Opinion
Still On Youth Unemployment In Nigeria (1)
Youth unemployment in Nigeria has become one of
the most serious socio-economic problems confronting the country. The magnitude of this problem can be appreciated if an accurate data on the number of jobless young people roaming the streets of Nigerian cities, towns and villages is available. Unfortunately, accurate statistics on youth unemployment are lacking. Nevertheless, estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO 1999) in Sub-Saharan Africa show that unemployment affects between 15-20 per cent of the work force, and out of these estimates, young people comprise 40 to 75 percent of the total number of the unemployed.
Unemployment has affected youths in Nigeria from a broad spectrum of socio-economic groups. Both the well and less educated are affected, but more especially those with low income backgrounds and limited education. Given the lack of employment opportunities and consequently uncertain future, young Nigerians are forced to engage in unorthodox sources of livelihood while others engage in casual work which highlights the causes of youth unemployment problem and the effectiveness of the response. It also surveys the future of Nigerian youth.
An indepth analysis of the jurisdiction of unemployment in Nigeria will reveal with crystal clarity that unemployment is a multi dimensional phenomenon that has successfully defied precise solution by successive governments. A brief insight into the historical fact will support this assertion.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, unemployment rate rose from 4.3 per cent in 1970 to 6.4 per cent in 1980. The increase noted in the 1980 statistics was attributed to the depression in the Nigerian economy of the late 1970s. Between this period and 1986, the rate of unemployment fluctuated around 6.0 per cent. The implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, led to a decline in unemployment rate from 7.1 per cent in 1987 to as low as 1.8 per cent in 1995. Between 1986 and 2000, it fluctuated between 3.4 per cent and 4.7 per cent.
Current information from the CIA World reveal that unemployment rate in 2003 stood at 28 per cent while a great decline was noticed in 2006 (2.9 per cent). From 2008 to this present day, the country has enjoyed a relatively stable rate of 4.9 per cent. Different facts from the National Bureau of Statistics reveal that during 2000 and 2008, the unemployment rate fluctuated between 13 per cent and 14 per cent. As at 2009, the national rate of unemployment stood at 19-17 per cent. These statistics may, however, not be definite as stakeholders have continuously reiterated that the practical reality of unemployment is higher than what statistics suggest.
Without deliberately under estimating the influence of other factors, the principal causes of unemployment are legion. Bad leadership encapsulates quite a sufficient parameter, ranging from corruption and its endemic effects, have no doubt greatly impacted positively the rate of unemployment. Many government functionaries in purporting to carry out their duties divert huge sums of money to their personal accounts; some inflate the true naira value of contracts in order to conveniently secure their own share of the national cake. In essence, resources which should be deployed towards the creation of more job opportunities for the mass unemployed are mismanaged and embezzled.
Lack of visionary leadership is also a convenient cause. The perfect example is the Nigerian experience in the agricultural sector. No sane man would doubt the innate ability of the sector to provide mass employment opportunities for the teeming Nigerian populace.
Unfortunately, and in most pathetic manner, Nigeria has in recent times not had true leaders who would bring this vision home to the people by translating it into practical reality. All they do is paper work which at the end has little or no practical utility. Successive governments in Nigeria have failed to successfully ultilise the enormous potentials wasting away in the agricultural sector.
Another fallout from the problem of bad leadership is the failure of successive governments in Nigeria to find a lasting solution to the problem of erratic power supply. The percentage of budget spending allocated for that purpose in successive years now seem unquantifiable with little or no improvement. Any attempt at showing the huge funds pumped yearly into the resuscitation of that area of the Nigerian economy will reveal that it is totally infra dig for a country like ours to be this deep down the fathomless pit of darkness. Without sounding cynical, perhaps a few of these governments have performed fairly. The consequences of the erratic power supply include the comatose state of the manufacturing sub-sector. Hundreds of factories that hitherto provided employment to graduates and artisans alike have folded up (Kudos must, however, be given to the recent efforts of the present government at bailing out the textile industry, amongst others). The few surviving ones are at the mercy of generating sets (and fuel) and the resultant high cost of production.
Masi is of the Linguistics and Communications Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Choba.
