Even though Nigeria is considered the African country that is developing quite fast, it still does not mean that our native land is entirely devoid of all the problems. In this article, you will read about the major political problems in Nigeria, contemporary issues in Nigeria and the possible ways to solve them.
![Major political problems in Nigeria]( "Major political problems in Nigeria")
Photo: thewillnigeria.com
Contemporary political problems in Nigeria: what are they?
First, we should list some good things about Nigeria and its development. Our country is considered one of Africa’s giants when it comes to industry, and a lot of wealthy people are making their investments in the industrial sphere. Also, Nigeria has always been known for good soil, which contributes to the successes in agriculture. The country has good weather and almost no natural disasters, as the floods are caused by human intervention. The small changes are made every day to make our country a developed place to live, as Nigerian people are very hardworking and dedicated.
Still, there are a lot of issues on the political and social arena, and for so many years, people are unaware of the possible solutions, and the situation remains the same. Small improvements are made every day to improve the life of Nigerians, but there are still so many things that should be taken into consideration. The diversity of Nigeria politics is not always helping, because every politician has different opinions on what should be done to restore the country. Today, we will talk about the political problems in Nigeria and how it is possibly to best solve them.
1. Corruption
It is not news to everyone that our country has been notorious as one of the most corrupted countries in the world. The majority of Nigerian politicians are known for their corrupt deeds, as the statistics say the 70% corruption practices come from this branch of society. The governmental officials often put the funds that belong to the public on the foreign bank accounts. The private citizens are known to help out in the process of money laundering. On top of everything else, the politicians hide billions of naira under different names, in order for the society to stay unaware of their money-stealing practices. Corruption also blossoms in the law and police force, to the point that the citizens no longer trust these branches with their safety.
This problem is one of the foundations of the general political crisis in Nigeria. This is because corruption has the potential to leak into various settings and pose a threat to all the political institutions, economic sectors, and other spheres of life. And the government, which is supposed to be protective of the citizens and be the highest branch of society that solves all the problems, is the most involved in the existence of corruption.
![Corruption in Nigeria]( "Corruption in Nigeria")
Photo: rfefl.org
2. Kidnapping
If we think of the possible solutions, apparently the number one would be the complete reorientation of society. The educational system plays a huge role in this, and the government also needs to be more trustworthy and influential.
![Kidnapping people]( "Kidnapping people")
Photo: stock.adobe.com
3. Oil and gas industry
Even though the industry sector in Nigeria was always known for its numerous resources, there are still issues connected with that, which contribute to the overall political crisis in Nigeria.
This is not a far-fetched problem, and it can be easily linked to the political life of Nigeria. It is suspected that so many politicians gain huge profit from the oil and gas sector. For instance, there was a Subsidy removal story, which resulted in the national scarcity of fuel.
![Oil and gas industry]( "Oil and gas industry")
Photo: oil-gas.pall.com
4. Boko Haram terrorist group
The neglect of the state by the officially ranked figures left us another problem – the attacks of the terrorist group Boko Haram. The Boko Haram terrorists decline everything Western and want their ideology to thrive.
The actions of this violent group are such a problem to the Nigerian society due to the neglect and mismanagement of the country by the political leaders of Nigeria. So many studies that were carried out on the Boko Haram activity in the country suggest that their rise is a consequence of state leaders neglecting the current state of events, and depriving a big part of the population. There are many other factors that contribute to the terrorist movement in Nigeria, some of which are the injustices, poverty, class inequality, the failure of social services and more.
One of the possible solutions could be learning from past mistakes and stopping the neglect of the country. All the sectors should be taken into account because the mismanagement of some of them might lead to the surfacing of new problems, which could pose danger to the safety and life of regular citizens.
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5. God-fatherism
Many people who venture into politics would look for their “godfathers” as the first move in their political career. This is a term for looking for a person who would be your career patron and push you towards acquiring the higher political position. A lot of politicians seem to be forgetting that Nigeria is a democratic state, and the government should depend entirely on the choices of Nigerian citizens, which they have a chance to make through the means of the independent elections.
“God-fatherism” is a political sponsorship based on manipulation and imposing of someone’s agenda on other politicians.
What is the paradox here is that the “godfathers” usually do not share God’s core values and are following the ideology of mostly corrupt political parties. This phenomenon has been dividing Nigeria and acting as a toxic part of its political life. The solution that can be proposed to gradually resolve this issue is to to promote the parties by people who are trustworthy and sincere and would remain loyal to the Nigerian citizens, unlike those contemporary parties who are known to obey their “godfathers”.
