The Role of Technical Skills in the Enhancement of Youth

In the Twenty First Century, technical skills acquisition and application of technical skills in the small scale and medium scale enterprise provides the bedrock and cornerstone of economic growth and development in the advanced capitalist nations of the Western world. Skills acquisition through technical and artisan jobs is central and pivotal to the fast economic recovery of the developed nations as well as the driving force behind the economic transformation of the developing nations of the world. In modern economic

growth and development, three basic components are inevitable namely: skills; capital; infrastructural; and an enterprising entrepreneurial class made up of mostly young people, or drawn from the youthful population of a nation.

In Nigeria, since the era of the General Ibrahim Babangida, as from 1985-1992, and even beyond, there has been concerted national policies and programmes put in place to promote technical skills acquisition and enhancement of enterprise among the youthful population of Nigeria. As a matter of fact, since the post independence era, in the third and fourth National Plan, attempts have been made to restructure the existing philosophy of education to accommodate the training of youths at skills acquisition as a panacea in addressing the unemployment rate of the nation. With the introduction of the basic education programmes at the Junior Secondary level as well as the current 6:3:3:4 system of education, the emphasis is on achieving the following objectives; self employment, self support; and self reliance. To achieve this objective, the curriculum of the secondary school level, particularly all the basic school level, has been restructured to ensure that youths acquire the necessary skills namely; carpentry, mechanics, electronics, computer, fashion and design, building technology, etc before they graduate from school. The acquisition of these skills, it is hoped, would enhance or enable the teeming population of the nation to be self employed and self reliant, rather than looking for white collar jobs which are no longer feasible in the Nigeria context.

The white collar job has been a colonial mentality, passed on to the post colonial era, which enslaves the youthful population of Nigeria by depending entirely on the public sector for employment and wealth creation. In the new system of education as contained in the national policy on education is designed to promote a conscious awareness among Nigerians on the need to shift from depending on public sector participation in development to a greater private sector participation in national development.

It is against this backdrop that the establishment of Technical Colleges by both the Federal and State governments across the country became inevitable as it will go a long way in equipping graduates who have passed through the science and technical colleges acquired skills, and are prepared to be ushered out into the real world where their skills and ability will be highly valued and appreciated. These graduates of technical skills, who are mostly youths, will make valuable inputs and contribution in the turning around of the Nigerian economy towards the attainment of national transformation in line with the objectives of the present regime of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Technical Skills and Enterprise in World History

England in the Western Hemisphere in the 19th century was first identified as the workshop of the world because of the men of skills, under the guild system, who had laid the foundation for the industrial success of England.

Under the Guild system, men of crafts and artisan skills had a cult system, which shared technical skills and preserved the skills as sacred. Through this way, England was able to save her skills, transmit same from generation to generation resulting to industrial success of the nation. The cornerstone to the England industrial success was factored in the acquisition of technical skills and its application in the process of production. Skills and capital as well as entrepreneurial drive, merged together, were responsible factors for the triumph of the private sector transformation of English society in the 19th and 20th centuries. Adams Smith “The Wealth of Nation” highlighted the critical role that skills, capital, enterprise and investment could plan, in the economic transformation of modern nations.

In the United States of America, after the 1865 Emancipation Declaration by Abraham Lincoln, the life of the average African-American was still impoverished in poverty and misery. Emancipation Declaration was a mere paper Declaration that came short of delivery on the promises of freedom. For the Blackman in America, it was still a long walk to freedom as slavery was reinvented and recycled in every facet of the life of the Africa America. To compound the challenge of the African-American, white society in America employed racial stereotype in stigmatising the image and character of the Blackman. The Blackman was regarded as lazy, idle, devious, and incapable of intelligence and enterprise.

To prove the racial assumption wrong, an African-American by name Booker T. Washington came out with a message of accommodation, dubbed the Atlanta compromise, which gave hope and inspiration to millions of African-Americans in the Diaspora. Booker T. Washington envisaged that the path to genuine emancipation for blacks, economic emancipation, was for African American to adopt the acquisition of technical skills with the combination of capital and handwork, as the panacea towards the economic transformation of the Blackman. The Blackman was to quit passing the blame to the white masters who through institutionalized racism had impoverished and emasculated his fortune and future. Instead of blame, the Blackman was to challenge his adversaries by facing his destiny through skills acquisition, handwork and enterprise.

