Immediate Past National President of Imsu Alumni, Enyioha Chris Anyanwu has harped on solutions to problems and challenges facing Nigeria.
In his lecture with the topic \” Problems Facing Nigeria Economy And Possible Solutions \” organized by IMSU Alumni, Enyioha said it requires good leadership and dedicated government to find solutions to the problems facing Nigeria.
Here is the lecture in full:
Great Imo Stars, my name is Enyioha Chris A.E. Anyanwu.I am an entrepreneur, a CBN approved BDC Operator, Houlage Logistics expert and an Aircraft Logistics Consultant.
I was highly elated when I receive the notch from the National PRO of our great Association requesting me to present an online lecture on the topic \”PROBLEMS FACING NIGERIA ECONOMY AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS \”.A topic which he believes people are running away from because of its wide coverage or research volume. However as a participant in the Nigerian Economy i will try as much as i can to present this topic with a sense of participatory professionalism with a view to arriving at an ultimate logical conclusion.Since it is open for discussion, we intend to improve our standard of living from this lecture through your genuine & scholarly contrbution.
PROBLEMS FACING NIGERIA ECONOMY AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Our Country Nigeria is endowed with abundance of human and natural resources. These resources however are not put to good use. As a result of this majority of her citizens continue to live in poverty. The basic amenities such as electricity, water, good hospital, roads etc are not enough. Economic recession has taken over while prices of commodities continue to go up and standard of living is rising.
Nigeria has been recognized as a country with rich natural resources over the years. Despite her huge economic potential, it has taken a place as one of the poorest countries in the world. That is truly disappointing to mention.
However, we can do far better with our oil wealth, a vast array of farmable lands, other available mineral resources and bountiful lots of other economic potentials.
What are the problems facing the Nigeria economy? How can we find solution to these challenges?
*MAJOR PROBLEMS FACING NIGERIAN ECONOMY*
1.POOR PLANNING: There is poor planning on the part of the government such as delay in making and implementing the annual budget, setting high exchange rates etc. gives rise to some of the major economic problem facing Nigeria.
2.HIGH RATE OF INFLATION : The current rate of inflation in Nigeria is on the high side and it increase day by day. One of the major sources of inflation is the rise in petroleum products which affects most areas of the economy of Nigeria.
3. POOR MANAGEMENT: This includes poor management of Government projects and sectors, it’s already a headache for the delay in carrying out due projects by the government of Nigeria, but the neglects and our attitude to proper management of properties and projects handled by the government are so poor.
The government has been unreasonable with taxes. The tax system in Nigeria favours only the elite and not the vast majority trying to manage their small and medium scale businesses.
4. High-Interest Rate: Currently the interest rate is about 26% – 27% which is a turn-off for many potential investors as well as existing investors. You will agree with me that high interest rate decreases company gross profit while poor investment increases the rate of unemployment.
5. WRONG POLICIES: Many policies made by our government do not effectively support economic growth in our dear country.
6. Poor Communication between the Government and Her Citizens:
To create an enabling environment of economic growth in Nigeria would require all stakeholders involved but the government does not communicate with its citizens to be able to manage its economic, political and social affairs.
7. Corrupt Leaders: They say corruption is in every country but truthfully in our country Nigeria it appears it has eaten up into every fiber of our existence. It has even been identified as a culture. Daily we hear of how public officials are buying million dollar mansions and accumulating stolen public funds in financial establishments abroad, the news is filled with corrupt politicians who want to outsmart one another in being corrupt.
8. Underdevelopment of Human Resources: Most of the problems facing the Nigeria economy is as a result of bad quality of human development or resource. We are the result of our decisions. If we do not develop our human potential or resource we can never manage our economic resource. Hence our good or poor decision directly affects the success of our country.
9. INCREASED RATE OF CRIME: Increasing rate of crime and terrorism has negatively affected the economic growth of the country. Investors find it hard to do business in the country due to security fears. Terrorist attack has been on the increase in our country with the growing activities of Boko Haram over the past years. Different violent activities such as bombings, kidnappings and others remain a daily feature in the news.
