According to Wikipedia, unemployment is a situation in which able-bodied people who are looking for a job cannot find one, and voluntary unemployment is attributed to the individual’s decision whereas involuntary unemployment exists because of the socio-economic environment (including the market structure, government intervention and the level of aggregate demand) in which individuals operate.
As Nigeria’s youth population grows, so does unemployment rate of youths; the majority of unemployed people being females and rural dwellers.
According to the National Universities Commission (NUC), Nigeria presently has 43 federal universities, 52 state universities and 79 private universities. By some estimates, Nigeria’s tertiary education institutions produce up to 500,000 graduates every year and there are also Nigerians who study abroad who come home to hunt for jobs.
The number of unemployed Nigerians rose by 3.3 million to 20.9 million in the third quarter of 2018, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Older Nigerians speak of a past when young graduates had jobs lined up even before they graduated.
Order Naira Marley to remove red bag from dock, EFCC asks court
Unemployment rate in Nigeria has continued to be on the increase despite the abundant human and natural resources available in the country.
Chronic youth unemployment is evident in Nigeria; the streets are littered with youth hawkers who ordinarily should have found gainful employment in some enterprise. The large number of youths who are unemployed is capable of undermining democratic practice as they constitute a serious threat if engaged by the political class for clandestine and criminal activities.
Unemployment in Nigeria has led to the increase in crime rate and has resulted to Nigeria’s setback and problems. Nigeria remains crippled with massive unemployment level that continues to exact a considerable toil on its socio-economic prospects.
There are so many causes of unemployment in Nigeria; rapid rural-urban migration, rapid population growth and inappropriate school curriculum. Unemployment causes frustration, dejection, desperation and dependency on family members and friends who have their own problems to contend with. This precarious situation has left the youths in a vicious cycle of poverty that daily erodes their confidence and bright future.
Creativity and dexterity should be encouraged as youths acquire different vocational skills. By so doing, they will be job creators than job seekers. Vocational and technical education should be vigorously pursued. Government should provide soft loans to the trained youths as takeoff capital.
Consequently, rural- urban migration should be checked through the provision of essential social amenities that will make life in the rural areas attractive to the youths. Uncurbed population growth is a recipe for disaster, as it would readily create an army of unemployed people who could turn to crime as survival strategy. There should be public enlightenment campaigns on the dangers of population explosion and its adverse effect on national development.
Nebechukwu Phoebe,
phoebenebechukwu@gmail.com
and then