Another important cause of unemployment in Nigeria is the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the Nigerian educational system to produce graduate possessing all- round abilities. Majority of graduates in Nigeria have not developed their own skill. All they have are the certificates – nothing more. In plain language, most of these graduates are half-baked and ill-prepared for the challenges facing the nation. They have nothing substantial to add-nly to maintain the status quo. Educational institutions have failed alarmingly to produce graudates that are designed to meet the needs (not just vacancies in terms of job opportunities) of the Nigerian economy. Most of them never desire to be independent or self-employed or at least create an item of value. Their dreams are mostly about getting juicy jobs with Shell, Total etc. Dearth of skill acquisition and ultilisation in the present crop of graduates is perhaps occasioned by a deficient curriculum. This has sometimes resulted in companies reserving vacancies for Nigerians with overseas qualifications.
Sometimes, the absence of sufficient imformation creates the status of being unemployed for some Nigerians. Admittedly, this would not always be so in the face of the numerous applications received in almost all advertised vacancies. Recession in the economy is another cause of unemployment. Recession leads to many companies winding up, restructuring, streamlining and consequently, disengaging workers.
The high rate of unemployment in Nigeria has negative social and economic implications on so many aspects of the life of an average Nigerian. First and foremost is the fact that unemployment leads to unnecessary waste of resources and less productivity. Brain drain and loss of purchasing power are also important effects of the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria. The Nigerian economy is losing some of the best brains available to other countries. Graduates with good and outstanding skills, after walking the streets looking for jobs, take on the journey for greener pastures abroad many of our youths now take to riding commercial motorcycles while others make do with street hawking to keep body and soul together. The economic cost of unemployment are not limited to be above. Unemployment leads to a gap between the actual Gross National Product (GNP) and the potential Gross National Product. This is known as the GNP gap – indicating a vast waste of resources and an inability to maximize the utility of both human and natural resources.
The social costs of unemployment in Nigeria include increased cyclical poverty. Personal hardships, decay of unused skills, depression, increase in self – desertification leading to an increase in crime rate as well as increase in the number of broken marriage.
A sad development occasioned by the rate of unemployment in Nigeria is the now common swindling of these poor job seekers. Private firms in purporting to help these poor job seekers to secure employment collect different sums of money from these applicants (such as application fee, registration fee, blue chip fee, amongst others). Most of these firms are only concerned about the money; at the end of the whole exercise, most of the applicants are still without a job. Even the public sector is not absolved from this ‘profitable’ venture. The not-too-long—ago recruitment exercise by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reportedly raked in about 750million Naira for the Agency. The NDLEA recruitment was fraught with incomplete information (for instance, there was no information on the requirement of presentation of NYSC discharge certificate as a condition precedent to sitting for the test), which led to a waste of resources by a large percentage of these job seekers. The National Social Insurance Trust Fund is also recruiting, collecting at last a thousand Naira (1,000.00) for each applicant.
The way forward for Nigeria to successfully tackle the high rate of unemployment rests first on the shoulders of our leaders. Nigerian leaders must show more than enough commitment to the creation of jobs and most especially the creation and sustenance of an economic environment that fosters self-development and self actualization. Nigerian leaders must revisit the resuscitation of the manufacturing sector and ensure that it is exhumed from the grave where it currently lies. A Total solution to the problem of erratic power supply would be of utmost importance in this regard.
The faster government moves in that direction, the better as we have seen the concomitant effect of youth unemployment manifest itself in various forms across the country. Kidnapping armed robbery and even militancy in the Niger Delta and to some extent, the Boko Haram menace could be identified as some of the negative outcome of unemployment.
The utilized potentials in the agricultural sector must be made use of to create the desired job opportunities for the teeming unemployed Nigerians will experience a new breath of life. The educational system also needs restructuring. The various curricula in our schools should include skill acquisition course, entrepreneurship and self development programmes, deliberate efforts need to be made towards ensuring that a new enterprise culture is entrenched in the minds of our graduates and artisans alike. This will reduce the present craze for white collar jobs and reduce unemployment in Nigeria. It is then that Nigeria will be on the road to economic success.
