Towards Viable And Progressive Nigeria

Akintokunbo  Adejumo,
in his book Rejuvenating Nigeria’s Collapsed Educational System: The Roles of Alumni And Old Students, wrote that “the survival of the Nigerian State as a viable, progressive and democratic society will depend on the state or health  of her educational system-primary, secondary and tertiary, in addition to how the political  class and masters decide to grapple with the challenges that are synonymous with the system.
His contention is predicated on the premise that a prolonged neglect of a human  resources sector like  education can only result in social paralysis, the consequences ofcourse could be witnessed in the upsurge of “area boys”, cultism, armed robbery, very high  unemployment rate, brain drain, under development and a general rot in the Nigerian Society.
For Elder (Dr) George O. Ibeatuche a social analyst, the enthronement of a viable and progressive Nigeria will remain a far cry if the federal and state governments in the Nigerian federation fail to be fully committed  to  mapping out new administrative  policies geared towards improving the general wellbeing of the suffering  serving and retired  Nigerian workers in view of  the obvious fact that their  sacrificial services have been contributing immensely to the growth of the states and national economy.
Dr. George in his contribution on the 2015 workers’ Day Celebration, called on the newly elected states and federal lawmakers  to enact development-oriented  laws that will encourage  electricity generation, establishment of petro-chemical industries  and oil  refineries with  a view to boosting the growth of the nation’s  economy while creating more job opportunities and sustaining public transportation with subsidized fares.
Like Akintokunbo, George  believes that updating the educational curriculum with subjects that reflect on current realities will go a long way in catapulting the Nigerian State to its anticipated destination of self reliance.
According to him, skills acquisition and entrepreneurial development  subjects will create avenues  through which  numerous school leavers would become self reliant in various productive ventures which services  would provide  sustainable jobs for other job seekers.
This, ofcourse, requires  that both states and federal governments must be willing and readily disposed to granting loan facilities to enable needy unemployed youths establish their own  revenue yielding cottage industries focused on sustaining their future.
From the foregoing, the picture of a viable and progressive Nigeria seems  to get clearer, as President Muhammadu Buhari, in his inaugural  speech admits that though Nigerian  economy is in deep trouble, it is not beyond  redemption.
Inspite of a whooping $20 billion spent on  the power sector by the past administration without any visible light, President Buhari remained optimistic to addressing  fuel and power  shortages nation wide. His courage and optimism  may have been hinged on the fact that our founding  fathers laid a foundation for a viable  and progressive country, and for him a retracal to the original structure as envisaged by our past heroes will definitely bring about their dreams  of a formidable Nigeria.
President Buhari in his  research on solving Nigeria’s problems, discovered that “in recent times,  Nigerian leaders appeared to have misread our mission”, stating that our  founding fathers Mr Herbert  Macauley,  Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Ballo, the Sarduana of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Belewa, Malam Aminu Kano and their colleagues worked to establish certain standards of governance, even though  they  may have  differed  in method, tactics or details, yet they  were united in establishing  a viable  and progressive country.
Still convinced that he has what it takes  to turn the fortune of Nigeria and Nigerians around for the better,  President Buhari  maintained that “daunting as the task may be, it is by no  means insurmountable”, but he insists that we must consciously work the democratic  system especially now that there seems to be a national consensus that our chosen  route  to national  development is democracy.
For me, achieving  a viable and progressive Nigeria is a task that ought to be  done not only by  the President but by all of us. I think the President also acknowledges  this fact when he begged the Organised  Labour  and the press to rally around his  administration to succeed.
I also figured out this success in collectivism  when he said “no matter how well organised  the governments of the federation are, they cannot  succeed without the support, understanding and cooperation of Labour  union, organised  private  sector, the press and civil society organisations”. Hence  his appeal to employers and workers alike  to “unite in raising productivity so that  everybody will have the opportunity to share in increased prosperity”.
Buhari’s  resolve not to succumb to hopelessness and defeatism in the face of serious national crises is a proof that given the maximum  support from all of us, he can definitely fix our  problems ranging from the immediate concerns of insecurity, pervasive  corruption, the seemingly unending fuel  and power  shortages  to depleted foreign reserves, fallen oil prices, leakages and debt, not forgetting unemployment, education, medicare and physical infrastructure.
If others could make it, we too can.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi