Combating Nigeria’s unemployment crisis to achieve UN SDG Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
by Stephen Isayinka (MICMC, AUSIP)
In Africa’s most populous nation, the unemployment crisis is real and affects a disproportionate number of young people. More than 55.4% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 are currently unemployed. Almost a quarter of Nigerians are unemployed, and another 20% or so are working below their skillset. According to Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labor and Employment, the unemployment rate could rise from its current level of 23.1% to 33.5% by the year 2020. Up to half a million people graduate from Nigeria’s higher education institutions each year, and that doesn’t even count the many who study abroad before returning home to compete for jobs. The “need for urgent actions on both public and private sector operators” is evidenced by these new findings. Jobs have been a consistent topic of discussion in Nigeria’s ongoing election cycle. Poverty, crime, armed conflict, and other related social problems can all be traced back to high unemployment rates. “An idle man is the devil’s workshop,” as the saying goes. In many cases, “hungry youth” are used as thugs or for other nefarious political purposes as “vital instruments.” Sad to say, those “tools” are discarded once they’ve served their purpose.
When you’re young in Nigeria, you’ll quickly learn how difficult life can be because the “future” doesn’t hold any hope for you. Undergraduates in Nigeria who want “outside of the classroom experience” face the same challenges as job seekers when trying to land an internship due to many companies’ strict placement processes and unfriendly attitudes. Because of this, many of our young people are disillusioned and aimless, and many of the unemployed contribute to crime and other social ills that threaten national security. The youths’ seclusion is not only destructive to our nation’s reputation as “the giant of Africa,” but also a quick method of self-destruction.
Aside from the country’s high crime rate, Nigeria’s rising unemployment rate is a major problem for the country’s economy and way of life as a whole. As a direct result of this tragedy, Nigeria has seen a decline in its ability to produce goods and services, an increase in the number of people who are dependent on others, a movement of people from rural to urban areas, and a deepening of poverty.
Several factors contribute to this misery. One of the major elements responsible for the high level of unemployment in Nigeria is the rapid growth in population. There has been an increase in the growth of the labor forces along with the inadequate supply of jobs. The rapid population growth has been coupled with rural-urban migration. This has increased the population in cities thereby raising the level of joblessness.
Currently, youth literacy rates are 79.89% and 65.33% for males and females accordingly. The lack of quality education escalates this misery of unemployment as most employers assume that Nigerian graduates are lazy and or unemployable. Besides, the poor educational sector which places priority on theories at the expense of practical use of knowledge aggravates youth unemployment invariably .For example, a graduate of agricultural sciences may be conversant with the theories of farming but lacks practical agricultural skills. It is a nightmare that many tertiary institutions lack practical entrepreneurial training.
Another key problem is poor leadership and high level of corruption in Nigeria. The failure of the government to perform their constitutional duties has resulted in the high level of unemployment. Also, the high level of corruption in Nigeria among politicians has resulted in the mismanagement of the funds and resources supposed to be used for the creation of job opportunities for the people.
In addition, the misery of most Nigerians has been worsened by the recent decline in the country’s economy. Due to recession, a lot of adults (including youths) have been sacked from work, thus creating no opportunities for the unemployed. Most laid off because their employers can no longer afford their pay.
Besides, it is not news to sleep and wake up each day without power supply. Indisputably, that the lack of steady and sustainable power supply has made the economy volatile. The mystery behind this is that it scares away business investors. Unfortunately, the presence of investors influences the number of available jobs. Bad roads and the lack of infrastructure have led to the high cost of production. No wonder operating companies makes use of fewer people because of the high cost of production in Nigeria.
To overcome the crisis of unemployment in Nigeria, the government must be effective in performing its duties. A socio-economic environment conducive to job creation should be created. The government needs to anticipate the looming crisis and make all possible actions to prevent it.
A rational diversification of the economy from the oil sector thus creating an industrial friendly environment for the youths and the unemployed has become an imperative. It is evident that agriculture is one of the major sectors and the government has to do everything possible to attract private investors. This move will definitely create new job opportunities for the youths.
Today, we all complain of high unemployment yet we spend between $6 and $8 billion annually importing food. We have unemployed youths, our land is fertile and we have a hungry populace. ‘Instead of importing food, we should use our demand for food to solve our unemployment challenges. Federal and state governments should give youths free land on the condition they must use it exclusively for agriculture. The federal and state governments’ agriculture ministries should run free courses in 36 states and 774 local governments to teach willing youths how to farm. That is, the federal ministry of agriculture should open an electronic register for youths who will participate in the programme. The ministry should use the electronic register to give free seeds and fertilizer to the new farmers.
It is certain that this policy will stop our dependence on imported food and also solve youth unemployment to a considerable level. Also, the Naira will appreciate if we no longer spend $6-$8 billion importing food annually with this proposal.
Educators, curricula, and schools as a whole need to be rethought if the world is to see an increase in creative thinkers and business owners. In addition, the government should invest in rural areas by building schools, providing modern conveniences, improving the quality of life there, and establishing new economic opportunities. This will reduce the number of people moving to cities, which in turn will lower both the city’s population and unemployment rate. Education should place an emphasis on practical and theoretical research at all levels. Furthermore, lowering production costs will be possible through better energy and transportation infrastructure. This means that layoffs are unnecessary. In Nigeria, this means more jobs for the unemployed.
To conclude, the government needs to do a better job of carrying out its responsibilities if the country is going to overcome the unemployment crisis and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 8 -Decent Work and Economic Growth. It’s important to foster an atmosphere conducive to productive endeavors. The government must anticipate the impending crisis and take all necessary measures to head it off. This is crucial.
