SHRINKING THE BALLOONING YOUTH PRECARIAT CLASS IN NIGERIA: THE NEED FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

All over the world, the debouchment of a new class has been observed with new demands for the progressive troika of equality, liberty and fraternity. Far from being the forlorn cry for the establishment of a Marxian utopia or pantisocracy, the genuine demands for egalitarianism necessitating the restructuration of economic, social and cultural capitals has become a desideratum for society’s preservation. Social upheavals, civil protests and collective movements led by a determined precariat class to address social ills and worsening inequalities will continue unabated until the political and economic managers of the state capitulate to these demands. In Nigeria, the elite is already aware of the potential vitriol and precariousness of this class. Existing diurnal narrative in Nigeria is awash with the virulence and dudgeon expressed by this class. Violent crimes such as terrorism, armed banditry, carjacking, cybercrimes, human trafficking of persons, militancy and kidnapping are major highlights of the viciousness and sadism manifested by this class. Evil contrivances have become weapons for economic compensation and retribution on an insensitive elite and society. The imagery of Nigeria’s future is akin to sitting on a time-bomb or walking a jagged precipice. In this paper, authors contend that the growing youth precariat class in Nigeria must not be ignored. Leaning on the anomie/strain paradigmatic thesis, they argue that the political class must reverse its natural shenanigans and rhetoric for change programs that will impact on Nigerian youths who are simmering with rage and despondency. Lurking around for the right moment, this dangerous class could spell the doomsday for an already divided polity if genuine efforts are waved aside. Youth empowerment programs must be practically rolled out soon and fast with a genuine politics of paradise built on the principles of economic security and social well-being to integrate this class into mainstream society

Neoliberal Reforms, Healthcare and Other Human Development Challenges in Nigeria

Since the adoption of the neoliberal policy in Nigeria in the 1980s its impact on the human development indices of the citizenry has not been satisfactory as manifested by the unequal income distribution gap between the rich and the poor over the years Besides the health conditions of Nigerians have experienced a decline as revealed by the increasing rate of child infant mortality and maternal mortality which expresses the failure of government reforms in adequately addressing some aspects of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals MDGs Using secondary sources of data this paper investigated how government s implementation of the neoliberal policies had impacted on the healthcare and human development indices of the citizens It was observed that rather than improve the healthcare situation and human development indices of citizens the Bretton Woods-authored reforms have rather narrowed opportunities for healthcare and human development in Nigeria To improve the declining human development indices of citizens the paper recommends the roll out of a politics of paradise to rein in the poverty and deprivation suffered by many Nigerians and the need for a human-faced approach to economic reforms among others The paper concludes that government must revisit the neoliberal reforms package in the country and stamp out the use of ad hoc and discretionary handouts and market-led growth which have failed to engender a trickledown effect on the social realities of Nigerians Citizen welfare and comfort must guide government s actions and intentions and should remain the benchmark for assessing the impact of any form of economic or social reforms that it desires to implement in the countr

Addressing the Insecurity Challenge in Nigeria: The Imperative of Moral Values and Virtue Ethics

The insecurity challenge in Nigeria has assumed a formidable dimension that not only requires a multistakeholder approach, as it is being touted in various quarters, in quelling this conflagration threatening Nigeria’s statehood, but also necessitates a revival and reinforcement of moral values and virtues. The thirst for blood and the preference for violence in expressing pent-up frustration and disenchantment with the state, its citizens and national totems may be a pointer to the need to revive moral values and virtues within the socioeconomic, political, religious and educational institutions in the country. Nigerian leaders, politicians and their amen corners must be forced to evince and uphold moral values and virtues in all their conduct in order to lead by example and to avoid heating up the polity unnecessarily by their conducts and comments which sometimes incite violence in their follower

Management and Human Values in Nigeria: A Theoretical Approach

The place of human values in organisations today has become a topical issue and has generated robust . discussion among value scholars and management practitioners. As competition and rivalry for market leadership have become stiff, organisations have begun to look inwards into evolving ethical and human value-based practices as a form of competitive advantage and in developing an attractive workplace. The realm of management that began with starched devotion to the scientific approach where workers were seen as a means and not the end in the production process and were treated as mechanistic items and economic articles that are to aid the realisation of organisational goals has given way to the human relations and behavioural schools which respected workers, emphasised the need to motivate them and sought to create an attractive work environment that aimed to achieve a marriage of organizational development with workers' development. Therefore, focus has consistently shifted towards value-based models of growth in the workplace. Modem organisations require a new corporate model based on ethical practices and human values and organizations in Nigerian must increasingly submit their business processes and operations to align with these global best practices. This paper considers the place of management and human values in Nigeria from a theoretical approach

