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Tackling Nigeria's high rate of graduate unemployment
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As Nigerians brainstorm on how the country should absorb its teeming workforce OYIBO EGWUONISO and ESEOHE IGHILE write that the government should provide the enabling environment for job creation by fixing infrastructural decay while educational institutions need to restructure their programmes to inculcate entrepreneurial skills in students
There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria does not have an impressive employment record.
Even then, accurate statistics on the rate of unemployment in the country may not be an easy one to come by because of poor data and record keeping culture.
However, the enormity of this social menace in the country is obvious to majority of Nigerians, being that an average home has their own story to tell on the issue.
In a recent statement issued in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Charles Soludo noted that the unemployment rate had dropped by 16 percent. From the high 1999 figure of 70 percent, the rate had declined by 16 to 54 percent from what it was in 2006, he said. Even as many doubt this figure based on the high number of the unemployed, it still shows that the unemployment rate is high.
In addition, the urban unemployment rate in Nigeria is conservatively said to be 10.8 percent by the National Planning Commission (2004 estimate) although many researchers and economic analysts believe that 25 percent is a more credible figure. A report by the centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Research (CEDR) University of Nigeria, Nsukka shows that about 71 percent of students who graduated from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the last six years are yet to find jobs.
The appalling prevalence of unemployment is a 'paradox' in a resource endowed nation like Nigeria. This leaves no one in doubt of the reality of the economic concept of "vicious circle of poverty" which is becoming real to many Nigerians who feel the pinch of unemployment and poverty in their families. This is because the child who is born into a poor home, gets educated amidst much difficulties and struggles. The expectation of the parties involved, parents, siblings, relatives, is a better life, which purportedly, should come after his or her education. The pathetic reverse is the case most times for years. There is the tendency for such person to roam the nooks and crannies of his or her residential state and sometimes other states to get employment without success.
Because of this scenario, the family history of hardship is recycled and such a family will need extra efforts and doggedness to break loose from this "vicious circle of poverty".
Gone are the days when the claim of being educated was a ticket to having a good job or a better life. Dwindling job opportunities coupled with the so-called 'connection' syndrome has poisoned the labour market.
These days, ingenuity and a little luck as some say are the only guarantees of getting a job in Nigeria. Regrettably, research shows that even ingenuity or merit still requires an iota of luck or the now so familiar word 'connection.'
It is required of the national youth service corps (N.Y.S.C.) to induct thousands of Nigerian graduates biannually into its scheme to serve their fatherland for a year. The 2008/2009 batch 'A' corps members are reported to total 94000 even as thousands of graduates are still waiting to be called up.
The question is how many more jobs are created to absorb these potential workers? On the other hand, how conducive is the environment for the widely preached self-employment?
The government spends a huge amount of money on this scheme, but what is distressing is that this same government does not plan for these "government property" after the service year. Some of these graduates say the government simply use them and dump them. Reward only goes to about five or so outstanding corps members who are offered jobs at the end of the service year while the rest are left to their own devices.
Olayinka Adeleye ,an administrative staff in a private firm, told Business Day that five out of every seven family he knows, harbour one or two unemployed graduates. He cited the example of his own family where his siblings and many relatives who are graduates remain unemployed.
"It is not as if these people are not interested in working. It is just that there are no jobs for the thousands of Nigerians who are either unemployed or looking for better jobs in terms of the pay, which makes the competition very high, and chances of success very slim."
He noted sadly that while "the search for jobs continues for them, some of them are already losing hope and have taken to begging and patronizing friends and family that have jobs. Adeleye says he doubts government's efforts to encourage self-employment through the microfinance scheme, stressing that the general perception is that such loans tie one down and repayment is difficult.
Another respondent, Ngozi Okafor, told Business Day that she completed her youth service two years ago but she is yet to get a job as a result of which she started a phone call business to make ends meet. Even then she hardly makes profit from the business, hence her continued dependence on family and friends for support.
"The business yield is only enough for me to pay for transport to and fro test and interview centres whenever I am invited," she says, adding that she has spent a lot on the job search. Okafor says she would have gone into bigger and more lucrative business but for the difficulty in obtaining take off loan. "I tried borrowing money from a microfinance bank but the bank proposed giving me N200, 000 to pay back N220, 000 in one month. This is obviously outrageous and I had to jettison the idea.