Mabel Masi
One of the critical problems confronting Nigeria today is the lack of recognition and appreciation of our tangible heritage, values, and norms – elements that are crucial for fostering social cohesion and responsibility. These values, which are inherently adaptive, can only be transmitted effectively through cultural education.Nigerian food Cultural education involves socialising individuals into the norms, values, and heritage of a given society through mediums such as folktales. Its primary intent is to nurture socially responsible and morally upright individuals who contribute positively to their community. In essence, cultural education is a learned behavioral pattern shared and transmitted from one generation to another. It encompasses customs, traditions, beliefs, arts, and philosophies of life. As Babs Fafunwa (1994) observed, every society, regardless of its size, has its unique ways of transmitting its cultural heritage.
Cultural education plays a vital role in shaping a child’s character and physical skills. Cultural education also has unique ways of instilling respect for elders and authority in the child. In addition, cultural education helps in developing intellectual abilities, fostering a sense of belonging, and promoting active participation in family and community affairs. This concept also cultivates a healthy attitude towards honest labour while it also helps to preserve the community’s cultural heritage. However, since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the infiltration of foreign cultures, technological advancements, religious beliefs, and political systems have significantly helped in the erosion of the country’s social fabric. Today, Nigeria grapples with the loss of cultural values in more ways than one. The country also grapples with moral laxity among youths, violence, delinquent behaviours as well as the disruption of traditional political systems.
Beyond these, lack of cultural education has also triggered a decline in political will among the country’s citizenry. Thus, social issues such as sex abuse, prostitution, drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, internet fraud (which are more commonly known as 419); cybercrime, militancy, armed robbery, and examination malpractice have become rampant. However, these challenges can be mitigated through the promotion and sustenance of cultural education in Nigeria. Bringing cultural education forward in the country’s socio-political and economic systems would go a long way in redirecting the citizenry from the identified social ills. For instance, cultural socialization teaches children the proper ways to greet elders and interact respectfully. Observing parents during ceremonies are also a way to achieving this. Ceremonies such as weddings, child-naming, or funerals help children learn appropriate behaviour at such and sundry ceremonies, and decorum. Unfortunately, many youths today lack respect for elders and are antagonistic to cultural values. Instead, they are influenced by foreign films, contents and literature which often glorify disrespect to our culture; violence and weapon use. As a result, some have become political thugs, religious extremists or armed robbers. They now pose a severe threat to Nigeria’s national survival.
Furthermore, exposure to undesirable foreign cultures has led to extensive moral degradation which manifest in ways such as drug abuse, prostitution, theft, and internet fraud. Dressing among Nigerian youths is another concern. Many young people disregard their cultural heritage and show utmost disdain for their geographical environment. For example, some young women wear clothing that leaves vital parts of their bodies exposed, while young men adopt unkempt appearances, including sagging their trousers and leaving their shirts unbuttoned. There are also instances of unfastened shoelaces. These issues can be addressed through family-based cultural socialisation, where parents play a critical role in imparting cultural education. It is therefore recommended that, to address these social ills, the following measures are suggested. The first is that there should be ways to incorporate cultural education into the curriculum of our schools. Nigeria’s education system should be reviewed to emphasise cultural education, including the use of indigenous languages for instruction. Cultural elements such as morality, taboos, mores, and folktales should be promoted to shape human behaviour positively.
Another suggestion is that we should indigenise the Nigerian political systems. The political system should incorporate cultural principles and practices specific to Nigeria’s diverse cultural environments. This will encourage greater participation and accountability among political leaders. Thirdly, we must promote local content in media. A ban should be placed on the excessive use of foreign entertainment packages in media houses and on social media. Instead, Nigerian cultural content should be prioritised and promoted to reinforce cultural identity. Also, we must strengthen parental socialisation. Through this, families must embrace parental socialisation as a key method for imparting cultural education. Parents should model cultural values and behaviours to guide their children effectively. Cultural education is very essential for curbing social ills in Nigeria. By integrating it into our education system, political practices and media content, we can foster a society rooted in strong moral values and cultural heritage, thereby ensuring a strong and brighter future for generations to come.
Modupe is Chief Museum Education Officer, National Commission for Museums & Monuments, Osogbo, Osun State.
Veronica Adewole
2027 is sealed for Mr. President. When I say 18 over 18, it means we are going to deliver our 18 local governments to Mr. President.”
