Graduates Unemployment: A Workable Proposal to Mr. President


Introduction:

I have read and heard of many descriptions people give to Nigerian graduates. All said about them are opinion or perception based, and no issues, since everyone is entitled to his own opinion. I have carried out my personal studies to understand the quality of the youths that we have in Nigeria. It is from this my candid efforts that I want to let you know that, Nigeria has one of the best set of young people in the world. I need not go in to the core details and giving examples for space constraint. Many also have argued that, Nigerian graduates don’t have skills, and I agree with them, because, our colleges, polytechnics and universities don’t encourage it sufficiently. That’s the way they (the graduates) are being trained, not that they cannot do what they are expected to do, if requisite trainings are giving.
Let someone attempt to carry out an assessment study of the impact of entrepreneurship courses newly introduced to both secondary schools and universities in few years back and show us the results so far. Undoubtedly, there will be shocking revelations; because the weight placed on it is too light. It is not seen as important as other abstract and glaringly un-updated courses that schools place 3 or 4 credits on. I still think something is wrong with the structures if we want any meaningful results from such laudable academic inclusion.
Many people had advocated that, the youth should be enterprising and do something on their own. This is very good, but difficult. In fact, I want to say here that, government efforts so far had not delivered an appreciable or significant result. Simply because, the running and monitoring of programmes that bothered on youth skills development and performance are infected by corruption. Young people don’t get the handouts. Things that are meant for the youths have been hijacked, siphoned, stolen or diverted to wrong hands by corrupt citizens.
Also, as much as I appreciate those preaching that graduates should try and do something productive, and at least get themselves busy; I disagree with those who in their own opinion think graduates should go and be selling recharge cards, trailers, cut grasses, etc. all these don’t rally engage their intellectual prowess, and if this is what their careers look like, then, why are they graduates? Our suggestions on what the graduate should do should at least be expansive and robust enough to make graduates think that they are solutions and not problems. And, if at all, that will happen, it should be better packaged and dignifying.
Well, all said above are nothing but a slight digression to bring forth what inform the development of this proposal. And now, please permit me to present a workable proposal built as a contribution to youth unemployment reduction in Nigeria, tagged “NYSC Mega Farm Project”
NYSC Mega Farm Project (NMF-Project): I will not spend good part of this missive talking about the details of this proposal. However, it is pertinent to present here a concept of kick starting a mega farm project per State under NYSC programme. This becomes needful considering the spate of unemployment among the youth in Nigeria. The concept of NMF-Project become sin qua non, because, it is loaded with multi-integrated plans that wholistically curb the rising tide of unemployment in Nigeria. By virtues of its structures, it can successfully absorb a minimum of a thousand Youth Corp members directly and indirectly provide jobs for a minimum of 5,000-10,000 young and old people per state per annum. We should know here that, a good number of young graduates don’t have a meaningful experience after the one year youth service programme. This is why the details of this proposed project contains multi-dimensional youth development programmes and made up of six thematic components which are presented below;

Component 1: Strategic Capitalization Initiatives (SC-Initiatives)

Most people seemed to have only one common complaint as deterrent of entrepreneurship, and it is funding, even when outrightly this is not true. I think the common unidentified problem is poor strategies and approach. It then becomes pertinent to say crystal clear here that, some strategic way of raising fund for this project is enveloped in the SC-initiatives which space cannot permit me to elucidate in detail here.
This initiative requires first and foremost that, the government buy into the idea, and follow through the lines of the propositions. As a matter of fact, it is just part of this programme that, the government should not be the sole sponsor of the project, but with the inclusion of others, especially those in the youth development businesses across the globe, who are ready to give adequate professional, financial and technical supports for a project like this.

