In 2020, a statistical finding from the International Labour Organisation, an agency of the United Nations developing policies to set labour standards, says the estimated youth unemployment rate in Nigeria was at almost 14.2 percent.
You may wonder why the percentage rate for youth unemployment is this small. Well, this is because the percentage of the unemployed in the age group of 15 to 24 years was the main focus as compared to the total labour force.
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In Nigeria, youth unemployment rates are often higher than overall unemployment rates. The general rate of unemployment was approximately six percent in 2018. A major reason for this contrast is that many of the youths under age 24 are studying full-time and are unavailable for work due to this.
Similarly, another data reveals that youths’ unemployment rate in Nigeria as at the second quarter of 2020 is 27.1 percent, indicating that about 21.7 million Nigerian youths remain unemployed.
It is also said that Nigeria’s youth population eligible to work amounts to 40 million out of which only 14.7 million are fully employed and another 11.2 million are unemployed. A high youth unemployment rate is synonymous with increased insecurity and poverty, a situation that is also seen as a ticking time bomb.
Coincidentally, Nigeria’s unemployed youth of 13.1 million is more than the population of Rwanda and several other African countries. Youth population is also about 64 percent of total unemployed Nigerians, suggesting that the most agile working-class population in the country remains unemployed. This is the dilemma we face and severally, so many policies have been suggested and even put into action, yet, Nigeria struggles to meet the demands of the youths.
It is another thing to initiate a policy, project it, and yet it doesn’t meet the demands and expectation of the people it is meant for.
It is high time government developed a long-term initiative or reform that will serve as a blueprint for other government to come and other contemporary society. One of the things to put into consideration is the construction of a viable model that will help in understanding the Nigerian society and how it can help solve the rate of unemployment among youths.
Also very imperative is a reform of educational system. Nigeria’s educational system is at its worst moment and it’s never too late to pay attention to education as it will change the whole narrative especially that which says ‘education is a scam’. Quality education will be a foundational progression for a lasting solution to Nigeria’s unemployment misery. Our vocational schools should be put under close watch as it was one of the reforms that countries like China, Japan, Korea and India built on to compete with the western countries. If this is done, the private sector will have to play a role in job creation as there will be enough skilled labour to help foster economic and industrial growth.
More so, policies and models should be put in place by the government to enable the private sector to create a friendly and enabling environment for businesses. This will foster true capitalism rather than a monopolised capitalist system we see today in Nigeria.
The media must also play a key role in promoting these reforms and sensitising Nigerian youths on the need to embrace education, learn vocational skill and also prioritise patriotism as an emblem of reform.
Aliyu Umar Aliyu, Abuja. ([email protected])
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