rise in the cost of living. They expect the challenges facing security of life and property in the country as a result of the activities of various militant groups and terrorist sects across the country to be checked effectively while current efforts to revamp the economy should be pursued with much vigour in order to reinvigorate the economy and set the nation on the path of wholesome recovery.
NewsDirect joins Nigerians in these expectations believing these to be achievable if certain parameters are put in place. We believe that the major problem of the country now is the rise in the population of jobless youths in the last few years due to mismanagement of the economy. Money made when the global price of oil, Nigeria’s main source of income, was at its all time high, was looted by government officials and stashed in foreign banks at a time the nation desperately needed growth and development. As a result, existing infrastructure broke down. Consequently and due to poor power supply, the manufacturing sector suffered gross decline over the years leading to massive loss of jobs. Today millions of youths are roaming the streets while those in institutions of higher learning are looking at other possibilities, (including joining terrorist groups or agitators) to keep themselves busy and relevant after graduation.
We believe that if the job market is depopulated through the revitalization of the economy, all other problems will naturally find solution. The more youths engaged in productive ventures the less the population of the job market which has constituted the recruitment centre for militia and terrorist groups over the years.
