i do not know what is really happening in my beloved country Nigeria,the giant of africa. i look on the streets and the hopelessness on the face of highly qualified but jobless people eats at my soul.you know it beats me that here it is becoming the norm to find whole families where virtually every member of that family is unemployed, not because they donot have qualified people in that family but they just can not get employment. assistance to become self employed is alsonot available.what is really wrong? perhaps if the cause of this malady ican be identified then it an be arrested.

<< The Unemployment Rate In Nigeria Is Very Low! >>

Giant of Africa ke? na wah for you sef oh! 9geria has bad leaders, bad followers, infact almost everything is bad, the change must come from you and I!

The unemployment situation in the country is unacceptable and is the reason behind the constant social upheavals in the country. The devil they say, finds work for idle hands.

I personally feel that its in everyone's interest that the employment situation improves, lets face it, its no use complaining that the government is bad etc. I've had numerous discussions with a lot of people about this and one of the things people like myself are trying to do is look at ways in which we can provide low cost loans and financial incentives to unemployed graduates to make them self employed.

The biggest obstacle to a scheme like this is the rampant 'fraud' in the country. It'll be great to hear suggestions as to ways in which a scheme like this can be operated in Nigeria.

In the mean time i believe there are so many opportunities in that country, once you get out of the mindset of 'just opening a shop and selling things'. People need to be innovative, like the Americans will say 'if life hands you lemon make lemonade'.  People need to think 'outside the box'

Here are some of the projects i can think off the top of my head.


- building a solar powered water pump for use in rural areas or when there's a power failure.

- Solar powered streetlights (i've already seen this at the sydney olympic village in Australia, you'll be surprised how easy it is to build with instructions from the internet)

- Hybrid powered generators using solar and battery power


starting up things like

- Sports schools/evening clubs that teach kids to play football, swim etc

- Computer training schools/clubs that specialises in teaching software (e.g Java, Oracle, ASP, Cold fusion, JSP) , Digital photography/video editing  etc

- Language schools teaching foreign languages like french and chinese (yes china is going to be the next superpower so we better equip ourselves)

I know people who have started refuse collection companies, how about starting up a drainage clearing company that helps in clearing blocked drainage in Lagos (especially in places like VI and Ikoyi)

- Setting up Temporary work agencies that provides temporary staff to small companies


if you have some good web and programming skills you could think of starting the following (has to be free initially to get the traffic and then start charging later). It could also be built as a standalone application in java for example and sold to companies like MTN and Globacom to put on 3G phones


- a project to build a comprehensive phone directory of all Nigerian phone numbers (i did this some years ago but couldn't keep up with the recent explosion of phones in the country)

- a project to build an online map of major nigerian cities (especially Lagos and Abuja)

- infact any project that can provide adequate information about anything in Nigeria (the country gets so much bad press that a lot of international agencies avoid the place and as a result have outdated info on the country)
-

Because of  the general attitude of Nigerians, initially you may have to provide the service for free or give the product away just to convince people its genuine.

really unemployment is a big monster that seems too much for our corrupt leaders to tackle.

how many graduates have jobs

the child that says his mother will not sleep will not be able to sleep himself thats why there is so much anger and frustration in the land.

It is not the government's job to create employment. If no jobs are available, it is the responsibility of individuals to create jobs for themselves by gathering capital and starting their own businesses. Every thing that doesn't work in this country (NEPA) can be an opportunity for someone who is smart to make money (generator sales and leasing).

The government is there to guarantee security, enforce laws and nothing more. Job creation is a private sector initiative.

Seun:

It is not the government's job to create employment. If no jobs are available, it is the responsibility of individuals to create jobs for themselves by gathering capital and starting their own businesses. Every thing that doesn't work in this country (NEPA) can be an opportunity for someone who is smart to make money (generator sales and leasing).

The government is there to guarantee security, enforce laws and nothing more. Job creation is a private sector initiative.

true, but how can the private sector provide the jobs when the government has failed to provide a suitable environment, e.g tax breaks, adequate security, good roads etc etc.