The result and outcome of Booker T. Washington message of racial accommodation produced outstanding resources and transformation among black Africans in the Diaspora.

Africa-Americans, took advantage of the technical college that Booker T. Washington established by training in technical skills and investing such skills in a life of enterprise and productivity. In several facet of life in America, from mechanics, woodwork, building, fashion and design, etc. Africa-Americans took a lead in proving success in modern enterprise. Over time, the resilience of the Blackman in Africa had earned him the respect and reputation by main stream white society in America. In some quarters, the racial stigma of the Blackman as a lazy, idle, devious folk was repudiated through the cunning entrepreneurial success of the African-American.

In about 1876, an American Naval Commodore, Mathew Perry, sailed fleets of battle ship to Japan and gave the Japanese court two options; either to surrender or to face war. The Japanese Emperor instead of embarking on war decided to the contrary. We shall not drive away the barbarians (Americans) but rather learn from their ways. After the Meiji Meiji restoration in Japan, the Japanese began an ambitious programme of recruiting young Japanese with state sponsorship to study science and technology in the West. The Japanese investment in science and technology rewarded great dividend as by the 19th and 20th centuries, Japan had emerged as an industrial power just as Britain, France, Germany and the United States.

The West, envious of the Japanese industrial miracle, in the World War II of 1945, dropped two Atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Japan surrender in the war and was temporarily caved in by the United States of America. However, after the World War II, Japan metamorphosed from the ashes of the war to become a leading economic nation of the world that could edge out the United States in industrial production. In the 1980s, this was evident in the street protest organised by American auto workers who carried placards denouncing the Japanese industrial success:

“If you sell in America, build in America”

The auto workers, on the streets of New York and California, destroyed made in Japan auto cars which were assembled in the United States. A bitter trade war had come to exist between Japan and the United States that has continued up to the contemporary era. The cornerstone of the Japanese industrial success was factored in the role of technical skills acquisition and its application in private sector transformation.

To Joel Kotkin (1993), the example of global races in

enterprise such as Jews, English, Chinese, Japanese and Indians has shown that certain variables are quintessential for success in modern enterprise:

v              The desire for innovation and creativity in scientific knowledge

v              The acquisition of technical skills through the apprenticeship system

v              Racial or tribal solidarity with a passion and desire to share scientific and technical knowledge, including capital. The existence of network of kinship ties that promote group survival

v              A readiness or willingness to spread out and expand the frontiers of the existing racial or “tribal” group through migration or a Diaspora, across national or trans-national lines.

Global races like the Jews, Europeans, Chinese and Japanese have achieved success in enterprise as a result of the presence of the stated variables above. With the Jews, first in the Jewish Diaspora to Europe, North Africa and Asia that began as far back as the 70AD with the invasion of Jerusalem by a Roman General called Titus, Jewish Diaspora communities spread out to Eastern Europe, North Africa and Asia with skills. The example of Europeans, the discovery of the New-World as from the 16th century led to the migration of skills and capital to the New-World thus resulting to the industrial success of states like the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. For Africa, during the age of colonialism, the migration of skills and capital from Europe provided the bedrock for the transformation of the African continent. Skills, capital, investment and enterprise are the pivotal stones for success in modern economic transformation.

Technical Skills in Nigeria

In Nigeria, as far back as the pre-colonial era, technical skills existed in almost every society that made up Nigeria. The Nok culture of Central Nigeria, a vast cultural complex on the Jos Plateau, proves the fact that in the pre-colonial setting, technical skills in the production of household items such as pottery, carvings and sculpture existed. In the Eastern region, the Igbo-Ukwu cultural complex excavated by archaeologist also proved the existence of technical skills by indigenous groups in the South-East. In the Western region, Iwo Eleru complex supported the evidence of a virile and dynamic indigenous technological complex that existed in Nigeria in the pre-colonial era.

The imposition of British

colonial rule as from the first half of the 20th century witnessed the decline and collapse of the indigenous technological foundation of the Nigeria people. Several arts and crafts declined and eventually collapsed as a result of the colonial orientation which stigmatized indigenous Nigeria technology as an inferior variant to that of the Western world. It was not until in the post independence era that attempts were made by Nigerian nationalist to revive indigenous Nigerian technological fabrics.