A sociological appraisal of economic self-reliance: The failure of state-owned enterprises in Nigeria

This paper presents a sociological appraisal of the efforts of various governments in Nigeria towards economic self-reliance using state-owned enterprises as the vehicle for this purpose. However, due to the internal contradictions inherent in most developing societies like Nigeria, achieving economic self-reliance has continued to elude these states. Nigeria’s public-sector driven economic system has been replaced by government in Nigeria with different privatisation models aimed at strengthening the institutional mechanisms of the state and creating an efficient and effective economic system to drive its development agenda. This paper has identified the factors that negatively affected the functioning of state-owned enterprises and made recommendations to address these problems with the goal of engendering economic self-reliance in Nigeria

The Impact of Globalisation on the Oral and Written Communication of Students in the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (Funaab)

Globalisation has become a compelling force dragging nations into the mainstream global system. It has led to an integration of cultures, economies, markets, political systems and technologies among nations today. Any nation operating outside the global system willy-nilly does so at its own peril. Among the impacts of globalisation on African nations, nay Nigeria, are the impetus towards Westernisation and Anglicisation. English has become the lingua franca or official language spoken for business, governance and education. However, it is yet to be seen how globalisation can facilitate the effective oral and written communication of students in tertiary institutions in Nigeri

Organisational Change Management and Workers' Behaviour: A Critical Review

Change is the only constant phenomenon. An organisation that fails to recognise the inevitability of change is doomed to fail. However, workers' behaviour towards change has become a serious issue facing today's management in complex and ever evolving organisations. Employees' resistance to change has been identified as a critical contributor to the failure of many well-intended and well-conceived efforts to initiate change within the organisation. This paper therefore examines the reasons for workers' resistance to change as well as the impact of organisational change on workers' behaviour within the workplace and how organisations can manage change processes in order to elicit the right and anticipated behaviour from workers in line with the changing business needs. The theoretical synthesis of thoughts drawn from the tenets of the "Individual Perspectives School" and "the Group Dynamics School" is the basis for the explication of the dynamics of organisational change and workers' attitude towards it. This paper contends that securing the support and cooperation of workers through obtaining the right and anticipated behaviour is critical today as ever to the successful implementation of change programmes in organisation

NIGERIA’S EXPENSIVE DEMOCRACY: A CONFEDERAL OPTION FOR DEVELOPMENT

Democracy in Nigeria, rather than popularize governance and widen the sociopolitical and economic space, has succeeded in fostering elite rule, plutocracy, official corruption, subjugation of popular wishes, politicization of ethnic diversity, and the entrenchment of an expensive governance project. Similarly, the federal government has become too centralized and powerful, pushing the constituent units that are closer to the people into oblivion. However, while federalism may be suitable for Nigeria because of its size and diversity, a weaker centre and stronger component units may turn out to surgically address the fundamental flaws in Nigeria’s democracy for the betterment of all Nigerians. The present democratic system in Nigeria favors the centre and weakens the ability of constituent units to meet the needs and yearnings of their constituencies thereby creating the present kaleidoscope of social, political and economic crises threatening to submerge the Nigerian state. Confederalism, according to this paper, seems the better option at this juncture in Nigeria’s democratic evolution to address the myriads of challenges facing the country especially by reducing the cost of governance at the centre, and freeing resources that could be channeled into other critical projects in the state; thus guaranteeing its development. Unless and until the federal system as presently constituted is changed, development efforts may become disproportionate and belated. This study has tried to analyze the confederal system and how it can be adopted in Nigeria. It also made relevant recommendations that can be useful for policy makers, the political leadership and Nigerians

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS CLAUSE(PREROGATIVE) AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: THE NEED FOR WORKPLACE DEMOCRACY

Management prerogatives or rights have remained contentious for many years now. Although gradually, management is beginning to realise the need to cede some territory to its employees, many employers feel this patriarchal obligation to decision making with little or no considerations of the views, interests and needs of employees. While such perceptions may point to cave-men era, the modem business environment has continued to side-line employees and their trade union representatives. Using a qualitative method with the collection and review of secondary data, this study has attempted an understanding of management prerogatives in comparison with collective bargaining. The study critiques the penchant for an exclusive management rights posture and builds arguments in favour of workplace democracy as the ideal for modem businesses