The only way to be above  board is not by blaming anybody but yourself.
There is no job because of the implanted average young Nigerian mentality of -Go to school,study well then look for a well paying job.Nobody is thinking of how to create a job and that is why there will always be no job for the job seekers.
     MY ADVICE--Change your orientation towards  creating a job no matter how small you start as long  as you are focus within few years you will see yourself at the top.Bishop David Oyedepo started the winners chapel with his family as the only congregation .This site we are using was created by somebody.(did you say  you need money  to start? NO,develop yourself,read books,acquire wisdom,search for it and keep it.That is all  you need.).Send a blankpage to [i]greatway@freeautobot.com,there is a story on how a nigerian can succesfully earn money on ebay.com without any  financial commitment but your time.

I like what Ijebuman said, we could start by thinking out of the box instead of waiting for government, it's really not that easy though when we think of finances, but if we have good ideas we could sell it, we could get backers, i was thinking why not start with the corpers thinking out of the box instead of selling recharge cards, lets challenge our selves and look at the points ijebuman raised.

ijebuman:
true, but how can the private sector provide the jobs when the government has failed to provide a suitable environment, e.g tax breaks, adequate security, good roads etc etc.

Well instead of asking the government to create jobs (which is not their work), we should ask them to provide adequate security (which is their job) and leave the rest to us. We should ask for tax breaks so the entrepreneurs in the private sector will have more resources to use to create jobs. Isn't it irrational to saddle the government with the additional responsibility of creating jobs when they are struggling with their primary responsibility? Shouldn't we rather be encouraging them to focus on their primary responsibility and do it well so that those of us in the private sector will be also be able to fulfil our obligation to society?

The best job you can get is the one u create for your self... why do people keep shouting government after seeing it failed. Do u want to die at the pension office after retirement or live life of your dream? You could be thrown off at anything doing government work...(politics)..

We to change our orientation and be responsible for our lives ... Blame No One for your misfortune!

As an unemployed graduate you will definitely agree with me that our system is very bad.For one to come out of school after four or more years only to become unemployed is a sad situation.
well, i pray God to help reverse the situation for good.Imagine after studing Biochemistry(2.2) i have remained unempolyed till this very day.I would be interested in any job cos am tired of staying at home.pls help me.

Hello, your degree is just one more bargaining tool you use to impress potential employers. Do you have the skills they require? There are people who are getting jobs even as others are sitting at home, so why are you not one of them?

The true problem is that people have the expectation that a degree should guarantee of a job. If the problem is that current employers are not smart enough to recognize your value, then here's what you should do: create your own job, simple!

@ijebuman! u really hit the nail by the head here, The biggest obstacle to a scheme like this is the rampant fraud in the country. It'll be great to hear suggestions as to ways in which a scheme like this can be operated in Nigeria
fraudlent practices is fast gaining ground among our youths today , the unemployed took to fraudlent practices like advance fee fraud aka yahoo, schemes like this can be a better way to alleviate the ugly situation in our dearest country today.

i am of the opinion pack that believe in the wonderful saying of John F Kennedy who said "think not Wat Ur country can do for u rather think of Wat u can do for Ur country"
Thanks to Seun who from his own industrious mind created this forum to serve as a basis of disseminating information that is vital to our development, this is a self empowered project , such is wat we are saying.
it is time for the youths of Nigeria to speak out their voice and stair this great nation in the right part to go,the ability lies in our hands to do this,
For instance, i for one, i started from somewhere ,i looked at wat i had ,natural skill and took off, n today i thank God For His mercies.While in School @ the university,i paid my way from the beginning to the end(4YRS), how did i do this,
-i engaged myself in talk shows as a MC /comedian and get paid.
-engaged in DJ work for departmental picnics and get paid.
-Sell electronics n Clothes to fellow students
this and host of other things i did to scale thru the university without letting my books suffer
Now i am out, into the so called "LABOUR MARKET" keeping my head above the waters,
In essence wat i am saying here is that we are the architect of our life the way u lay ur bed so will u lie on it.
Suggestion
i wish suggest to this humble,aspiring and dynamic nairalanders, to host a kind of youth conference where we nairalnaders meet physically to iron things out,inviting the media to cover such event.i believe this will sound a bell to the populace on our role as youths of this country.

