Nigeria is a country abundantly blessed with vast human and natural resources. But one key area government have successively failed to curtail is the worrisome rate of unemployment in the country at all levels.
This challenge has birthed the rise of other problems such as insecurity, cyber crime, kidnapping, rituals etc putting a treat to the disintegration of the country if the country continues to overlook and pay lip services to it.
Looking back in the 70s and 80s the glorious days of the country, we read and heard from our parents that Nigerian students before graduating for higher institutions got jobs at ease as job were made available because of the boom in sales of crude oil and agricultural industrial development of the country. Nigeria had companies like mechellin , Unilever etc, and they all left the country due to unfavourable governmental policies , mismanagement and other negative factors caused by successive change of governmental power.
Our local industries that employed graduates such as the Ajakuta steel company in Kogi state , Delta steel company in Delta state, Okpella cement factory etc sustaining the economy of the country also folded up due lack of maintenance by successive administration of the country. It is now common to find graduates migrating from their native states to states like Lagos, Abuja , Port Harcourt or Kano roaming the streets of these cities in search of means of livelihood or white collar jobs, thereby overstretching the natural resources of these states, thus leading to overcrowding, high cost of living and poor environmental condition. To tackle this menance of unemployment in Nigeria, government at all levels must be involved collectively in the following ways:
Economic Diversification
It is a fact that economic survival depends largely on crude oil which is no longer too reliable as developed countries of the world now manufacture technologies which are eco system friendly because they Consider petroleum products as one of the major pollutants of the atmosphere thereby affecting the prices of crude oil globally. For Nigeria economy to survive this new trend, diversification of the economic indicators such as agricultural production and up to standard exportation of our local products abroad must be greatly upheld to have a more robust economy and to meet the needs of her citizens.
Creation and Maintenance of Local Industries
This step will enhance the provision of more employment opportunities for young graduates to discourage them from participating in criminal activities and greatly contribute positively to the economic, social and moral wellbeing of the country.
Encourage and Make Agriculture Friendly And Profitable to Practice
Research over the years has shown that the manual method of Agricultural activities like farming discourages most youth from taking up farming as a profession as they find it stressful, time consuming and most times unprofitable . Therefore, the government at all levels should invest more in purchasing mordern farming equipment to make farming enjoyable, time saving and more profitable. Modern storage facilities should be provided for farmer to make our crops meet up with the international standards for exports. Also, loans should be provided for farmers to help them meet up with farming activities which will boost crop production and other areas of agriculture which will give rise to the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
Supporting Outgoing Youth Corps Members With Reasonable funds
Every year, youth corps members pass out from NYSC to the labour market without support from the government afterwards. The government should provide reasonable funds for outgoing youth corp members to help them in starting up businesses with skills and training acquired during the program which will enhance economic growth, boost local production and exportation of standardized Nigerian products.
Provision of Modern Skill Acquisition Centres
Provision and proper funding and maintenance of these centers across the country will help to train more youth in various skills ranging from technical , artistic and technological knowledge which will enhance self sufficiency and enterprenuership development among youth .
Unemployment if not properly tackled has the capacity to promote social vices among youths, as youth are full of ideas and energy to exert positively or negatively if not engaged properly.
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