Atiku Abubakar, Former vice president of Nigeria has advised the government to focus on getting 13.5 million out-of-school children into school and engage youths in work programmes.
He also called on Nigerians to help President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to save the country and themselves.
Atiku, in a series of tweets on Sunday, March 28, 2021, said this in his reaction to the recent Bloomberg’s report which says Nigeria is set to become the country with the highest rate of unemployment in the world.
The former VP said Nigeria emerged as the nation with the highest rate of unemployment because the Federal Government abandoned people-centered leadership, free trade and deregulatory policies that were put in place during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo.
Nigeria’s economy has tanked on President Buhari’s watch (Presidency)
Atiku also attributed the rising spate of insecurity in the country to unemployment.
He said, “What this government must realise is that the unprecedented insecurity Nigeria is facing is the result of youth unemployment,” he said.
“Idleness is the worst feature of unemployment because it channels the energy of our youth away from production, and towards destruction, and that is why Nigeria is now the third most terrorised nation on Earth.
Proffering solutions to the country’s unemployment challenge, Atiku advised the government to focus on getting 13.5 million out-of-school children into school and engage youths in work programmes.
On capital inflow and foreign direct investment, Atiku suggested three possible solutions.
He said, “First, Nigeria must move towards a single exchange rate to be determined by market forces. Secondly, the federal and state governments must reduce taxes, to make Nigeria more business friendly. And finally, financial and monetary institutions, like the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, must be free from the type of political influence that resulted in the prohibition of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019, presidential election also advised Nigerians to help the government of president Muhammadu Buhari, saying his administration “obviously lacks the capacity to address our current challenges.”
He said, “In a situation where we are simultaneously the world headquarters for extreme poverty, the world capital for out of school children, and the nation with the highest unemployment rate on Earth, there is a very real and present danger that we might slip into the failed states index — God forbid!”
Atiku said it is important for Nigerians to help the government not because of the government but because of themselves.
