NIGERIA: THE IMPERATIVE FOR URGENT AND DIRECT INTERVENTION BY GOVERNMENT TO CREATE JOBS AND TRANSFER WEALTH TO ORDINARY PEOPLE

NIGERIA: THE IMPERATIVE FOR URGENT AND DIRECT INTERVENTION BY GOVERNMENT TO CREATE JOBS AND TRANSFER WEALTH TO ORDINARY PEOPLE

The Coronavirus pandemic is highlighting growing inequalities in income distribution all over the world. In an article by Chioma Obinna published in the Vanguard on November 2021 citing a report released by Bloomberg new economy forum, the pandemic is said to have pushed an estimated 30 million people into extreme poverty in sub Saharan Africa. In Nigeria for example where a large section of the population rely on agriculture for livelihood, insecurity in many parts of the country is further aggravating poverty.

?A report last year by the national bureau of statistics puts the unemployment rate in Nigeria for the third quarter of 2020 at 33.3% with youth unemployment (15 - 34 years) at 42.5%. In an article published in businessday on September 21 2021, The Chairman of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council , Dr. Doyin Salami was said to have projected Nigeria’s unemployment rate to increase to 40% by the the end of 2021.

These figures on their own are very frightening and should be addressed along with other measures being put in place to tackle insecurity. What this means is that Government at all levels has to be addressing the economic challenges head on. In my opinion they should be doing the following;

1.?Investing directly in new small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to create jobs and wealth: Government should not devote their energies solely to creating the enabling environment to attract investments from the private sector. Direct investments by Government to create jobs immediately is imperative if we have to address the poverty and unemployment problem. Government activities at all levels should be broadened to directly benefit as many people as possible especially the tens of millions of citizens that are not employed by the Government. These new SMEs should be targeted as producing agricultural produce (Grains, tubers, oilseeds, meat, fish, dairy, poultry etc.), trading in these produce?and processing the agricultural produce to food, household and industrial products, Ocean fishing, large scale aquaculture and fish processing, assembling?everyday consumer products such as smartphones, household electronics and appliances, computers and other consumer products, producing building products etc.

2.?Government at all levels should put mechanism in place to transfer these enterprises into private hands within a short period of time: From the inception of these enterprises it should be made clear that they will be transferred into private hands within five to eight years. To ensure that as many people as possible benefit from this wealth transfer, the Government should sell each of these enterprises to a group of Cooperative societies who will start paying for the cost of setting them up from the day the businesses start operating and take full ownership when they complete payment. THE IMPLICATION OF THIS IS THAT ON THE LONG RUN THE COST TO THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE NEXT TO NOTHING.

This approach will help to diversify the Nigerian economy rapidly, create jobs, transfer wealth to ordinary people and help to lower the tension within the society. Additional benefits will be that Consumers will have more choices when shopping for goods and not be restricted to the few choices that are currently available. This will also help to position Nigeria to benefit from the?Africa Continental free trade area?as it will broaden the amount of products available for export to other African Countries.