An avalanche of jobs could be on the way for Nigerians in the new year, according to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President, in his New Year message, said his administration would deploy ICT (Information and Communications Technology) platforms for the purpose of job creation and also ensure the diversification of the economy to support other emerging sectors.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan asked Nigerians to continue having faith in the country and its democratic institutions while National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said that given the way Nigerians fought to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that they can equally “stand up to problems that seek to shackle us.”
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Buhari hailed Nigerians for their resilience in facing “significant challenges that occurred as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to restore the global economy and social order.”
On the security challenge, he promised that government would not relent in tackling the problem citing the “number of insurgents and bandits who have willingly surrendered to our security forces and continue to do so through various channels and the Safe Corridor created for that purpose.”
“The persistent insecurity in certain parts of the country may have threatened to unravel the incremental gains achieved in the real sectors of the economy and in the administration’s overall objective to position the nation on the irreversible trajectory of sustainable growth and progress, but I assure you that we will remain resolute in our commitments and shall continue to press ahead with our programmes and plans,” he said.
He added: “The path to nationhood is often fraught with unpredictable difficulties and challenges, and most tried and tested nations have often prevailed through dogged determination, resilience, concerted commitment to unity and the conviction that the whole of the nation, standing together against all odds, is by far greater and would ultimately be more prosperous and viable than the sum of its distinguishable parts.
“Government, however, realises that victory on the battlefield is just one aspect of sustainable victory. We know that to fully win this war, we must also win peace and real security lies in winning the hearts and minds of the affected citizens.
“To this end, working with our international partners and neighbouring countries, we would be deploying multi-faceted solutions that will be targeted at addressing human security at the grassroots, before it leads to insecurity.”
On the economy, Buhari said the 4.03% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2021 is indicative of the recovery being recorded in the economy and the confidence that is being shown through the policies the government has put in place after the outbreak of the pandemic.
“We may also recall that this recent growth is closely followed by the 5.1% (year on year) growth in real terms recorded by Nigeria in Quarter 2 of 2021. This growth was one of the best recorded by any nation across Sub-Saharan Africa. The 5.1% growth at that time was and remains the highest growth recorded by the Nigerian economy since 2014,” he said.
“Despite the challenges we have faced as a nation, the good news is that we have so far recorded four consecutive quarters of growth after the negative growth rates recorded in Quarter 2 and Quarter 3 of 2020 due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Punch)