![Godfatherism in politics]( "Godfatherism in politics")
Photo: medium.com
6. Tribalism
Tribalism is a cause of so many major problems in Nigeria, including the political differences, civil wars, human losses, and blindness during elections, which means that the citizens vote not because of the political capabilities of the candidate, but tribalism.
This problem has always been the root of all the other issues in the country, and nowadays, people are tribally biased for or against people who come from the same or different background as them. It often leads to inter tribal conflicts and deaths because people do not agree on religion, political views, cultural views or anything else.
Tribalism is also a large problem in the political sector, as people mostly vote based on their tribes. In the situation when the person commits a mistake, it is forgiven by people of their tribe, but viewed as the worst crime by people from another one. This psychology is really divisive and does not do anything good for the Nigerian people.
Embracing diversity, even if it is very hard, would be the first step on the way to combating tribalism. The Nigerian people need to work out their differences and think of themselves as a whole, instead of identifying solely as their tribe. Surely, you do not have to forget your cultural heritage, but using it as a reason for starting hate conflicts is unacceptable, and thinking that you can not get along with people of other tribes is a toxic mindset since we are all people with a common goal – making our lives better.
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![Tribalism in Nigeria]( "Tribalism in Nigeria")
Photo: npr.org
7. Nigerian youth and their political inactivity
In general, Nigerian young people are very active and dynamic, and they participate in basically every field of life, except politics. So many young people just accept politics as something that has been the same for many years, and it is not possible for the system to be changed, especially by the youngsters whose voices are often overlooked and not taken too seriously. The young people also feel like it is not worth to start the political career and expose yourself to all the dangers and threats that it can come with.
There are plenty of other problems with young people, aside from their lack of political awareness and activity. The rate of unemployment among the youth is extremely high, and the general attitude of the government towards giving youngsters actual jobs shows that this trend will continue in the nearest future.
The biggest question nowadays is: when will the elderly people let the youth take the country in their own hands? And when will the young people also wake up and realize their voices can be heard? It would probably change things for the better if youngsters were not afraid to participate in political life of Nigeria.
![Nigerian youth]( "Nigerian youth")
Photo: thescoopng.com
8. The Nigerian media
As you may know, the media is a large part of a democratic society. The primary obligation of the journalists who work for these media outlets is to praise these leaders and show their opponents in a bad light, and this really distorts the accuracy of all the political news that the Nigerians read every day. All the important details are overlooked, and people have to process the generalized information and make their own conclusions out of something that is not particularly true.
There is also an issue of “brown envelope”, which is very close to the problems we described above. This problem is based on the political leaders or their representatives paying the journalists a good amount of money in order to write articles where they cover up all the negative things they did and represent them only in a positive light.
So, what is the solution here? The possible way out that could potentially beat this problem is professionalism. This means that the Nigerian Union of Journalists needs to remember their role in the journalistic standards. Among these are the common standards for the owners of media houses and the proper dissemination of information to the society.
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![Nigerian media]( "Nigerian media")
Photo: guardian.ng
9. Religions
Nigeria is one of those countries where different religions are spread all over the state. It is quite natural, considering how Nigeria consists of so many different cultures and is the most populated country on the African continent. There are various religions, but some of the most widespread are, obviously, Christianity and Islam, as well as the African traditional religion.
The issue with religion is that people of the major religion fight each other for the power, and people vote for the candidates based on the religion, instead of voting for what this or that candidate could bring to the society, their strategy and political capabilities. This really divides people and makes them feel separated from each other because of their religious differences, instead of being a part of the same country and having the same core values.
The solution to this issue that would be the most promising is the complete reorientation of society. The politically elected leaders cannot enforce their religion on any aspect of the nation and state. If people remember this and vote based on the individual abilities of the candidate, instead of taking their religion and tribe into account, then there is a chance of selecting the most qualified person to rule the country.
![Religion in Nigeria]( "Religion in Nigeria")
Photo: infoguidenigeria.com
10. Nigerian citizens
People of Nigeria are their own major problem in so many ways. First of all, there is a very huge percent of Nigerian citizens who have given up on the political life of the country a long time ago. They do not participate in any electoral processes and usually have no opinions about the candidates or general political condition in the country. Quite often, during the elections, people just travel to their native towns instead of voting and refuse to participate in the national electoral process.
To this day, there are many Nigerians who meet all the eligibility criteria for voting but have no desire to directly take part. They think that their vote will not matter, and leave it to the others who are more aware of the current political state. These similar behaviors are not helping the development of Nigeria, as so many people refuse for their voice and concerns to be heard for a variety of reasons.
![Citizens of Nigeria]( "Citizens of Nigeria")
Photo: von.gov.ng
Hopefully, this made you interested in the everyday life of Nigeria and fixing the lifelong problems, even with a minor change.
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Source: Legit.ng
