As Nigeria celebrate 63 years of gaining independence from colonial rule, stakeholders and young people have lamented the rate of youth unemployment in the country
They described the high rate of unemployment, particularly, among the youthful population as worrying even as it creates an avenue for the said unemployed youths to engage in social vices that are antithetical to the peaceful coexistence of all Nigerians.
While commending the country for seeing an appreciable growth in the level of access to education among young people and women, in particular, they argued that the bane of youth development in the country still remains unemployment.
While sharing his views on youth development in the country, a lawyer, Kamo Sende, said Nigeria’s journey since independence in 1960 has been a cocktail of promises and challenges when it comes to youth development and employment.
Explaining further, he said: “Nigeria has honestly made strides in expanding access to education for its large youth population. School enrollment rates have increased over the decades, especially for girls and young children. More youths are graduating from secondary school and gaining skills needed for the job market.
“This fact is clearly demonstrated in the global hunt for Nigerian talent. Our nation has also seen growth in its technology and creative sectors, providing new opportunities for enterprising young people.
“However, high unemployment remains a persistent problem. The Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning citing the 2022 report of the National Bureau of Statistics, suggests that Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate hovers around 53.40%.
“This lack of jobs and opportunities has hampered development for many young Nigerians. Too many graduates end up under-employed in the informal sector or idle altogether. Frustrations over limited economic prospects have boiled over at times into unrest as evidenced in some parts of the country.”
Sende further noted that tackling youth unemployment requires a comprehensive strategy centred on job creation and skills training.
While commending Benue State for launching job creation and skills acquisition initiatives as a strategy to help with youth unemployment, he urged the country to revamp its educational curricula to better align with the demands of the labour market in a way that goes beyond traditional textbook-based requirements.
He further added that with strategic policies and investments in its youth, Nigeria can unlock the prospects of its young population.
“Entrepreneurship should be encouraged to help youths create their own opportunities. Apprenticeship programmes can provide practical work experience.
“Greater investments in infrastructure, agriculture (particularly in states like Benue that are agrarian), manufacturing, and technology can expand employment sectors,” Sende added.
Speaking in the same vein, an entrepreneur, Mrs Mujeedat Nola Mufutau, described youth unemployment as one of the most critical development problems facing Nigerian youths since independence.
In tackling the issue of unemployment, she urged the government and development partners to see youths as investment opportunities to not only drive economic growth but also reduce the spate of crimes and poverty in the country.
“One of the most critical problems of development confronting the youths of Nigeria since independence is youth unemployment. The increasing rate of unemployment amongst youth has improved the wave of armed robbery, prostitution, cyber crime, rituals, drug trafficking, increased migration and sometimes suicide.
“The main contention here is that government and development partners should see the youth as an ‘investment opportunity’ and invest in them for the acceleration of economic growth and reduction in crimes and poverty.
“The energy, skills and aspirations of the youth are assets that no country can afford to squander. Helping them to realise their full potential by gaining access to employment is no doubt a precondition to poverty eradication, sustainable development and a lasting world peace,” she explained.
In her submission, a post-graduate student at the University of Cambridge, Angela Sughnen, declared that youth, who are supposed to be the “foundation of society” are not given enough attention in the general “Nigerian project.”
“One of the trends I find very troubling is the lack of political will to always follow through with the implementation of written policies that foster youth development and inclusion in Nigeria.
“The priority areas, which these policies focus on, particularly education, health, agriculture and participation, have been ignored or their implementations have been made caricatures of. All of these have ultimately led to a very high rate of unemployment among the Nigerian youth.
“In recent times, the Not Too Young bill was passed to encourage the inclusion and participation of young people in nation-building so that they can be inducted into the leadership framework of the country. Not so much of this has materialised as it is evident in what is obtainable in present-day Nigeria.
“There is very little in place to equip the youth to take up the spaces available for them and create the necessary change we all need. Some resilient Nigerian youths have gone out of their way to equip themselves without the support of the government, after which they find no environment within Nigeria in which they can thrive or use their skills to create the needed change. As a result, the country has lost so many brave minds who have found their ways out to other climes where their skills can be valued.”
While lamenting the state of education in the country, Sughnen noted that the educational system of the country continues to deteriorate on a daily basis, wondering how the personality of the youth would be shaped
“As a country, we need to make youth development a priority, and I mean this in the real sense of it, not just on paper. Policies that have been put in place for this need to be implemented appropriately and a continuity approach be adopted by the government. The country can do better if it really wants a true change because it is through youth development and reform that we can get close to this ‘change’,” she added.
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