Unemployment a Challenge to Nigerian Youth: Any Remedy!

UNEMPLOYMENT- A CHALLENGE TO NIGERIAN YOUTH: ANY REMEDY!
PREAMBLE
In this period of economic meltdown, job loss, foreclosure and fear of uncertainty; the challenges of Nigerian youth are hydra-headed. However, one of the most crucial challenges presently facing Nigerian youth is unemployment. The rate of unemployment is becoming increasingly alarming. According to Rebecca Enobong Roberts, in the recent statistics claim, over 3 million youth in Lagos State alone are unemployed, about two million are underskilled for employment while others, work as temporal staff and are cheated by empolyment agencies with little pay and no social protection. Thus, the neglect of Nigeian youth is one of the major causes of drug abuse, unproductive activities such as internet fraud, prostitution, violent behaviour, armed robbery, continuious rioting causing economic instability and threatening investment opportunity in the country. Development relies more on human capital, hence, the need to invest in education
YOUTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT
The Nigerian Natinal Youth Policy (2001:2) defines youth as comprising all young persons between the ages 18 and 35 years who are citizens of the Federal Repulic of Nigeria. Youth are the engine of economic growth; since, they constitute largely the workforce and consuming class in an economy. The productivity of labour and the quality of consumer demand are two critical drivers of economic growth from both supply and demands sides. The future of any nation lies in the strength of her youth; how they are empowered to face the challenges of the globe. They are the well spring of ideas and innovation which would spur economic, political and social growth. It is expected that they be meaningfully employed. The role of young people in the society cannot be over-emphasized. They are important because they have the potentials and vigour that will help our nation chart new ways out of the several incubuses we are trapped.
Unemployment has remained a perennial problem that Nigerian youth have lived to battle with everyday. Unemployment is the bedrock of all the moral and social evil in the society ranging from terrorism, kidnapping, fraudesterism, armed robbery, etc. so, the distorting increase in unemployment rate undoubtedly contrivuted to the great wave of criminality in the nation. More worrisome is the fact these acts of terrorism and criminality; which have further crippled the economic develpoment of the country, are perpetrated by the youth.
A recent study by the Central Intellience Afency (CIA) reveals unemployment rate in Nigeria has taken artartling leap from the four percent in 2011 to 21 percent as at June 2012, when the research was carried out. Also, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report indicates that unemployment in the country is just 23.9 percent. From the aabove reports by both (NBC and CIA), it is an obvious fact that crime and acts terrorism have risen side by side with the unemployment rate.
Then, what is the issue at stake? According to the World Bank records, over 30% of the working population age in Nigeria is low-skilled but by 2015 only an estimated 15% of new jobs will be there for people with only the basic qualifications. So, High rate of unemployment among Nigerian youth is a pointer to the fact employers has no confidence in the skills and experience of the recent graduates. And as such, they naturally prefer the older folks. If nothing drastic is done about this ugly phenomenon, I wonder what will be the fate our nation in the near future.
The high rate of poverty in the country is as a result of unemployment. Then, increase in unemployment is as a result of the dilapidating nature of education in Nigeria. As rightly observed by Lyndon Johnson “Poverty has many roots, but the tap root is ignorance.” Our educational sector has lost its values. For, it is not what one has that makes him rich, but what he values. Let us value quality education for what it is, in order to eradicate unemployment.
PANCEA: QUALITY EDUCATION
An English Professor once said that, “the biggest problem Nigeria has with empowering her youth is the fact that they throw temporal solutions to permanent problems and never address issues from the grass roots.” Thence, quality education is an inevitable means of tackling youth unemployment in Nigeria from the root. Why do I profer quality education? The reason is not far fetched, it is because our educational system is continuously producing graduates whose skills and experience does not match the present day labour market requirements.
The collapse of education in Nigeria has become folklore. Our higher institutions have been turned to glorified secondary schools.The problem of education is not about funding and infrastructure; it is about ethics. Our educational institutions especially Universities should be delivered from the culture of mediocrity, immorality and nepotism that saturate them. Gone are the days of certificate education, our youth should study to acquire the knowledge that will enable them to face the recent global challenges. Norman Vincent Pearle posited that “empty pockets never held anyone back, only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” It is education that will lift our people out of the state of chronic poverty besieging us.
Thus, quality education is the center-piece for creating an ambitious and efficient youth investment strategy. Such education needs to offer access to progressive learning, un-learning and re-lerning. Access to quality education is crucial considering the dramatic increase in demands for skills and experience in a today’s society. It is vital for poverty reduction and nation building. Mr. Glenn Jones rightly observed that “[Quality] Education is the great hope for the survival of mankind and for the forward progress of civilization.”
Hence, the prospect of job creation and youth entrepreneurship in any nation is dependent on the quality of education. Today in Africa, ‘the Ghana must go’ has become the ‘Ghana must come’. Now all roads lead to Ghana because of her high level of development accruing from her quality education. How did it happen? Ghana started her process of development with educational reforms in the early 90’s, and their investment dividends only became visible few years ago.. This is a big lesson for Nigeria. Nigeria should bear in mind that development is a gradual process; also, that quality education plays a vital role in it.
More so, our youth should help themselves as well, engaging themselves in meaningful activities. Prof. Patty Utomi addressing the youth once said “since the government has failed us let us help ourselves.” Let young people revive the culture of reading which is dying a natural death in our nation. There is a recent adage that says “if you want to hide anything from the modern youth publish it in a book.”
CONCLUSION
Mr. Chidi Onumah opined that “in this new world there will be winners and losers; winners will be those who have the skills to play in the new order. Losers will be those who don’t have such skills.” The object of quality education is to educate citizens who have the skills to attract high-paying jobs anywhere in the globe. As such our school curriculum should be reversed to atune with the character of the emerging world. Today our country is in dire need of qualified technical men and women. No nation such as ours can boast of standing on its feet if it doesnot have qualified technical hands to manage its industry and other domestic concerns. Hence, with quality education in Nigeria, unemployment will be reduced to infinitessimal level; for a learned man always has wealth in himself. Udeke, Charles Ndubuisi [e-mail]