CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In Nigeria, the quest for national development is always at the heart of the leaders and the led. Leadership is the process of influencing group activities towards attainment of goals. The quality of leadership in any given country has a direct influence on the development of that nation in terms of the standard of living, available infrastructures, and poverty, level on unemployment among others. According to World Bank Report (2006) a nation’s wealth is measured in terms of balance sheet which consists of three categories of capital. Natural assets, produced assets and intangible assets, which consists of human and institutional capabilities that measures society’s quality index.
Nigeria is ranked as the world’s largest producers of oil, but the leaders have not been able to manage the oil wealth for the benefit of average Nigerian. This is due to unrelenting progression of corruption, inefficient, bad government policies and incompetent decision making. Mass unemployment among the able bodied Nigerian youths to their influx to developed countries of the world in search of greener pasture. Lack of basic social amenities is also major cause for the influx, deficient infrastructure, inadequate health and educational system among others. Although the problems of unemployment is a general phenomenon depending however on the nature of the skill produced by the economy for its own use. The features of underdevelopment in the third world economies is lack of developed manpower required for the development of the industrial, technological and service sector. Where the high level manpower is available, they remain unemployed. A country with abundant natural resources and in dare need of high level human capital could allow massive exodus of her able bodied men and women to European countries in search of greener pasture.
Mass exodus of youth from Nigeria also be traced to the activities of the criminal agencies and cartels whose main business is to recruit young people to serve as either drug carries or in case of young females, to recruit them as prostitute. Thousands of female Nigerian teenager and youth found their ways to overseas through these channels, and their work has led to the tragic deaths of many promising Nigerian youths. Nigerian youth became even more desperate to take even more during chances to emigrate, the crossing to the notorious Sahara Desert on foot as well as the tragic risk of hiding oneself in a wheel of an aircraft just to get to Europe. The problem of national development had remain a hydra-headed monster looking for a messiah for help. Good governance is all that would be required to extract the best of this unique opportunity of abundant human and natural resources to establish sustained durable and diversified, economy for national development.
1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Rich countries are largely rich because they are well governed, while poor countries are largely poor because of bad governance. Good governance translates to progressive national development, and good infrastucr=tural facilities. Good governance implies that intangible assets of the nation are fully exploited to manage tangible assets. Since inefficiency, incompetence, corruption, bad management are rules of the day. It means that it will be difficult for Nigerian leaders proved incapable of turning the advantages of oil wealth.
The influxes of Nigerian youth to Europe and America in search of greener pastures are due to unemployment, insecurity, lack of economic opportunities, corruption and nepotism, which could betraced to bad leadership. The extent which bad leadership contribute to the influx of Nigerian youths to Europe and America is what this project intends to unravel.
1.3      OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to assess the problems of bad leadership on the influx of Nigerian youths to Europe and America and the extent which it has affected socio-economic development of the nation. The consequences of unemployment as a result of bad leadership. Specific objectives were follows:
1.     To identify major reasons for mass movement of youth to Europe
2.     To find out the influence of unemployment on the influx of Nigerian youths.
3.     To critically examine the relationship between the problems of leadership and unemployment problem in Nigeria.
4.     To provide plausible solutions that could minimize the influx of Nigeria youths to Europe and America in search of greener pasture.
5.     To ascertain the effects of leadership on national development in Nigeria.