The Nigerian government recently announced the engagement of the first 200,000 out of the Federal Government’s 500,000 Volunteer Job Programme.
Unemployed graduates protesting
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo gave the assurance in Lagos at a colloquium on The Way Forward for Nigeria .
“We are trying to create jobs directly,’ ’ he said, adding that “the government is creating space for more private sector activities for facilitated economic growth.’’
Osinbajo said the Volunteer Corps Programme ought to have started on Monday, October 31 .
Without an in-depth look into the development, one is tempted to sing the praises of the current administration, but Nigerians cannot be bothered, not when millions remain unemployed.
Scary statistics
Data from the the National Bureau of Statistics suggest that the country’s unemployment rate has risen from 12.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year to 13.3 per cent as at the end of the second quarter.
In the latest report by the bureau, the bureau said the number of people that were unemployed or underemployed increased from 24.4 million as at the end of the first quarter to 26.06 million persons.
The report reads in part: “The number of underemployed in the labour force (those working but doing menial jobs not commensurate with their qualifications or those not engaged in fulltime work and merely working for few hours) increased by 392,390 or 2.61 per cent resulting in an increase in the underemployment rate to 19.3 per cent in Q2 2016 from 19.1 per cent in Q1 2016.
“During the reference period, the number of unemployed in the labour force, increased by 1,158,700 persons, resulting in an increase in the national unemployment rate to 13.3% in Q2 2016 from 12.1 in Q1 2016.
“In view of this, there were a total of 26.06 million persons in the Nigerian labour force in Q2 2016, that were either unemployed or underemployed compared to compared to 24.5 million in Q1 2016.”
The quest to diversify
Nigeria is looking to diversify, and one major sector where the nation is turning to is the agricultural sector.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently urged citizens to head back to the farms. “It’s time to go back to the land,” he said. “We must face the reality that the petroleum we had depended on for so long will no longer suffice.”
But in Nigeria and across the continent, farming is highly inefficient. It takes place on small plots, with each family focused on trying to feed itself, planting and weeding by hand.
Production suffers from a shortage of tractors and fertilizer that results in yields that lag far behind the global average.
Beyond this is the problem of how many Nigerian youths are ready to go back to the farms, especially those who have spent years building themselves academically.
Promises and the virtue of patience
The APC with President Buhari as its arrow head, promised Nigerians alot, during the 2015 election campaigns.
Creation of jobs was one of the many promises made .
For the Buhari-led government, diversification of the economy will aid in the creation of jobs for the teeming youths who are unemployed and seeking other means to make ends meet.
Also promised during the election period, is the bursary fund which will see the government paying N5000 to about a million extremely poor Nigerians.
Many Nigerians are still waiting for the fulfillment of these promises, and while some believe that they may never be implemented, others say it is still too early to judge the present administration.
Employment exercises in Nigeria have been very dramatic, especially because the number of applicants always supersedes the vacancies. There have been incidents leading to the loss of lives, and the hurting of many.
The political sphere in Nigeria is pressure packed, the government is under duress to perform, even as the economic situation in the country, gets more harsh by the day.
There are already speculations regarding the performance of the present government and the 2019 elections. Whether the APC will continue in power would be greatly affected by how the government handles the unemployment situation.