The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to focus on job creations and reduction of poverty and unemployment.
While Buhari is to re-contest the office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, former Vice President Abubakar is seeking same on the Peoples Democratic Party’s platform.
Tasking the two candidates, ASCSN asked them to make job creations for the nation’s teeming youth a top priority of their administration if elected.
President of ASCSN, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, who spoke during the National Executive Council meeting of the union held in Abuja, noted that there was a great hope and expectations at the country’s independence; with the entire African Continent looking up to Nigeria for leadership and sense of direction.
He noted that the focus on Nigeria by all and sundry was not because of her size, but the combination of human and material resources God has endowed it with.
Unfortunately, Comrade Kaigama regretted, all these have not translated into meaningful progress for the country due to a combination of factors; which include poor leadership, lack of vision and mismanagement of resources.
“We seem to have lost so many years as we keep on wobbling and fumbling with recent statistics indicating that Nigeria is at the bottom of the table in terms of Human Development index,” the ASCSN President said.
He added: “It is apt to note that this negative trajectory of the country has led to high level of unemployment, especially among the youth, leading largely to excruciating poverty and deteriorating standard of living.
“The end results of this ugly scenario are explosion in violent conflicts, militancy, insurgency, armed robbery and kidnapping, all of which have assumed worrisome dimensions in intensity and magnitude.”
To address this situation, he emphasised that economic diversification holds the key to the emergence of a robust economy capable of creating jobs and reducing poverty and unemployment.
He advised the government at all levels to articulate and implement an economic blueprint for the diversification of the economy by leveraging sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, hospitality, tourism and ICT to boost productive activities and revenue generation and thereby reduce insecurity.
The union leader also stressed the need to address the issue of corruption, saying, “the vexed issue of corruption still remains one of the major challenges facing us as a nation. This hydra-headed monster continues to loom large in our country in spite of the initial steps taken to address the menace by the present Administration.
“Corruption in Nigeria has now assumed a very big proportion that can be described as horrendous. The Nigerian political class should know that there is no way this country can be inspired to greatness if this beast is not decapitated and rooted out of our system before it leads to catastrophic consequences.
“The federal government is therefore advised to strengthen and reposition the Anti-graft Agencies such that diligent prosecution of corrupt officials, total recovery of looted funds and end to the pillaging of public treasury can be guaranteed,” he said.
Kaigama, who is also the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), also stressed the need to entrench democratic values and ideals, saying it was sad to note that after 58 years of political independence, Nigeria is still grappling with the challenges of democratic transformation and good governance.
“As we approach the 2019 elections therefore, I wish to strongly advise that the political parties should focus on issue-based campaigns that will turn around the fortunes of the Citizens in particular and the country in general,” he said.