Reading the above statement by the governor of Edo State, Mr. Monday Okpebholo, one wonders what the future holds for Nigeria’s democracy. In any true democracy, the power to elect leaders rests solely in the hands of the people. This principle is the foundation of democracy, ensuring that governance is based on the will of the majority rather than the rule of a single individual or a privileged few. Unfortunately, in Nigeria political elites and influential figures attempt to manipulate the electoral process, undermining the will of the citizens. We often hear governors and some other politicians talking tough, boasting of how they would sweep all votes in an election. This practice not only weakens democracy but also fosters corruption, inefficiency, and a disconnect between leadership and the people’s actual needs.
Such statements suggest a predetermined outcome of an election rather than a free and fair electoral process. And in a democratic society such as our, this has several implications. Firstly, there is a threat to free and fair elections. Democracy thrives on competitive, transparent, and credible elections where citizens freely choose their leaders. The claim that all votes will go to one candidate suggests electoral manipulation, coercion, or suppression of opposition. Secondly, it portrays a disregard for voter choice. It is said that in a democracy, the electorates are the kings because they are supposed to have the power to determine who sits on any political seat. But when a governor claims that the votes to be cast in his state in the next two years are already meant for a particular candidate, it suggests that the election result is already determined, it makes voters feel powerless and discouraged to participate in politics.
Statements and actions like Okpobholo’s erode political pluralism. Democracy requires multiple parties competing fairly. Declaring total victory before an election dismisses the role of opposition parties and reduces political competition to a mere formality. The statement also raises concerns about potential election rigging, vote-buying, or manipulation of electoral institutions to favor one candidate, which damages public trust in the democratic system. If there are no plans to commit these electoral offences, how possible is it that all the numerous opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which just handed over power to the ruling party in Edo State will not win even a single local government area?
This idea of a government in power winning elections at all cost and making elections in Nigeria less competitive and predetermined outcomes is the reason institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), judiciary, and security agencies are seen as compromised.
This, no doubt, weakens our democracy. Another implication of Okpobholo’s rhetoric is that it can provoke political unrest, resistance from opposition parties, and loss of faith in democratic processes, leading to increased instability and potential conflicts. Nigeria is already soaked with too much political and economic tensions and cannot afford to have more due to the selfish interest of a few individuals. Another troubling trend is the growing influence of governors, party leaders, and other politicians in handpicking candidates for elections. Instead of allowing a free and fair process where citizens decide, these power brokers often impose their preferred candidates, who may not necessarily represent the interests of the people. Such interference leads to a leadership that is accountable not to the electorate but to the few individuals who orchestrated their rise to power.
Have we not seen enough of this in display where elected lawmakers both on the federal and state levels would choose to do the biddings of their masters in the executive arm of government over the interest of Nigerians who elected them? Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo while speaking on the failure of democracy in Africa recently aptly defined what we currently have in Nigeria thus, “Today we have democracy which is government of the people, of a small number of people, by a small number of people over a large number of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life.” Some people have come heavily on the former president and the former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi who shared the same sentiment for daring to criticize the present-day practice of democracy in Nigeria when in their days in offices some of their actions accountable and effective leadership.
Additionally, the legal framework governing elections should be strengthened to ensure transparency. INEC and the states’ electoral umpire free from political interference, must oversee the entire process, guaranteeing that every vote counts and that the people’s choices are respected. Political parties should also be mandated to conduct primaries that genuinely reflect the will of their members, rather than serving as a mere formality for predetermined outcomes.Our elected leaders across board should be advised to face governance and deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians who put them in office instead of politicking all the time. It is about two years to the next general elections and the major preoccupation of the leaders seems to be plans and scheming of how to come back in office in 2027 instead of dealing with economic, insecurity, unemployment and other challenges facing the country. How can Nigeria move forward like that?
