Unemployment and insecurity are uppermost in the minds of Nigerians as President Muhammadu Buhari is inaugurated for a second term.
For Abdulrazak Abefe, a generator technician in Minna, Niger State, graduate unemployment is the worst menace Nigeria currently faces. He said schools in the country produce graduates every year while companies are folding up for lack of infrastructures such as electricity and good roads.
“What I want President Buhari to do in his second term is to tackle unemployment by providing electricity and infrastructure so that businesses could thrive and employ people,” he said.
Other Nigerians have also expressed similar concerns and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to focus on the economy and the degenerating security situation in the country, among others. Ejikeme Ogueji, Founder of Life Challenge Intervention Outreach, a Kaduna-based NGO, also urged the president to prioritize power generation and distribution in his second term. “The president should improve power to encourage industrialization and grow the economy. It would help solve the problem of unemployment and insecurity in the country,” he said. A civil servant in Kwara State, Ganiyu Amuda, would like Buhari to roll out entrepreneurship programmes for graduates to reduce unemployment in the country and make the youths self-reliant. He said unemployment has made the country unsafe today and government must address it with all seriousness.
Amuda would also like to see the anti-corruption fight strengthened so that delay is reduced in court and those guilty are not given the option of fine. “I will appreciate Buhari to enforce the full fight against corruption by eliminating delay in court. Straight punishment without the option of fine. We should renovate and expand the prisons for new intakes. That’s what I want him to do,” he said, adding that the appointment of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, should also be confirmed.
Oguechi also wants Buhari to ensure the passage of the Mental Health Bill and make treatment available to people with substance abuse disorder. He said treatments and rehabilitation are very expensive in the country and government intervention could make treatment more accessible to those in need.
Sam Osigwe, a former Secretary General of the Nigeria Bar Association, also wants the Buhari administration to focus more on the economy and address the security situation in the country which has made life more unsafe. Osigwe, who spoke on a Channels Television show on Wednesday, said the government should diversify from oil and get the economy working better than it is.
He stated: “I would like the government to focus on the economy, security, and education. Education is also important so that we can take children away from the streets. The government should invest in research and development. Power is also very important so that we can have a population that is self-reliant and prepares for the future.”
However, Amos Akingba. an elder statesman is more concerned about the system of government Nigeria practices. He believes every problem currently plaguing the country is a result of the unitary system of government which the Nigerian Military imposed on the country.
“Let’s change the constitution; let’s move from unitary to federalism. It is only federalism that can take care of all the peoples of the country. The constitution is not ours; it was imposed by the military. The constitution we have is not producing for us the people who will serve us. It was imposed on us since 1960,” he said, adding that President Buhari should help the country achieve stability and progress by looking at recommendations of previous constitutional conferences.
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