The colonial era in Nigeria open wider doors of economic and commercial articulation which promoted the migration by several migrant groups, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa to several parts of Nigeria. These migrant groups, in the course of migration and settlement in evolving urban centres of Nigeria like Jos, Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan, Lagos, Kano, Makurdi, Lafia, etc, carried along with them certain technical skills and capitals which they invested in the urban centres in which they had settled. The growing urban centres were indeed points of commercial and economic articulation which attracted various migrant groups with capital skills. The migrants, who earlier in the colonial era, had acquire the same skills and capital through the transfer of Western multinational corporations trading company. These foreign companies were instrumental in the transfer of technical skills and capital to Nigeria during the colonial era.

The Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba were the earliest nationalist migrant group to had taken advantage of the articulation of the colonial economy to expand and spread technical skills across Nigeria. In several urban centres, statistics indicates that the modern technical sectors of blacksmithing, wood and carpentry, fashion and textiles, electronics, mechanics, brick layers and house builders, were dominated by these migrants groups in the urban centres. There were different areas of specialization for each migrant group. While Igbo dominated the mechanics, carpentry and building industry, Hausa controlled fashion and textiles, blacksmithing, while the Yoruba competed in the fashion and textiles, as well as mechanics and electronics. During the colonial era, in the growing markets across Nigeria, Northern Nigeria for example, Igbo and Hausa artisans and technicians dominated the technical industry, in growing market such as Jos, Lafia, Makurdi, Kano, Zaria, etc. The growing shops in these markets were owned and controlled by these migrant forces who had exported technical skills to the respective indigenous and host community.

The technical enterprise of major migrant groups had its

adverse consequences in the economy of host or indigenous communities. In Jos for instance, Hausa domination of the existing markets led to the suppression of indigenous ethnic groups like the Birom, Angas and Tarouk. In Lafia, the domination of the commercial sector by the Igbo and Hausa migrants crippled the commercial activities of the indigenous populations of the Alago, Eggon, Koro, Tiv, etc. In Makurdi, Igbo and Hausa commercial enterprise edge out the indigenous Tiv population as well as the Idoma. However, despite the commercial hegemony that the ‘Big Three’ engaged in commercial success, technical skills were transferred to the private informal sector during the colonial era. Technical skills were the major cornerstone of the colonial commercial private sector development and transformation.

The lessons of the colonial economy were obvious and glaring as to the role that private sector driven technical skills could impact on enterprise and national economic transformation. It was obvious that without the technical skills and the employment as well as wealth generation it created, the public sector alone was incapable and insufficient to absorb the teeming unemployed population of the nation. The over dependence on public sector, white collar job driven colonial orientation, was a major defect in tackling the nations employment challenges.

Against this backdrop, in the post independence era, the respective governments, both civil and military, had to adopt a national policy and framework with which to promote science and technical education in Nigeria. It was against the realization of the pivotal and central role which science and technology can play in the economic transformation of any given society. We have earlier on observed that it was the development with the application of science and technical skills in the industrial sector that led to the economic transformation of Western capitalist nations. The lesson therefore was that if Nigeria had to emerge as a developed nation, then, the development of her science and technological sector was vital in that national transformation.

Armed with this background, the national policy on education, a vital document which acted as a blue print for Nigeria educational development, advocated for a science and technical based education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In line with this philosophy and policy on education, beginning from the 1970s, up to the 1990s, the federal and state governments of Nigeria began to embark on the establishment of science and

technical colleges as well as Polytechnics and specialized Universities of Science and Technology. Technical education and skills acquisition came to occupy a central role in the educational curriculum of Schools and Colleges in Nigeria. The goal and objectives was to provide the bedrock for the production of skills, technical skills, vital and necessary in the private sector, for the take off of the larger private sector role in development.

To consolidate on the gains of the educational sector aimed at science and technical education, the federal government also embarked a series of public sector reforms aimed at private sector technical skills driven economy. For example, under the former Head of State of Nigeria, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, the Federal Government inaugurated the National Directorate for Employment (NDE) as a vehicle in the acquisition of technical skills as well as the mobilization of capital for national transformation and development. The major objective of the Directorate was to curb teeming unemployment in the urban centres by creating jobs for the national unemployed youths. The central activity of the Directorate, with branches all over the nation, was factored in skills training and acquisition in areas such as wood and carpentry, blacksmithing, automobiles, beauty and hair dressing, fashion and textiles, electronics and electrical works and so on.

