Lateef Raji
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State
It is now an open secret that things are no longer at ease with the Nigerian economy. Sharp decline in the global prices of crude oil, a major source of income for the country, has brought the nation’s economy almost down to its knees.
Presently, oil price continued its abysmal somersault. As at the time of putting together this piece, Brent, the global oil marker, fell by more than $2, or 6 per cent, to $31.48 per barrel the lowest since in April 2004.
With the global price of oil now at all-time low, economic analysts are already speculating that, unless a miracle occurs, things might be tough for the nation in 2016. In the previous year, the Federal Government scaled down the benchmark for the 2015 budget from $78 to $73 per barrel (ironically, a barrel of oil in the international market presently oscillates from $37 to $30 per barrel).
As a reflection of how bad the situation was in the previous year, the Federal Government had to bail out some states that could no longer meet up with their financial obligations to their workforce. Some Federal Government agencies equally did not fair any better in this respect.
Unfortunately, the private sector is also not totally immune from the gloomy economic reality in the country as it has impacted negatively on the value of the naira. With the diminishing fortune of the naira, local industries are facing serious challenges that could actually lead to downsizing of workers if the situation is not quickly redressed. Hence, from every perspective, these are, indeed, trying times for the country.
The way things stand; the unemployed in the country, especially the youth, might be in for a hard time. If the working class is not actually finding things easy with the …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