"My resort to recharge card business is just to enable me leave the house so as not to continue facing the harassments and insults that attend my jobless state."
Her experience is similar to that of Oli Chuka, an accountant, who graduated many years ago. "I became traumatised, especially when my family members, friends and relatives began to tell me that my case was a spiritual one and that I needed deliverance. They indicated that the money spent on my education was a waste. I was frustrated at the time, and lost my self-confidence. I went into private business at least to prove to people I was not cursed. Today I think I am not doing badly," she said.
But John Eke, a sociologist, told Business Day that many graduates would rather borrow money to travel abroad than find something to do on their own in Nigeria.
His view tallies with that of Henry Bassey, who feels that the problem of graduate unemployment in Nigeria is because some graduates are not resourceful enough to do any kind of job.
Researches show that of the thousands of youth corps members that passed out nearly a year ago, only about 40 percent have regular jobs while many more that passed out years earlier are yet to get jobs. Even those who make efforts to start something on their own, end up being frustrated, especially by the poor power situation in the country.
The adverse effect of youth unemployment is better imagined than experienced. According to experts, the situation stirs a feeling of rage and depression in the victims and others around them. The negative effects of unemployment range from human trafficking, drug abuse, prostitution, fetish acts, hooliganism, loss of self esteem to robbery, vandalism and bunkering.
The onus is on all stakeholders ranging from the government to the private sector, charity organisations and non governmental organisations (NGOs) to take concrete steps to reverse the trend of unemployment as a way of giving the nation's emerging economy the necessary push.
Although many believe that efforts are been made in this regard, their impact are yet to be felt. Universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other educational institutions need to restructure their programmes to adequately prepare the students for job creation through beneficial entrepreneurial drive. Many experts want the government to provide the enabling environment for job creation by closing the infrastructural gaps in the country. The viability of most business ventures depends on adequate power supply, which is lacking in the country and has been crippling a lot of businesses. Various bodies have risen to the challenge of re-orienting current and prospective job seekers like the centre for entrepreneurship and development research, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The focus should be on students' job creation drive rather than job search. Such laudable efforts should be complemented with adequate resources in terms of funding from governments, donor agencies and wealthy individuals.
Even then, accurate statistics on the rate of unemployment in the country may not be an easy one to come by because of poor data and record keeping culture.
However, the enormity of this social menace in the country is obvious to majority of Nigerians, being that an average home has their own story to tell on the issue.
In a recent statement issued in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Charles Soludo noted that the unemployment rate had dropped by 16 percent. From the high 1999 figure of 70 percent, the rate had declined by 16 to 54 percent from what it was in 2006, he said. Even as many doubt this figure based on the high number of the unemployed, it still shows that the unemployment rate is high.
In addition, the urban unemployment rate in Nigeria is conservatively said to be 10.8 percent by the National Planning Commission (2004 estimate) although many researchers and economic analysts believe that 25 percent is a more credible figure. A report by the centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Research (CEDR) University of Nigeria, Nsukka shows that about 71 percent of students who graduated from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the last six years are yet to find jobs.
The appalling prevalence of unemployment is a 'paradox' in a resource endowed nation like Nigeria. This leaves no one in doubt of the reality of the economic concept of "vicious circle of poverty" which is becoming real to many Nigerians who feel the pinch of unemployment and poverty in their families. This is because the child who is born into a poor home, gets educated amidst much difficulties and struggles. The expectation of the parties involved, parents, siblings, relatives, is a better life, which purportedly, should come after his or her education. The pathetic reverse is the case most times for years. There is the tendency for such person to roam the nooks and crannies of his or her residential state and sometimes other states to get employment without success.
Because of this scenario, the family history of hardship is recycled and such a family will need extra efforts and doggedness to break loose from this "vicious circle of poverty".
Gone are the days when the claim of being educated was a ticket to having a good job or a better life. Dwindling job opportunities coupled with the so-called 'connection' syndrome has poisoned the labour market.
These days, ingenuity and a little luck as some say are the only guarantees of getting a job in Nigeria. Regrettably, research shows that even ingenuity or merit still requires an iota of luck or the now so familiar word 'connection.'