@skima
,i agree with u,the best job u can get is the one u created urself, if u are a job seeker, i have a piece of advice for u, look for a quite place sit down and think,think about ur abilities, there is something God deposited in u to excel, u are unique and whole , there is no two of ur kind on earth ,its just u with those special abilities,let me ask , is there anyone who has the same finger print with another ,definitely NNNOOOO!
Same apply to ur ability,search there is something about u,
,i am an internet marketing entrepreneur, ,i took time to learn about affiliate marketing.i started doing wat is required and now i earn a form of residual income from the internet legitimately.Then i had this intent desire to reach out to my world affecting peoples live positively there by giving their life a meaning.So after acquiring this skills about the internet .I set out to talk to young people in schools, camps about internet applications and uses, Why, this is to change the mentality Nigerians have about the internet as means of earning a living, each time u talk about making money online wat readily comes to mind is 419, this is to tell u how deep it has eaten in the society.
let me tell u wat happened yesterday, i went a campus, i entered a class asked for the class captain, spoke with about my mission, he obliged me to speak,i spoke on the values, importance and uses of the internet, to my surprise many didn't know wat i was saying all they chorused was yahoo!!!!!!!!!i was shocked but i was not deterred in passing the information which few of them appreciated.
Job seeking is not the answer rather creating a job is the best.

The problem with Nigeria is the horrible leadership, rampant corruption. I just cannot understand, why a country with the amount of oil it has - the roads, sanitation, other general infrastructure is so bad and/or not maintained and the unemployment rate is so high.

I have a Nigerian doctor friend, who told me, that as a West Indian, I should be glad that my ancestors were sold into slavery, because our lives in the Caribbean is so wonderful.

I was born in Trinidad, which is the only island in the Caribbean, which has oil. Our education, roads, lifestyle is so much better than Nigeria, our treasury is full and just recently the opposition minister was fined US$10000.00 and given 2 years with hard labour for not declaring some funds (he has in a London bank account, held jointly with his wife) to the integrity commission. Now this is transparency.

Nigeria can learn alot from our Caribbean leaders.

Nigeria definately needs new leadership, especially un-corrupt ones, who would try to do something about unemployment. Is there no National Insurance Scheme, which provides unemployment benefits. I mean, come on. How backward can a country be!!!!

Anyway, I will keep on praying for Nigeria, and keep praying for an improvement with the high unemployment rate.

I wonder, has there any been a similar system to what we have here, where unemployed people do work for the government and get paid a some money until they can find their own job?

@Ijebuman
I completely agree with you.
I agree that our leaders should begin a massive campaign into Youth Sports development. Nigeria is hatching babies everyday and all these peeps become youth tomorrow. If their attention is not captured on time, they could turn out to be something else.

Sports schools/evening clubs that teach kids to play football, swim etc

If I had my way, I would start sports like:
- Wrestling, patterned after the WWF,
- Skateboarding, skateboard championships
- National Soccer University,
- Year round state, national championships for games like table-tennis, lawn-tennis, hockey, even American football
- I also think we should promote basket ball more,
- how about racing
- teckno games like robotic-soccer championships,
- I would also promote child-acting, using them to reach other children of their age, informing them of dangers of vices, drugs, advicing them to stay in school.
, and many more ways just to capture the mind of youth, take them out of the labour market and get their brains thinking.

Language schools teaching foreign languages like french and chinese (yes china is going to be the next superpower so we better equip ourselves)

I read an article on CNN sometime ago where someone said, with the rate China is going, economy wise, , any country that is not doing business with China is practically out of business By the way, our President was in town to sign some 40Bn trade agreement with motherland nija, so we are into business.
I think I can safely become the nairaland-China Minister of Trade and Commerce, how about that

@mrtee

The biggest obstacle to a scheme like this is the rampant fraud in the country. It'll be great to hear suggestions as to ways in which a scheme like this can be operated in Nigeria

Yes, I believe this should even be tackled first, coz as a handful few are trying to do genuine business, the majority are spoiling everyone's chances in business. If they dont spoil the national reputation before you get there, they will harass you.

I witnessed yesterday, how some touts came to harass the cyber-cafe owner near my house. The guy, coming from work, stops over at his cafe to see how things are going, and all these vest-clad guys approach him demanding that he give them N10,000.00(ten-thousand naira) in broad daylight. They say they are the ones protecting his cafe from thieves, and that they need to do naming ceremony that night. When the guy wasnt forth coming, one of these touts now say that if he was not dropping 10k, if anything happens to his cafe, they(touts)should not be held responsible. Now imagine such a situation. They even told him to go think about it and that they'll come back. The cafe owner now calls the police after the touts left, reported the situation, and guess what the police said, the police constable told the owner of the cafe to "find-something-for-them(touts)". Later before the cafe closed, the guys came back and the cafe owner had to part with N6,000.00. In fact they first rejected it and twas after much begging(cafe owner begging the touts) that they now collected the money and left.