10. High Rate of Unemployment: Unemployment seems to be on two sides of the coin in our economic issue. It is both a cause and an effect of the poor economic situation. There are increased rate of joblessness due to the economic recession, and at the same time the unemployment state of the country is negatively affecting the economy. Unemployment is the leading cause of crime among the Nigeria youths.
11. Poor Educational System: The educational system of this country is in shambles. The quality of educational materials used in most institution are decades old and not up to modern standards. Many of the facilities for teaching these students are obscure and not in tune with modern reality.
Hence lectures are mostly theoretically based with little or no practicals. At the end of the day these poorly baked graduates cannot compete or perform adequately in the job market.
12. Environment and Health Issues: Another problem facing Nigeria Economy is Environmental and Health Issues. There is a growing concern on Health and Environmental standard in our country Nigeria. In 2013, the Amnesty International revealed that Nigeria experiences hundreds of oil spills annually in the Niger Delta due to sabotage, pipe erosion and uncaring attitude by oil companies.
Consequently, these oil spills tend to wilt the soil nutrients and other important element which results to damage of farmlands, drinkable water source and sea lives etc.
Again, waste products and trash are scattered around the streets and roads in our country. Improperly disposed refuse promote the spread of diseases and this will end up affecting the health of the citizens and drain on the economy of our country Nigeria.
13. Poor Infrastructure: We can’t actually move forward economically without adequate power supply, good roads, etc. Lots of cash kept for infrastructural development has gone into the pockets of many corrupt individuals in power.
Consequently, many foreign companies hardly choose to invest or do their business in Nigeria due to the Paucity of power supply.
POSSIBLE
SOLUTIONS TO THESE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS.
1. Proper planning: The Government should ensure that the budget will be made and implemented early enough – they should put in place measures to cushion the effect of any economic decision such as an increase in exchange rate.
2. Moderate Interest Rate: The government should lower the interest rate with a view to attracting investors both locally and internationally. The presence of many investors to set up companies, small and medium enterprises – create jobs which favours our youths and take them out of the streets.
3. Favourable Policies: Good policies should be made to boost the country’s economy.
4. Decrease in Inflation Rate: The government should reduce the rate of inflation. Petroleum products which easily affect the economy should be subsidized to accommodate both the poor and the rich.
5. Review of Taxation System: The system of paying taxes should be reviewed with a view to giving business starters a chance to thrive.
6. Over Dependence on Oil Wealth: The Government has to look for other sources of economic growth.
7. Improved Communication between Government and the Citizens: This would mean fostering understandable interactions between the government and her citizens – the private sectors and state civil society. The government should include processes and mechanisms for citizen and group to articulate their interest, to mediate their differences and work together.
8. CORRUPTION CONTROL: Take away corruption and Nigeria being an oil giant should be recognized as one of the wealthiest nation but the reverse is the case here.
9. Human Resource Development: For the country to step ahead away from its economic woes then much effort must be expended in developing our human capacity and resource.
10. Security of Lives and Properties: Public Security is an important aspect of every country. The government should do something in order to protect the lives and properties of her citizens.
11. JOB CREATION: The government should create jobs and engage her youths thereby taking them out of the streets in order to reduce crime to the bearest minimum.
12. Enactment of Laws that guard against Unhealthy Behaviour:
The government should make laws that will control citizens who scatter the streets and roads with waste product and sanction oil firms with uncaring attitude in order to bring a stop to environmental and health problems.
13. Provision of Infrastructure:
The government should provide Infrastructural amenities such as constant electricity, good roads etc to attract foreign investors. This will create jobs and improve the lives of its citizens.
CONCLUSION:
The problems facing Nigeria economy are numerous. They are inter-connected and mutually dependent. It requires good leadership and dedicated government to find solutions to these economic challenges facing our dear country Nigeria. In God we trust.\”