ENUGU–The Executive Director, African Network For Peace And Good Governance (ANPG), Bede Aneke, says there is an urgent need for Nigeria to adopt social security number (SSN) for all her citizens to address insecurity in the country.
Bede said working in tandem with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the custodian of the National Identity Number (NIN), there would be that confidence that every individual in Nigeria would have a social security number that is verifiable.
Bede stated this on Saturday in Abuja in a message to mark the 62nd independence anniversary of the country.
According to him, besides the nine principal branches of social security, namely: medical care, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, old age, employment injury, family, maternity, invalidity and survivors’ benefits, verifiable social security numbers would be very useful in tracking security threats to the country.
“At present, Nigeria is regarded as one of the most dangerous places to live in. The 2020 Global Terrorism Index identified it specifically as the third most affected by terrorism,” Bede said.
Bede noted that, virtually all parts of Nigeria were currently battling with one form of insecurity or the other with various crimes going on, largely unabated.
He maintained that despite attempts by the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government to curb the rising criminalities and killings across the country, Nigeria’s security apparatus appears to be overwhelmed with criminals having a field day killing, maiming and extorting their victims.
Bede, therefore, advocated a legislation that would make it compulsory for every citizen to have social security number to curb corruption and insecurity.
Bede, who lamented the current educational system the country was operating, called for the reform in the nation’s basic education system from white-collar-job destination to skills destination, which would make it compulsory for the students to acquire and specialize in specific skills, saying it would significantly address unemployment.
Bede maintains that “it is apparent that the current system isn’t meeting the needs of Nigerians and providing solutions to the country’s national challenges,” adding that it was evident the education system needed revolutionary reforms.
“The truth is, given the challenges facing our education system, if we are serious about changing our narrative – we are condemned to taking steps that will elicit significant pushback.
“Skill driven education formular to liberate the country from the current education system,” which he maintained was the best.
The ANPG boss, equally called for “the declaration of state of emergency on agriculture in arable land area of 34 million hectares to increase production on Nigeria’s comparative advantage crops such as currently palm oil from 1.4 million metric tons (now) and the domestic palm oil consumption to around 1.8 million metric tons. So there’s a need to increase to 3.5 million metric tons by 2026, so we can have enough for export.”
According to the development scientist, Nigeria is among the main producers of sorghum worldwide, adding that in 2021, the production of sorghum in Nigeria was estimated to amount to almost seven million metric tons, emphasing the need to double the cultivation in order to maintain the lead.
He indicated that what was required was a combination of well-thought-out policy measures and pragmatic actions by government to address the situation.
“For one, the various governments should be more deliberate in implementing policies and programmes that will engender rural development to stem the rural-urban drift that has depleted the farming population in the rural areas”, adding that life in the vast agrarian communities of the country is at best cruel with deplorable and inaccessible roads, lack of electricity and non-existent storage facilities.
He called on government to prioritise investment in infrastructure to improve the country’s business environment and boost economic growth.
Bede also stressed the need for Nigerians to be actively involved in the 2023 general elections to find lasting solution to the myriad of challenges hindering the development of the nation by voting massively for individuals that have what it takes to get things done.
He called on the electorate to go and collect their Permanent Voter’s Card, (PVC) and turnout to vote on election day, saying it was crucial in determining the democratic outcomes of elections.
Bede, equally appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to live up to expectations and give Nigerians free, credible and transparent election.