The National Directorate for Employment adopted the apprenticeship approach in the training of graduates equipped with necessary skills. Graduates of the science studied under the informal sectors, in the workshops established by Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba migrants, who had earlier success in technical skills and enterprise. Through the apprenticeship programmes, unemployed youths were taught basic technical skills, equipped with the practical aspects of the required occupation. Upon graduation, graduates were supported with capital and finances to embark on the setting up of their respective enterprise. The NDE, between 1986 to date, has been one of the mile stone in the evolution of technical skills in Nigerian history to the grass roots. The scheme, despite its shortcomings, created millions of jobs for the Nigeria youthful population.

In contemporary Nigeria, there are skills and technical acquisition centres all across the nation. Several of the skills acquisition centres are the activities of Non – Governmental Organisations (NGOs) run by the respective First Ladies of States Governors. The skills

acquisition centres are aimed at equipping youths and women with technical skills provides employment, create wealth, and thus contribute to national transformation. In addition to NGOs, several Senatorial Districts across the nation have realised the critical need for skills acquisition centres. In response to the prevailing need, senatorial districts across Nigeria have embarked on the building and establishment of technical skills acquisition centres. In line with the philosophy of technical skills acquisition, Universities in Nigeria have all formalised the creation of centres of entrepreneurial studies as a focal point in skills acquisition and self employment generation. These are major programmes and activities targeted at resolving the current Nigeria’s nightmare, job and wealth creation among the teeming population of Nigeria youth in the Twenty First Century.

Youth Enterprise in Nigeria

The National Population Statistic of Nigeria in the 2007 National Census had it that the population of youths, the ages between 18years – 40years stood at over 70% of the national population estimate. By implication, it means the contemporary population of Nigeria is predominantly youth concentrated. The amazing fact from the figures also showed that only about 30% of that population is gaining employed thereby leaving a huge population of the youth as either unemployed or idle or lazy without been involved in any productive activity. This statistic poses a great threat and danger to the Nigerian nation in terms of youth unemployment and restiveness. It is therefore not strange that the contemporary Nigeria, youth restiveness, acts of violence and crime, are increasingly on the rise in the major urban centres of Nigeria. Across the urban centres of Nigeria, youths are the cannon folder that feeds the ethnic and religious crises that has rocked the Nigerian state. It is no gainsaying the fact that the population that fuels the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria are predominantly made of youths. The same is applicable for the several of the communal conflicts and feuds witnessed across Nigeria, particularly in the central states of Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Plateau.

Recent statistics by the World Bank also indicates that poverty among the youthful population is as high as 70%. This is a fearful and contradicting figure against the backdrop of the recent statistics that shows Nigeria as the fastest growing economy in Africa. There is growth without development; this appears to be syndrome with the magic of Nigeria’s economic transformation. The challenge of the Nigeria state,

for any leader or political class who wants to govern the nation is that of how to tackle youth unemployment in the urban and rural areas.

We have already stated that the engine to private sector development lies in skills acquisition, capital, investment and entrepreneurial drive. Youth enterprise or the involvement of youths in enterprise through technical skills acquisition can be a viable option in the nations attempt to resolve the challenge of poverty among Nigerian youths. To curb this challenge, the task is for both federal, state and local governments as well as that of the private sector. The following must be addressed:

ü             The urgent need for attitudinal change on the part of Nigerians youths in terms of values, principles and discipline. Poverty is the question of attitude more than that of either class or divine ordination. The idea that some people are ordained or destined rich while others poor must be discarded. These are old notions and belief systems associated with Dark Ages medieval religion in both Islam and

Christianity. Youths through a revolution of attitude must embrace hard work, discipline, humility and diligence. Past programmes like MAMSER or rebranding Nigeria were important in curbing negative attitude, pessimism, scepticism and the way we think about Nigeria. We must have confidence in ourselves and country if we must developed.

ü             The urgent need for a culture of apprenticeship and mentorship in which youths should come under some kind of training and discipline to be equip in skills, knowledge and virtue. Knowledge and skills promotes success. When discipline and experience is added, it promotes excellence and fantastic results. There is hardly a successful person without a mentor or a mentee.