Calista Ezeaku
Look before you leap”, is one of the wise sayings that over the years I have been emotionally attached to. It means so much to me because the debilitating consequences of unguided actions are better imagined than experienced. “Look before you Leap” teaches me to be thoughtful, articulate, discreet dispassionate and solicit for advice of the experienced and reasonable people where necessary. I have seen people reveal their stark ignorance because they took decisions rashly and without considering the implications of their actions or inactions, only to say, “had I known” which is an euphemism for failure. It has therefore, become necessary to “look before you leap”. Rehoboam, son of Bible’s King Solomon lost 10 of a 12-tribe kingdom of lsrael to Jeroboam. The negative consequences of lack of conscientious and enlightened guide before taking action has landed many to avoidable regrets.
Thoughtless actions happen every day and they are evidenced in the unpleasant outcomes of such decision. In 2024, a Federal High Court, Abuja sacked 20 Cross River State House of Assembly members which serves as an object lesson for thoughtless Lawmakers’ and elected representatives who want to defect from the party on whose platform they were elected to a preferred political party, whether the choice was based on sound judgement, ignorance or pecuniary gains. The Electoral Act is unambiguous and crystal clear so does not make judicial interpretation necessary, on the ground for an elected representative to leave his or her political party for a preferred one either by inducement, anticipated pecuniary benefits or blind loyalty.And the sublime reason must be premised on irreconcilable crisis in the political party of those elected who want to decamp or cross-carpet
Recall that on Monday March 18, 2024 a Federal High Court in Abuja sacked 20 members of the Cross River State House of Assembly. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had instituted a suit against the lawmakers over their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ruling on the case marked “FHC/ABJ/CS/975/2021 , Taiwo Taiwo, the presiding judge, held that the lawmakers should vacate their seats, having abandoned the political party that sponsored them to power. The affected lawmakers are: Michael Etaba, Legor Idagbor, Eteng Jonah William, Joseph A. Bassey, Odey Peter Agbe, Okon E. Ephraim, Regina L. Anyogo, Matthew S. Olory, Ekpo Ekpo Bassey, Ogbor Ogbor Udop and Ekpe Charles Okon.Others are Hillary Ekpang Bisong, Francis B. Asuquo, Elvert Ayambem, Davis Etta, Sunday U. Achunekan, Cynthia Nkasi, Edward Ajang, Chris Nja-Mbu Ogar and Maria Akwaji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly, Clerk of the National Assembly, Cross River State House of Assembly, Clerk of the Cross River State House of Assembly and the All Progressives Congress, were also joined as defendants in the suit. Though, in their defence, the lawmakers argued that there was rancour in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),which led to their expulsion from the party, the judge held that the defendants had intentions to mislead the court. He said he found gaps and loopholes in their defence as they tried to twist events to suit their own narratives.”They wined and dined under the umbrella of the plaintiff who also gave them shelter,” he said Taiwo noted that they not only defected loudly, “they took pictures of their defection and were received by the officials of the 26th defendant”.
“There is no doubt that the defendants can belong to or join any political association and assembly as they are free to do so,” he ruled. “I consider the attempts of the 6th – 25th defendants to justify their defection feeble in the circumstances of this case.” Taiwo said the public voted for the lawmakers through the plaintiff who sponsored them and they were not elected as independent candidates.”They had a vehicle which conveyed them and that vehicle belongs to the plaintiff. They cannot abandon the vehicle,” he held. Justice Taiwo’s judgment and several other judgments on thoughtless defections should have been a basis, landmark and precedent to determine whether the 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have the locus to publicly decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and still retain their seats in the House as elected and honourable members of the House as declared by the Supreme Court in its Judgment on consolidated suits on the political crisis in Rivers State.
The judgment of the “learned” justices of the Supreme Court on the 27 defectors is a bitter pill to swallow. It is however, not a surprise because the aroma of the fart tells the substance of the poo. The wise man learns from the experiences of others and history. History repeats itself because people have refused to come to understanding. They are close-ended in learning. The essence of history is to avoid a reinvent of the negative past, use the ugly past to reconstruct the future. Legislators are elected to represent constituency consisting of people of all walks of life. They should rather strive to serve the people, solicit the consent of popular opinions on critical issues rather than serving their selfish interests. Those elected should see themselves as stewards and as stewards they are accountable to the people and God, not their political godfather.
It is high time our political leaders knew that the legitimacy of their positions is derived from the magnanimity of the people. They should therefore not take decisions without taking into cognisance the interest of the people they are representing, through intentional consultation.
By: Igbiki Benibo