It is required of the national youth service corps (N.Y.S.C.) to induct thousands of Nigerian graduates biannually into its scheme to serve their fatherland for a year. The 2008/2009 batch 'A' corps members are reported to total 94000 even as thousands of graduates are still waiting to be called up.
The question is how many more jobs are created to absorb these potential workers? On the other hand, how conducive is the environment for the widely preached self-employment?
The government spends a huge amount of money on this scheme, but what is distressing is that this same government does not plan for these "government property" after the service year. Some of these graduates say the government simply use them and dump them. Reward only goes to about five or so outstanding corps members who are offered jobs at the end of the service year while the rest are left to their own devices.
Olayinka Adeleye ,an administrative staff in a private firm, told Business Day that five out of every seven family he knows, harbour one or two unemployed graduates. He cited the example of his own family where his siblings and many relatives who are graduates remain unemployed.
"It is not as if these people are not interested in working. It is just that there are no jobs for the thousands of Nigerians who are either unemployed or looking for better jobs in terms of the pay, which makes the competition very high, and chances of success very slim."
He noted sadly that while "the search for jobs continues for them, some of them are already losing hope and have taken to begging and patronizing friends and family that have jobs. Adeleye says he doubts government's efforts to encourage self-employment through the microfinance scheme, stressing that the general perception is that such loans tie one down and repayment is difficult.
Another respondent, Ngozi Okafor, told Business Day that she completed her youth service two years ago but she is yet to get a job as a result of which she started a phone call business to make ends meet. Even then she hardly makes profit from the business, hence her continued dependence on family and friends for support.
"The business yield is only enough for me to pay for transport to and fro test and interview centres whenever I am invited," she says, adding that she has spent a lot on the job search. Okafor says she would have gone into bigger and more lucrative business but for the difficulty in obtaining take off loan. "I tried borrowing money from a microfinance bank but the bank proposed giving me N200, 000 to pay back N220, 000 in one month. This is obviously outrageous and I had to jettison the idea.
"My resort to recharge card business is just to enable me leave the house so as not to continue facing the harassments and insults that attend my jobless state."
Her experience is similar to that of Oli Chuka, an accountant, who graduated many years ago. "I became traumatised, especially when my family members, friends and relatives began to tell me that my case was a spiritual one and that I needed deliverance. They indicated that the money spent on my education was a waste. I was frustrated at the time, and lost my self-confidence. I went into private business at least to prove to people I was not cursed. Today I think I am not doing badly," she said.
But John Eke, a sociologist, told Business Day that many graduates would rather borrow money to travel abroad than find something to do on their own in Nigeria.
His view tallies with that of Henry Bassey, who feels that the problem of graduate unemployment in Nigeria is because some graduates are not resourceful enough to do any kind of job.
Researches show that of the thousands of youth corps members that passed out nearly a year ago, only about 40 percent have regular jobs while many more that passed out years earlier are yet to get jobs. Even those who make efforts to start something on their own, end up being frustrated, especially by the poor power situation in the country.
The adverse effect of youth unemployment is better imagined than experienced. According to experts, the situation stirs a feeling of rage and depression in the victims and others around them. The negative effects of unemployment range from human trafficking, drug abuse, prostitution, fetish acts, hooliganism, loss of self esteem to robbery, vandalism and bunkering.
The onus is on all stakeholders ranging from the government to the private sector, charity organisations and non governmental organisations (NGOs) to take concrete steps to reverse the trend of unemployment as a way of giving the nation's emerging economy the necessary push.
Although many believe that efforts are been made in this regard, their impact are yet to be felt. Universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other educational institutions need to restructure their programmes to adequately prepare the students for job creation through beneficial entrepreneurial drive. Many experts want the government to provide the enabling environment for job creation by closing the infrastructural gaps in the country. The viability of most business ventures depends on adequate power supply, which is lacking in the country and has been crippling a lot of businesses. Various bodies have risen to the challenge of re-orienting current and prospective job seekers like the centre for entrepreneurship and development research, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The focus should be on students' job creation drive rather than job search. Such laudable efforts should be complemented with adequate resources in terms of funding from governments, donor agencies and wealthy individuals.
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