President of the Senate, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Friday, said that Nigeria was sitting on a time bomb
if it doesn’t create jobs.
Saraki, who made the assertion
while delivering a goodwill message at the Body of Benchers Nigeria Award Night
in Abuja, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu,
added that the judiciary was also key to ensuring sustainable economic
development of the country.
He stated that there must be a
concerted drive towards consolidation of democracy, liberalisation of the
economy, and ensuring the rule of law.
Saraki said: “No two ways around
this. In the next few decades, the population of Nigeria and the continent –
including the youth demographic – is set to increase exponentially.
“The challenge ahead is to see
how we can reduce poverty and create jobs for the youth whose numbers will
treble in the coming years.
“They are not a generation that
will sit idly by and watch their aspirations fade. Without inclusive government
that creates jobs and opportunities, we are sitting on a time-bomb.
“We must act fast, and the
Judiciary has an important role to play in ensuring sustainable economic
success that is predicated upon a more democratic environment.
“The job creation stimulus we are
seeking requires investment, and this depends on democratic stability. It
follows, therefore, that the types of government that emerge must be through a
democratic process that builds on the confidence of the people.
“Our ability to produce effective
solutions has never been more in demand. From the threats and opportunities of
information development, sharing, management, manipulations aided by technology
to the changing dynamics of terrorism, we must remake a judicial process that
is integrity assured and delivers in good time.
“This requires the legislature
and the judiciary to engage more and share ideas, more than is currently the
case. We must have a society where truth and justice are seen to prevail, where
men and women will believe that the system will always stand by the truth.
“Politicians and business people
must know that power and money cannot trump truth and justice and that the law
bends for no one. It must be clear that the corruption of money will always
lose out.
“Benchers are key to instilling
that confidence. Inconsistency will only create problems further down the line.
Fear of man cannot be the driving imperative of what we do.
“It must be the Constitution. In
any case, history has shown us that power is transient. Posterity is the goal,”
he stated.
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