Ok fine, imagine someone trying to survive by running a cafe, and has to part with N6k on a single day, not as a profitable investment, but to protect his business, even after calling the police. One of us who watched the whole ordeal later mentioned that it might be possible it was even the police controlling those boys. How much does he make from the cafe anyway, after NEPA wont provide electrical-power for like 3/4 of the day, and he has to run on fuel, has to pay staff, run two generators etc, and still doesnt have security. Now these rouges are not interested in employment themselves, they are just interested in feeding off other people. Thats Nigeria.

@Hunter

I wonder, has there any been a similar system to what we have here, where unemployed people do work for the government and get paid a some money until they can find their own job?

we have the National Youth Service Corps, a 1-year post University graduation work scheme, but after that, its yoyo(you are-on-your-own).

@Rainbow

Nigeria can learn alot from our Caribbean leaders.

Nigeria definately needs new leadership, especially un-corrupt ones, who would try to do something about unemployment. Is there no National Insurance Scheme, which provides unemployment benefits. I mean, come on. How backward can a country be!!!!

Anyway, I will keep on praying for Nigeria, and keep praying for an improvement with the high unemployment rate.

Nigeria has indeed learnt a lot, enough to make it be a real super-power, but Greediness is the number one problem we have.

Pls, just keep on praying for Nigeria!!

What is the Unemployment rate in Nigeria. Here in the USA we are @ 4.7% currently, which is considered "Full Employment". I am guessing, i think more than 55% of Nigerians are Unemployed and more than 60% are Underemployed. What the government needs to do, is move away from an Oil Based economy and invest heavily in other sectors that can create jobs. If Nigeria has basic infrastructures, people and businesses will more likely be willing to take a risk in the Country. Give people a chance to compete and they usually can figure things out themselves.

Well,if we have to wait for the government to come and create jobs for us,we will all be deceiving ourselves.I am of the opinion that we all should start making sacrifices to create jobs for ourselves.As a fresh graduate,you can do some manual jobs to get some money for yourself before your NYSC and start up something.You can even make alot of sacrifices during your service year to be able to make somke savings,and if you have the mindset that this country doesn't have anything to offer you on completion of your service,you can then use the little money you were able to save to start up a small business which you know you are good at and if you are focused,I assure you,the top will be your position.It is all about "SACRIFICE AND FOCUS"

Let us leave the government because they have failed themselves and we owe ourselves a duty to survive even in the midst of confusion.It is only a lazy man that will sit back and continue to complain about a situation instead of finding a solution.The situation in this country is bad beyond description,so we all have to find a way out and the answer remains "SACRIFICE AND FOCUS" which will lead to you being an enterpreneur of your own.Good luck.

@ OldGLory
You just accounted for 115% of the Nigerian economy.

The quote is [size=14pt]"Idle hands are the Devil's play things."[/size]

Lots of great ideas on this thread. But there can be only so much advancement w/o a just government. As just pointed out, entrepueners should get tax breaks and incentives. We have the money or at least we should with all the oil. Let's face it: ingenuity costs money. We need the govt to be accountable so that we can get on with things.

I applaud Ijebuman for his idea about services. Yes we should offer services and create a service industry. That way people who have money can spend it in the country and foreigners can also spend their money in the country when they come. I think building infrastructure will be a way forward too. In America, companies bid, the govt awards the contract to the lowest (or soundest) bidder and WHAM! just like that the city/state has an interstate, men have jobs (even "lowly" construction ones) and more jobs follow b/c of the easy access to the area. Just think, how much could a Lagos "shop" make even they could sell their clothes in PH or among the Fulfulde people (far east abi?) no problem

Even now, we've only hit the tip of our post-colonial economy iceberg/potential. Nwoke & those like him are the way forward but we need people to create jobs for others not just for themselves. ***I'm not knocking NWOKE or other entrepenuers.*** Peace.

hi nairalanders,
d problem with nigeria is spiritual job or no job u must look 4 somting to do,there is a saying tht goes no food 4 lazy man abi i dey lie? so nigerian problem is not by d government or mr president it is a spiritual cause so everybody v 2 pray that 1 day things 'll get better.as 4 me i dont waite 4 somone to put food in my mouth i work wit my 2 hands to make money do u like to know d type of job i do? if u all want to know tell me cuz it's an odd job no right thinking guy can do it,but if u dont want to steal u 'll do it i need u answers?

