Unemployment In Nigeria -By Dunamis Utomi

Unemployment remains one of the most severe social problem faced in Nigeria today. Nigeria is still among the developing countries in the world and has remained developing for decades without reaching development. It is affected by most members of the society and has far reaching consequences to the economy and national security. In this article, we shall examine the causes, effects and possible solution to this problem of the country.

Unemployment is the key indicator in the health of an economy. It is a situation where a person actively searches for employment but is unable to find work. It is a key economic indicator because it signals the ability (or inability)of workers to obtain gainful work and contribute to the productive output of the economy. The youths are the ones mostly affected by this national issue. The government’s effort over the years seems to yield no fruit as the situation continues to deteriorate.

In Nigeria, there are various causes of unemployment. The country has an unemployment rate of 33% which means that one quarter of Nigerians are unemployed. This is a major setback in the development of the country.

One of the reasons of the high unemployment rate is the large population of the country. The population growth plays a key role in the unemployment rate of the country. The major reasons of the rise in population include increase in birth rate and socio-cultural beliefs. The effect of population on unemployment is that more people are looking for jobs than the available ones.

However, the current state of the economy contributes to the increase of unemployment in Nigeria. The country’s economy is in a bad state and not doing well. The country has been in recession for the past few years making bit difficult to create new jobs. The recession has affected the people in looking for jobs as businesses are reducing their workforce.

Also, the lack of quality education and training has made of youths not qualified for available jobs. Due to the poor state of the educational system in the country as in government owned secondary school and tertiary institutions. The neglect of these schools by the government has contributed to the lack of quality education making the youths unqualified for the available jobs.

The high cost of living in Nigeria had made her citizens unable to afford basic amenities let alone setting up businesses. If business are not created due to high cost of living, it contributes to the rise of unemployment in Nigeria. The high cost of living include increase in price of basic goods caused by the poor state of the economy.

The rate of insecurity in Nigeria has discouraged Nigerians from looking for jobs to protect themselves. There is an increase in crime rate, issues that tamper with the security of Nigerians which makes it difficult for businesses to operate and unsafe to look for jobs.

The major factor that increases the rate of unemployment in Nigeria is the nepotism and corruption of the government. The government neglects their duties and the rights of the people. Some people in government give out contract and jobs to people they know rather than the ones qualified for the available jobs. This is a major factor that contributes to the unemployment rate of the country.

Nigeria records one of the highest rate of unemployment in the world and has led to a number of social problems. It has increased the crime rate in the society. The absence of jobs for the youths has increased the crime rate where unemployed youths engage in robbery, kidnapping and the most popular, fraud commonly called ‘Yahoo Yahoo’.

The problem of unemployment has led the Nigerian society to high levels of poverty. It has caused a lot of people poverty where they are unable to afford basic amenities. Where people don’t have jobs, there is no source of income, therefore, inability to afford basic needs.

The high unemployment rate has led to brain drain. It has caused a lot of skilled personnel in various fields to leave the country which affects the economy. The unemployment rate has made a lot of Nigerians to travel out in search of greener pastures which results to economic instability.

Even in the midst of this crisis, there is still hope. There are measures to be taken and actions of government to help turn around the situation even though gradually.

The government can encourage entrepreneurship by reducing the taxes and regulations on businesses providing entrepreneurs support to improve financial access.

The government can invest more in the educational sector of the economy which can help improve the workforce, skills and make them more competitive in the global economy.

Also, the government can improve infrastructure by providing basic amenities and encourage skill acquisition to make the youths self- independent. They can achieve this by prioritizing public transportation, telecommunication and energy investment. They can also implement policies that encourage entrepreneurship.

This issue of unemployment in Nigeria is a major problem that needs serious intervention. The government has a role to play in providing solutions and we can also contribute individually in helping one another by our various means thereby improving the lives of the people.