ü             Openness to scientific innovation and change such as the current Information Technology driven society and world of the 21st century. Without a computer in the modern world, survival is nearly impossible, particularly success in enterprise in all sectors of life.

ü             In the central states of Nigeria, the Biroms, Angas, Eggon, Alago, Tiv, Jukun, Igbira, Idoma, etc, youths should focus more on commercialised agriculture rather than traditional agricultural methods. Agricultural activities such as fish production, dairy farms, tree plantations, spices, are far more lucrative and productive than traditional farming of yams, grains, etc.

ü             A greater involvement of youths in the trading sector in terms of small scale and medium enterprise such as textiles and fashion, beauty care and salon, wood and carpentry, auto mechanics and electrical, etc. The shop is greater than the white collar office in the emerging Twenty First Century. Statistics shows that monthly earnings and income of a local technician and artisan is far greater as compared to the monthly income of a Professor in the University.

ü             The readiness – willingness to cut down on all

forms of ostentations consumption, rather, promote a culture of thrift and saving in cooperatives, thrift and credit societies, Micro Finance Bank, etc.

I will end this presentation with the story from Booker T. Washington to his fellow African Americans in the post Emancipation era:

Two vessels were sailing on the High Seas; a big vessel and a small vessel. After several days of sailing on the High Sea, the men in the small vessel were taken by thirst and famished. For several days, the small boat sails without the hope and sight of water. All of a sudden, the men in the small boat sighted the big vessel. The men in the small boat screamed out “water”! Water”!! To the dismay of the men in the small boat, the reply came “let down your bucket for a fetch, for a pair of water, under your boat”! The men in the small boat, in great thirst and anguish, forgot that, they were sailing on water below their boat, that, a bucket for a fetch, could give them a pair of water“!!

Corruption will kill Nigeria if…

The trending corruption case in Nigeria is the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)-gate. This is happening at a time the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is undergoing high profile probe through its “sacked” Boss Ibrahim Magu (who served in the capacity of Acting Chairman, more than usual). The NNPC, FIRS, NCS and many other “money spinning wells” of Nigeria’s Federal Government have been questioned overtime by individual “economic watchdogs.”

In almost all the institutions in Nigeria, corruption has become endemic. Corruption mostly emanates from people personalizing power; as a result, rely on favours /connections instead of formal social, political and economic rules. Public resources are swindled by government officials. Petty corruption also exist which later entrench into large scale. The worst scenario is when an official demands payment or gratification for a task they perform or a service provided which is part of their responsibilities.

The institutions of government lose legitimacy, the legal system becomes ineffectual, and the public becomes dysfunctional over time creating a degraded situation. Such a situation makes informal administrative and economic activity thereby making widen the gap existing between the government and the people. In a nutshell, corruption is a conscious and deliberate diversion of resources from the satisfaction of general interest to that of personal interest. The effects of corruption are mainly felt by the ground of morality that is inflicted with all sorts of adverse effects. To eradicate corruption, the following points must be considered: self-Satisfaction institution of strong anti-corruption groups, employment generation, and proper government funding of schools and treating all citizens equally. Self-Satisfaction in this context implies being content with what one has. When Nigerians are satisfied with their income and use them in the right way, the issue of embezzlement and money laundering will be history. Managers who are satisfied with what they are paid will not have time to indulge in corruption to make more money.

Creating strong anti-corruption institutions is another arsenal to win the fight against corruption. This group is to work independently with the government to ensure transparency. Anyone who is caught in corrupt practice by the group should face the consequences of their actions. That he is a minister or governor of a state should not be an excuse from facing the punishment he is to receive according to the Constitution of Nigeria.

The unemployed in the country find themselves involved in corruption mainly because they want to make money to meet the demand of the day. Government and capable hands should create more jobs for citizens to get employed and paid in return. A busy mind may find it difficult to indulge in corruption because he is being paid adequately.

Understanding the importance of skill acquisition will go a long way to propel them to develop all the schools in Nigeria. When more attention is paid to the tertiary institutions in the country, it will produce graduates who are employable. Installation of the necessary machines needed in universities will help Nigerian graduates acquire skills and use them to generate their sources of income. Self-employment will make graduates more determined in the work they do and will prevent them from corruption like Internet scams, kidnapping and the rest.

