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

Industrial Development In Nigeria: Achieving The Brass Tacks

Nigeria offered the continent and blacks everywhere a future that was promissory, resplendent and anchored on a vision of rapid development when it achieved its independence in 1960. Adopting an eclectic collection of industrial development strategies or policy thrusts over the years, the country has nevertheless failed to measure up to equals such as Israel, South Korea, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, India, Botswana, Singapore and others, countries that were at the same development threshold with it in 1960. Nevertheless, industrialisation has remained the sine qua non for economic growth, long-term poverty reduction, job creation and the transformation of a traditional and agrarian society to a modern and industrial society. In this chapter, authors have perused industrial development in Nigeria from the belvedere of some fundamentals that can underprop the process. Making these brass tacks available will be and should be the focus of serious-minded, responsive and responsible governments. The present Goodluck Jonathan Administration will show more seriousness about its transformation agenda and the National Industrial Revolution Plan it just choreographed by achieving these essential ingredients that can facilitate and act as a linchpin for industrial development in Nigeria

ICTs AND THE DIGITISATION OF THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA: A SOCIOLOGICAL APPRAISAL

ICTs have become the creator of a fast-forward modernising post-utopian society with the promise of totalitarian transformation that has affected many sectors and areas of human interests. Fast-paced technological and economic changes have accelerated human experiences in a triumphalist fashion, providing convenience, ease, time- and cost-saving advantages. The Nigerian banking industry has not been left behind. Rather, the industry has grown from a manually driven to a digitally dependent industry with ICT-enabled services and product innovations to improve the lives of bank consumers in the country. Silhouetted against the modernisation paradigm, the industry and country need to brace up to tap into the opportunities and possibilities created by ICTs. Since ICT is the face of the future, the challenges facing ICT-enabled banking services must be removed so that the Nigerian banking industry can deepen its application of ICTs in the industry and provide citizens with greater product options and innovations which are needed for these banks and citizens to ably function in the new global techno-market orde

Demographic Dynamics and the Attainment of Democratic Development: The Case of Nigeria

The discourse on demography, democracy and development issues is an inclusive one that focuses on the need to create a human environment where the quality of life of the people is greatly enhanced. Today, the measurement of progress on the development agenda, as encapsulated by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Human Development Index (HDI), goes beyond economic indicators (such as economic growth, per capita income), to include both political and social indicators. This paper argues that the real challenge of development in Africa is not the size of its population and/or resource endowments, but the poor management and politicization of its demographic dynamics captured by census data as well as adopting economic and social policies that ultimately leave the people far behind for whom development is meant. Furthermore, the paper contends that the failure of political leaders and policy makers at all levels of governance in Nigeria to pay adequate attention to the generation of quality demographic data, upon which relevant policy interventions and decisions are framed to address the problems of poverty, inequality, fertility, mortality, youth unemployment and illiteracy, negatively impact the chances for effective poverty reduction, infrastructural provision, security and reproductive health. This paper concludes that for countries in Africa, particularly Nigeria, to attain the status of a democratic developmental state and deliver on the much-anticipated 'demographic dividends', the leaders must exercise the political will to invest massively in human capital and develop a reservoir of reliable demographic data that will address the socioeconomic conditions of their citizens, including the monitoring and evaluation of development plans and programs