You can get a job if u don't rule out any. i mean some people will say this job is dirty, stinks, not befitting and all that. As soon as you stop complaining about that you will have a job and you can save some money to start up your own business. I know someone that always says "start small", you don't need to have up to N50,000 before you can start up a business and you'll also create more jobs for other people through your own business. Through this you contribute to the development of our Nigeria.

Well all well spoken.

Believe me you have all contributed in a very good way, I know alot of people will come in here read and run because they don't face reality. Everyone want a white collar job, unfortunately there is none or not enough to go round.

The government is not their to create jobs, but to create a suitable environment for job to be created. Have they failed in their responsibility YES. Individuals create jobs, but how with ideas. Ideas rule the world, and ideas are everywhere. The packaging industry in Nigeria is unexplored. Gari packed the same old way, palm oil- you have to take your own bottle along to buy, do you like plantain chips- how is it packaged. Let me stop here for now. But people will pay abit more for quality especially Nigerians, you know we like style. Remember ice water, over thrown by pure water.

Money could be a problem but look for someone that has money kept in the bank, and sell your Idea, make him a share holder, sure everyone will be happy to own a company that has prospects if you know what you are doing. But don't rush off just yet. Do your research well and think of the market you want to satisfy.

What is the population of Nigeria now? but let imagine we are 100 million, if you can satisfy 1% of this population and make =N= 1 .00 profit from each customer, in a year your business would have made =N=1,000,000.00 profit.

Men just think, your idea doesn't have to be new, it just has to be better than What already exist.

Good luck fellow Nigerians.

hmm Nigeria giant of all African country, can a country be called giant and it continues to accumulate all sort of mass unemployment in the midst qualified elite of this country in a year this country turns sections of NYSC graduate , without job , NOW the slugan is is who you know and knowing the right person to connect you to the final sets in getting the job, See a country that is not productive econnically will always and continuously depend on other productive countries , however , there won't be job for the people of the land .

the srazy thing going on now in the country is not employment for the people but how they can continue to consume the money of this country, the questions is when will the unemployed graduate and the people from caders of lifes come together to fight this monsters in power, In fact I have never hear them mention by the government talk on the this kind of topic , Do Nigerians think they have something meaniful for us ?

Am a graduate of two years still searching for work , or is it a crime to be a graduate in a country such NIGERIA
to jobless , well GOD WILL HAER OUR PRAYERS AND DELIEVER US FROM THE HAND OF THIS PEOPLE IN POWER , did you say from ASO ROCK . , I thought as much, this is not a laughing case or matter as you may called it , Thanks for read

taiwotee2003@yahoo.com

[b]If we talk or ideas as someone has just said your idea may be meaniful when there is substantial amount with you as an ordinal man , how do you get money to bring to those ideas , ok you want to borrow cash from the bank, please always read your environment and the economic of the country , who are those in the power of money in this country is it you or the so called government , the truth is if there are productivity is a country forget it unemployment will remain still , I pray that this problem will not continue , there are too much of strains and pains in the life of the people of this country, Has creation not provide us what we need to appreaciate the goodness of the creator , we are the problem of ourseleves in this country , a time will definitely come that all the unemployed grauate will go out there to fight , watch out

Taiwotee,

Ideas are the currency of the future. Men over the world are taping deep in to this phenomenon, and I think you should start thinking of a way to free yourself. in this same country were you are complaining am sure some people are succeeding. Please forgive me if you don't like the way am putting it. The government has failed, I agree with you but the elites too have failed. If you ask me i will say our parents failed us.

They were not thinking and such did not create the company that will employ their children. Will you want your own children to face what you are facing now, my guess is no. How are things invented. inventions are just solution to problems. Now in Nigeria their are a lot of problems, why do you think the lesson business is booming- it is because people are failing Jamb and SSCE.

