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Obi of Onitsha Urges FGN to Curb Economic Crisis
His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, has traced the root of the worsening economic hardship in Nigeria to the Boko Haram insurgency, Niger Delta militancy, agitation for the sovereign state of Biafra and the effects of the global fall in the price of oil, which is Nigeria's major revenue earner noting that the persistence of these problems aggravate the already precarious economic situation of the country.
Speaking to a select group of American and Nigerian professionals, businessmen and investors from across United States at a private reception organized by the law firm of Maduegbuna Cooper LLP in New York on January 26, 2017, Igwe Achebe, though not blaming the present administration in Nigeria for the crisis which existed before the regime's inception, said that since the present leadership campaigned for and got the mandate to change Nigeria, it has an obligation to quickly and positively tackle and resolve the dire economic crisis.
Igwe Achebe further told the group that the country's inflation is currently running at about 18%, the national currency has crashed to close to 500 naira to the dollar in the black market and graduate unemployment is at a crisis level.
Highlighting the steps he is presently taking to help his constituency independent of government assistance, Igwe Achebe who seats on the board of a series of companies, said among other measures, that he has implemented a program for technical and craftsmanship mentoring for youths in his domain as a pragmatic solution to the current graduate unemployment. He noted that the first set of 70 graduates of the program were assisted to obtain a start off small business loan of 500,000 naira each, totaling 35 million naira. He pointed out that the recipients of the loan are being closely guided to ensure the success and continuity of the program.
The monarch noted that such concerted efforts in communities across the nation could help in reducing youth unemployment but noted that government can always do more to mitigate the problems.