Component 2: Beneficiaries Voluntary Involvement and Contribution Scheme (BVIC-Initiative

Nothing works or succeeds without the sustainability and posterity plans. Though, to some, who are not problem solvers, the concept here may not be popular. Against all odds, it is proposed under this project that, each Corp member has a stake in the running and ownership of the farm by voluntarily contribute a convenient amount in cash into the project through their state offices on monthly basis; hence, what a “Volunteer Contributor” (in this case a Corp member) has, determines the amount of financial subvention he/she is entitled to and the end of the programme for the sole purpose of “expansion scheme” explained in component 3 below.
BVIC-Initiative has multi-facet functions which include that, it will serve as an independent direct part-financing for the programme; help an average youth corps member to get sensitize on what investment is all about; force all minds to be serious with the business as no wants to lose; help generate an additional savings deposit for business start up after NYSC; qualify for a soft loan scheme; help in continuous money making, even after NYSC, depending on the choice of a Corp member to totally withdraw from the programme or not.

Component 3: Special Mega Farm Project Expansion Scheme

This project is never proposed to give room for layabouts, but, to create an avenue to reduce unemployment and improve national development. Agriculture is nothing else but a business and should be seen as such. No sane business man plays with his resources, more reason why the BVIC-scheme is included in the execution package. What runs under this inclusive entrepreneurship programmes has a laudable potential of making an average youth Corp member make an instant decision of reproducing the agribusiness concepts under the programme, knowing fully well that, it is an indirect way of being a manager of a branch of NMF- Project; and also with the knowledge that, after a defined period of time say 5-year within which he/she is still under tutelage and direct mentoring will become a bonafide owner of the business.
Also, with local and international financial management skills and performance enhancement support system, he/she would love to embrace such helpful gesture. Hence, a willing youth Corp member under this scheme would have to be a manager of a micro-part of the NMF project before he or she can take ownership.

Component 4: Strategic Expansion Funding Scheme (SEF-scheme)

The expansion scheme under this project is pivoted on individual willingness and expertise, which expectedly would have been boosted within the defined NYSC period. Most people would have been asking in their minds at the inception of this reading this note that, what happens to this people after the elapse of the NYSC programme. Fine, a good thought at that, that was why, I aforementioned that, any programme without a sustainability and posterity plan cannot survive. SEF-scheme was thought of to be part of this proposal, so as to keep the impact of an expansion tract. It is an implicit part of this proposed NMF-Project, to run all inclusive entrepreneurship training programmes, which is expected not only to boost the proficiency of an average Corp member, but also to build their risk taking acumen which all businesses require to survive. SEF-scheme commonly provides funding platforms for micro units of NMF-project at different locations within the state.

Component 5: Exclusive Monitoring and Evaluation Initiatives (EME-initiatives)

I have seen many government programme crash without delivering anything meaningful and I have seen those that succeed. The difference between the two is just the dimensions of monitoring system embedded in the executions. For this programme to work, the EME-initiatives proposes the inclusion of parallel Monitoring and Evaluation bodies whose main functions are nothing but to police all aspect of the project for the purpose of delivering a meaningful result; this also include continuous tutelage and training programme using experience entrepreneurship training experts.

Component 6: Best Performer Retention Scheme (BPR-Scheme)

The big question is how do we keep the project sustained? Simple. Here, by evaluation, any corp member who showed best attitude towards the project is to be retained. This is common so to speak, as many know that apart from being a rewarding system, it also serves as a catalyst to speed up the progress of the project. The BPR-Scheme is simply all about retaining the best contributor in terms of value addition, using a sound and understandable evaluation tool and then use them as resource persons for further trainings and project management.

Conclusion:

This project is expected to gulp an average of 40-50 billion naira as a startup capital and would have increased in worth to over 400 billion within a spate of 5 years. It is also expected to absolve a minimum of 100,000 youths directly and indirectly within the first five years of commencement and increase steady under proper management and uninterrupted supports.

Thanks,

Segun Philips OLUPINLA
Is a holder of M.Sc. Agric-economics,
CEO, IMPAD Africa
And writes from Ilorin, Kwara State.
This day, 20th, Nov, 2015.
+2348069517707

Wow!! Very good

Good development. But Na few hands go still chop the money.
9ja I hail thee!!!!

Let's not forget, please mek wailers stop dey call me
man again. Una dey crowd my email inbox with
invitation and you go accuse me of rubbish.
Seun,please pass this thread to those concern so
that person no go dey talk say I insult am. You get
your life to live likewise me too.
I greet my lovely people. I love nairaland and
everyone on it.