In Nigeria, several factors can be adduced to creating unemployment.
This includes avoidable huge
population, old academic curriculum, parental
guidance or interference in course of study, laziness, government policies,
discrimination and poor implementation of government policies. All these can be
corrected if we really want to right the wrong!
Avoidable Huge Population
In the early part of this country, agriculture was the mainstay of the
economy and everybody was able to provide for his needs and excess for sale.
The success of a man was adjudged by the volume of farmland
and many wives and children at his disposal who would be working on the farm.
During this time, it did not occur to them to limit their number of family
because it was seen as an asset. Therefore, it made the population growing
unchecked. The country too was benefiting as most the revenue was from the
agriculture. Towards the end of sixties to early seventies, petroleum took over
as the main source of revenue for the country. Abandonment of
agricultural activities began as everybody wanted to have share of this natural
gift to the extent that the then Head of Military government came on air to say
“Money was not the problem of Nigeria but how to spend it” By the time we
entered nineteen eighties petroleum started grumbling in International Market
and today the problem is very severe on our rightful eyes. Thus, the huge
population has been created and consequences are biting hide and hide.
Before we know what is happening we have gotten to the stage of not being
able to provide employment for our teeming population and the scourge is biting
hard. This is taking us back to the root course that is to resuscitate
agricultural sector in another form to create employment for our teaming populace.
Old academic curriculum
Graduate of our tertiary institutions are not employable in the modern
day employment because their method of training are still fashion in old ways;
therefore far not relevant to the needs of present employer. For example,
in the late sixties when I was in primary school in Western Region of Nigerian,
I could remember we use to do craft, moulding object, basket making, carving
works and so on. Some of these are practically intensive and really
helped in forming skills that period. Reverse is the case nowadays, what
pupils do is submitting tissue papers in lieu of handiwork in public schools
and payment of money for private schools and have not made any positive
practical impart in the knowledge of pupils in our schools any more. Same thing
goes at the university level where a computer student is not privileged to work
on computer. Automobile is less knowledgeable than roadside mechanics.
All this accounted for poor performance of graduate job seekers when they
face job interview and end up being unemployable. The rate of
unemployment is put at 49.9%, and therefore, making the country vulnerable to
any crisis. Youths are hungry and angry. They are ready to go aggressive
under a small provocation and this increases the fear and phobia already nursing
towards the general election.
However, the country is earning for employment but infrastructure that
will make this possible is absence. For instance electricity supply that
supposes to be very critical to industrialization is in poor state, even
though, it has been privatized. The national grid is still less than
3,000 megawatts. One thing is certain, the fact that full electricity
supply has been identified as a vital ingredient to attain the full employment
for all is a welcome development and means that the problem will be solved in
the nearest future.
Having said this, the onus of getting job lies on you. Knowing
that there is little chance for you to work unless you think of running a
business that will enable you fix-in in the agricultural business or go and
acquire ICT knowledge.
- If
you don’t know ICT will equip you to foster your knowledge in areas of
designing and graph, labeling and printing of Identity cards.
- Similarly,
as a young graduate you can venture into entertainment industry where you
can be organizing parties.
- Studies
have also revealed a lot of job interest in writing books for sale
on-line. If you have the pre-requisite qualification, this should
not pose any problem.
- You
can as well go into teaching extra-mural classes for those who want to
re-write their examinations.
- Above
all, there is a lot of vacancy in agriculture business looking for
investors
In our next discussions, we are going to look at how you can organize
yourself into agriculture business entrepreneurship to collaborate with
government effort to create jobs.
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