ECONOMIC HARDSHIP IN NIGERIA

 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ECONOMIC HARDSHIP IN NIGERIA

 

Nigeria is popularly known as the highest populated country in Africa and according to 2022 updated population stats recorded globally Nigeria sits 6th in the world with a population of 216,746,934 people in the country, Nigeria is a truly unique country enriched with the best mineral resources known as the highest crude oil producers in Africa making them the richest country in Africa, with also known to have one of the richest individuals in Africa with the likes of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga and others rising in the top charts. 

 

 

Nigeria is also recognized with talent with one of the best musicians globally the highest producers of movies popularly known as Nollywood in Africa and globally. You really need to be proud if you are a citizen of Nigeria, but with all these most of its citizens are experiencing hardship, with poverty rates increasing daily, unemployment crisis rising, high suicide rates committed daily, poor electricity, and high level of corruption in Nigeria. 

 

 

So, welcome to Bruno blog, today I am going to talk about the causes of hardship in Nigeria and how it affected the citizens and also measures put in place on how to reduce the hardship in Nigeria. So Sit tight and relax because you are about to read one of the best amazing articles you would ever see. 

 

 

WHAT IS HARDSHIP 

Hardship is simply defined as the situation in which the life of an individual is difficult or unpleasant it often results because you don’t have enough money, Many citizens are suffering from economic hardship in Nigeria and this often results in some factors which I am going to discuss. 

 

 

CAUSES OF HARDSHIP IN NIGERIAN FAMILIES 

There are various causes of hardship in Nigerian families often resulting from either the fault of the Government or the citizens well it is all-round so they are a lot of reasons why Nigerian is currently experiencing Hardship and they are listed below; 

 

 

 

1. CORRUPTION: Due to the strong position of power and wealth acquired by the Nigerian politicians and all this has led to the embezzlement of funds used to help take care of the public needs,  studies have shown that the oil and gas exports which account for over 90% of all Nigerian export revenues, The politicians in Nigeria have shares in these industries, tax revenues from the energy sector which are diminished and the benefits of Nigeria's energy wealth is not evenly distributed throughout the country with Lagos State benefitting disproportionately. Corruption runs through every level of the Nigerian government. From the illegal lobbying of elections, through petty bribery, money laundering schemes, embezzlement, and seizing salaries from fake workers, it is estimated that corruption has spoilt the image of this nation and affected the families in different aspects thereby causing severe hardship. 

 

 

2. BAD GOVERNMENT: Having a bad government can be the worst nightmare for citizens in a nation, and this often comes as a result of bribery and corruption in elections, most government officials in Nigeria are not qualified and they want to attain that position by all means just to make money for their selfish interest instead of providing adequate services for the citizens, well most times citizens can cause this by voting blindly during elections, they vote because they were given some amount of money, Bags of rice, souvenirs, or even forced to vote and most of this often results into voting the wrong person who would use the position embezzle the public funds and this, in turn, would affect the citizens thereafter leading to a bad government which would increase the rates in poverty in the nation. 

 

 

3. LACK OF FAMILY PLANNING: It is proven that most citizens in Nigeria don’t do family planning before getting married and this has serious consequences, lack of family planning mostly on the number of children you can take care of can cause hardship in the country because most families in Nigeria end up having 7 to 10 children and end up not catering for there needs and shelters and that family is likely to experience severe hardship.  It has also been confirmed by the united nations and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, that family planning is important and the failure to sustain family planning programs would lead to population growth and poorer health worldwide. 

 

 

4. UN-EMPLOYMENT: There has been a significantly high increase of qualified graduates in Nigeria who are unemployed and the numbers are alarming. This was also part of the violent end SARS protest which started on October 20th, 2020, with the Nigerian youths protesting because of police brutality, unemployment, lack of freedom of expression and so many more. Un-employment has damaged the image of this nation and it lead to a high crime rate because the youths looked for negative alternatives to make money because of the hunger, this also increased the number of cybercrime popularly known as yahoo, even rituals, prostitution, and so on are as a result of unemployment in Nigeria. 

 

 

5. INSECURITY: Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and with such high figures in population, the country hosts one of the highest crime rates recorded and, this is a result of hardship amongst citizens, Citizens who undergo a lot of suffering without employment opportunities might end up finding negative alternatives in the society thereby engaging in criminal acts like frauds, robbery, kidnapping, human trafficking, rituals, etc. all this brings a bad name to a nation and would increase insecurity crisis in the nation.  

 

 

 

HOW NIGERIA CAN END HARDSHIP IN THE NATION 

 

 

To reduce hardship, certain methods can be put in place to end it in a country and they are; 

 

 

6. Free and fair election: to reduce the level of hardship, there should be a free and fair credible election to reduce the number of bad governments in the country as it is deemed that most countries that conduct free and fair elections are more likely to get the right individuals that would lead the country to success. 

 

 

7. Provisions of empowerment schemes: There is a need to provide empowerment schemes to citizens, especially youths for them to take charge of their lives and be entrepreneurs to be able to fight poverty and stand independently on their own, this would reduce the high crime rate levels. This is done by addressing their situation and then taking action to improve their access to resources and transform their consciousness through their beliefs, values, and attitudes. 

 

 

8. Combating corruption: I know this might not be easy but it is possible, there should be the creation of adequate security agencies that would see into the affairs of this by arresting perpetrators and giving adequate severe punishments that would serve as a deterrent to others. There should also be a proper screening of government officials and candidates by the political parties to ensure the right person is representing them  

 

 

9. Adequate education of the general public: Government agencies should find measures and ways to educate the citizens through the media, radio, television, or even community meetings to educate the people on how to vote, how to choose the right person to vote for, also the effects and consequences of voting blindly, this would surely give the citizens an insight into politics thereby leading them to make the right decisions to select the right candidate in elections, they should also be educated on family planning to prevent giving birth to many children which they won’t cater for. 

 

 

So, with all this we have come to the end of this amazing article thank you for your patience and I will always write and publish more amazing content, note this article is written by Canice-eke Bruno after thorough research and analysis. You can also share and follow BRUNO BLOG on Facebook. Thanks and God bless you.