The reasons for and causes of unemployment in Nigeria are as follows:
1. Corruption: One of the
reasons for the high rate of out of job persons in Nigeria is corruption and
other official misconducts. It is a canker-worm that has eaten deep into the
fabrics of Nigeria's status as a country because it frustrates the country from
meeting its litany of responsibilities to the citizenry. Described as the use
of public office for private gains, corruption has been rocking the Nigeria's
ship of progress right from the colonial days. It involves giving and taking of
bribes, siphoning of public treasury and violation of due process. Corruption
accounts for an army of problems facing Nigeria today including unemployment.
It has carted away public funds that could have been used to build industries
for job and wealth creation. One out of the huge list of corruption cases in
Nigeria was the missing $20 billion at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) as revealed by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,
Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido.
2. Overpopulation. The high rate
of unemployment in Nigeria is arguably because of overpopulation. The rate of
population growth in Nigeria is faster than the resources can provide for. The
situation has been described as an elephant in a room. According to reports in Nigeria
Health Watch, in 2015, the estimated number of people in
Nigeria had grown to 182.2 million, a 300% increase in 56 years. Nigeria is
estimated to be the third most populous country in the world by 2050 with a
population of 399 million people. Absorbing the gargantuan and still counting
population in a meaningful employment in order to achieve full employment level
of unemployment is more or less impossible to Nigeria's economy.
3. Monocultural Economy: Since Oil Boom,
the oil sector of Nigeria's economy accounted for the 95% of the country's
export earnings and 70% of the government's revenue. By implication, other
productive sectors of the economy are left behind in mad chase of petro-dollar
which ties the fate of the country firmly to the vagaries of the international
oil market. Among other things, the resultant unemployment situation arising
from the repudiation of other productive sectors of the economy due to Oil Boom
in Nigeria has pushed scholars and analysts to describe the Oil Boom as a doom.
4. Poor
System of Education in the Country: The design of
Nigeria's educational system is largely theoretical than practical for skill
acquisition; less qualified teachers are recruited due to corruption, and worst
still is the lack of facilities for teaching and learning. This kangaroo system
has consistently produced "half-baked" graduates with little or no
skill to offer the society, but to end up roaming the streets not only as
unemployed but also as unemployable.
5. Energy Problem: Power supply in
Nigeria has been said to be more epileptic than epilepsy itself. Often times,
it doesn't show up at all talkless of being epileptic. This ugly condition has
dissuaded industrialization, and by extension, employment generation. Few brave
industries that weather the storm do so at very high cost which often makes
them to downsize the labour in order to cut cost.
6. Orientation of the Society: The society has been
keyed to believe that the road to success is getting education and then, white
collar job. Going by this, graduates don't see opportunities in other places
other than in "clean shirt" job positions. None of the graduates
wants to be a farmer even when it is said that wealth is created from nature;
an artisan even when it is known that there is dignity in labour; or a
small and medium scale merchant even when it is known as a gold mine.
I don't see over population as one of the problems of unemployment in Nigeria. What about a country like U.S.A whose population is way ahead of ours.
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