The need to combat corruption needs a coherent, consistent, long term perspective and a broad based approach. Moreover, political will, leadership, and public support are essential weapons in anti corruption campaigns. The political leadership ought to be exemplary in combating corruption by setting up stringent measures that sends strong messages to the public that corruption will not be tolerated.

Despite the legislations that prevent corrupt practices and stringent punishment for corrupt individuals, Nigeria has continued to swim in corruption. This is because of impunity, a scenario where prominent figures are exempted from facing the penalties. These penalties should cut across board and ought to include mandatory dismissal from office, legal action, seizing of assets, and blacklisting among others. The political will in this case is essential because it ensures that administrative and anti corruption legislations are administered. The governments which oversee the implementation of these measures ought to build public confidence by demonstrating seriousness and work towards achieving results.

According to the Policy Forum Document on corruption and Development in Africa, it is hard to fight corruption in isolation because its effects pervade societies. The civil society at large including private and public sector must join hands in combating the scourge. Society must also change its attitudes towards corruption. Although this might be seen as a slow process, it creates a normative environment in which corruption is not tolerated. The public should be made aware of the detrimental effects of corruption and doing so will cut down corruption cases. All stakeholders must be included and participate in drafting anti corruption strategies.

Finally, the idea of sentencing suspects through the court of public opinion is not helping our democratic process in Nigeria. The public must separate facts from opinions and follow the right channel in subscribing to the information base. Also, media trial must stop if we must make progress democratically. The media which is the Fourth Estate of the Realm must wake to its fundamental duty. Where certain pay masters or politicians use the media to achieve their political mavericks is a big slap on the media profession. The fact remain that the media can make or mar democracy through balanced reportage or fake news.

 

 

Nigerians Deserve a Better Deal

It is unfortunate, and highly regrettable that the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria who was summoned to appear before the diaspora committee of the Nigerian House of Representatives on the 9th of July 2020 to give a vivid and detailed explanation on human right abuse of Nigerians domiciled in Lebanon walked out on the committee due to irreconcilable differences.

I condemn in totality the actions of the Ambassador and describe same as unacceptable. As not only does it desecrate our hallowed institution, it is also a slap on the face of Nigerians.

Fellow citizens, it would be recalled that sometimes this year the Nigerian high commission in Ghana was encroached upon. Some properties within the vicinity housing the high commission were destroyed. Under international law where sovereignty of states is recognized, every embassy or high commission is deemed to be an extension of such a country. And an attack on the embassy or high commission is an attack on such country. As such the invasion and desecration of the high commission which possessed the full attrition of war was never met with stiff resistance by the presidency to checkmate future reoccurrence.

The gross violation and abuse of human rights of Nigerians in particular around the globe is not only ridiculous it is also alarming. Even within Nigeria, Nigerians continue to be violated. There is no more pride been in possession of a green passport which now wears a red cover. As the bearer becomes a target to prey on. The act of been in possession alone makes you a suspect, which leads to harassment and violation of rights.

So many prisons around the globe have become home for Nigerians, some guilty others not.

I would therefore recommend that proactive measures be taken to forestall a decimal reoccurrence.

1. That the Lebanese ambassador be expelled from Nigeria forthwith and an apology demand from the Lebanese Government as this will make a statement and send a signal to other countries.
2. That the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mandate All Nigerian embassies to give a monthly update on the welfare of Nigeria’s in their respective jurisdictions.
3. That Nigerians who are either relocating, or who seek further education or business opportunities be compelled as a matter of fact to register and identify with their various socio-cultural bodies who would be mandated to give a periodic account to the Nigerian embassy in each given country.
4. That the Nigerian government should create a department within the Ministry of Justice where lawyers would be engaged, and trained to challenge matters of human rights violation against its citizens by the government of other countries before the international court.
5. That the Federal Government of Nigeria cuts down unnecessary borrowings as this has made the country loose it’s voice and dignity. This can be clearly exemplified by the recent gross violation of the rights of Nigerians in China and the pin drop silence on the part of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The days of the current government are far spent. But we hope anyone coming on board in 2023 will prioritize and uphold the rights of all Nigerians irrespective of tribal and political affiliations as enshrined in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which states that “the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the people.”