Now their is no job, this is an opportunity to make some cash. You can create a career school, were people learn some technical stuff, you just have to find a venue, probably a school which you can use in the evening, and find people with skills to teach, they should be the best in their given field. About money you can get the LGA to sponsor people, or even politician or companies. You never can tell what you can achieve till you start thinking and start acting.

Good Luck, one more thing fighting is not the solution and fighting will not give you a job. It might put you behind bars.

We as citizen of this country called "nigeria" should start thinking of how be creative and 4get about the gov't because they have failed. though the environment is not very friendly but i believe is not the end of the road. We should use our mind because with ideas you can rule the world.

well said ijebu man.

i have some practical idea for those who want to earn money. the key to making money it to provide a service or to find a solution to someone's problem. they may include:

1. offer to clean windows to people's houses (there is a huge market)
2. find out what some businesses buy on a regular basis and offer to provide it to them on a regular basis
3. list all the skills you have on a sheet of paper and list the practical ways you can make use of them for money by yuorself
4. offer a service to a church such as printing their hymns on a regular basis for a fee
5. draw the map of all local governments in your area and publish it
6. look at businesses around where you live and develop improvement for them and offer it for a fee
7. start a newsagent around your areas (selling newspapers only)
8 start a taxi business
9. Start a tourist agency- register with hotels in victoria island and take tourist and visitors on a guided tour
10. offer to clean peoples houses for a fee.
11. offer to wash peoples feet at a major bus stop
12. offer to teach people how to use the internet privately
13. train to be a plumber (its manual but you can never go hungry)
14. train to be a bricklayer (its manual but you can never go hungry )
16.

@Seun,
most people don't want government job. What people need is for government to create the enabling environment and infrastructure for private initiatives to take off and survive! The Minister of power and steel made it know 2 days ago that electricity will only be stable in 2056 (when I am dead). There are lots of guys out there doing things on their own but with electricity in a terrible state, they have been forced into other lucrative areas (oil bunkering, yahoo yahoo, armed robbery,etc). My company has been running on generators for almost 10years now! Can you beat that?
You talked about generators! Do they run on water? When we are concerned about emissions, global warming, etc. How much would a cyber café operator, photocopy center operator, tailor, barber, welder, technician, etc make if they all get generators for their business?
We should be realistic men!

Nigeria & Misaligned priorities:

The Minister of power and steel made it know 2 days ago that electricity will only be stable in 2056

THE Federal Government yesterday approved a master plan that would enable Nigeria send an Astronaut to the Space by 2015

This is more than misaligned priorities. It borders on absolute MADNESS.

Kids are dying of preventable diseases, People are starving, No steady power supply, Security in absolute shambles.

All these and Space exploration is next on the Agenda.

Kudos to FELA in his grave for coining this phrase: "ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN".

Rottweiler:
@Seun,
most people don't want government job. What people need is for government to create the enabling environment and infrastructure for private initiatives to take off and survive! The Minister of power and steel made it know 2 days ago that electricity will only be stable in 2056 (when I am dead). There are lots of guys out there doing things on their own but with electricity in a terrible state, they have been forced into other lucrative areas

There are just two mistakes the govrnment is making in the power sector as regards power:
- The monopoly of NEPA/PHCN, or at least the perception that electricity generation and distribution is a no go area. Human, by nature, tend towards inefficiency when there is no competition.
- The unrealistically low prices of electricity such that demand will always exceed supply leading to shortages. In basic econs, shortage is what results when demand exceeds supply, and the way to cure the shortage is to simply keep increasing price until there's no more shortage.

If the government can lift the monopoly of electricity today such that anyone that has a generator can start supplying it to neighbours, or a rich man can buy a large gas generator and supply to his street or town, that would be sufficient.

Afterall, food, water and land are even more important for businesses but we are not experiencing shortages of those things in many areas. Why? Private sector participation! Example: we have a borehole in our house, and just because of that the whole street doesn't lack clean water. If we decided to make it a business, it would be profitable. If it is profitable, we would be able to employ more people for better service.

If government raises the price of electricity to a more realistic level such that there are no more shortages, and deregulates the market so anyone can enter, electricity supply will become stable, first, then both affordable and stable in a short while.