Between Unemployment And
Under-employment In
Nigeria
UGBOAJA FELIX OJONUGWA
— Jun 3, 2015 3:01 am | 0 Comments
Over the years, and in the build up to the
2015 presidential elections, one of the many
issues that has always dominated
discussions is the issue of lingering
unemployment in Nigeria. UGBOJA FELIX
OJONUGWA writes
According to the National Bureau of
Statistics, over 57 percent of Nigerian
youths are unemployed. And the tendency
for this figure to rise is ever present. With
depleting foreign reserves, fall in global oil
price and a lot of other damning economic
challenges, the unemployment rate in
Nigeria, according to analysts, could only
get worse.
Over sixty percent of the graduates of
universities and polytechnics annually troop
into Lagos and Abuja in search of jobs that
do not exist.
The manufacturing sector in Nigeria that
should absorb young, willing and educated
youths, according to analysts, has
collapsed where it once existed.
The central development planning and
economic policy since 1999, has been about
the removal of the role of the states in
economic development and job creation
under the slogan of allowing the market to
take care of economic development.
Government according to analysts has
continued to pay more attention to creating
an enabling environment for the private
sector, than strategising how to absorb the
teeming unemployed populace into its work
force.
From a critical study, it is evident that the
rate of under employment is even more
pervasive than unemployment itself. There
are so many Nigerians who are even within
the ‘employment circle’, but are not actually
better off with their meagre earnings. The
number of this category of underemployed
people are ever-increasing.
According to Mathew Obiora, a private
employer, in the absence of the availability
of jobs, people often jump at the opportunity
to get their hands dirty just to earn a living.
But in most cases, Obiora explained that the
standard of those jobs are usually very
poor.
The definition of an unemployed person and
how unemployment is measured, which
varies from place to place, has always been
a subject of intense debate. Some countries
count insured unemployed only, some count
those who receive welfare benefits only,
while in some parts it is the disabled and
other permanently unemployable people.
Some countries count those who choose
(and are financially able) not to work,
supported by their spouses and caring for a
family, some count students at college and
others use household surveys to estimate,
each with its own strengths and
weaknesses.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO),
also uses household surveys in estimating
the number of unemployed. The ILO states
that unemployment refers to those who are
currently not working but are willing and
able to work for pay, currently available to
work, and have actively searched for work.
This definition, however, puts a spin to what
the results of job creation survey in Nigeria
would be; due to the social make-up of the
Nigerians. A recent study by the Gates
Foundation and the Clinton Foundation
showed that Nigerian women lead the pack
of female entrepreneurs in the world and are
four times more likely to become
entrepreneurs than their counterparts in the
US.
Many have argued that the reasons for this
is because a totally unemployed person in
Nigeria has little or no access to any form of
welfare whatsoever.
While the US and many developed nations
have unemployment benefits and other
social security income for their citizens, the
social safety nets in Nigeria simply don’t
exist.
According to Obiora, there is a marginal
window of hope for an unemployed person
in Nigeria. “You either work, or you starve,”
he said.
And this ‘work’ per say, could be ‘anything’.
According to a 2014 report by the World
Bank entitled ‘Nigeria Economic Report’,
Nigeria’s employment challenge is more of
under employment rather than
unemployment.
Presenting the report, the Lead Economist
and Acting Country Manager, World Bank,
Mr. John Litwack, said the analysis of the
bank showed that poverty reduction in
Nigeria was primarily an urban phenomenon
as poverty remained high in the rural areas.
“This masks the critical problem in Nigeria
of underemployment. Most Nigerians cannot
afford not to work, but a large share of the
population is engaged in low productivity
and low paying tasks,” he said.
According to Edafe Mark, CEO of Global
Consult Resources, the Nigerian
environment doesn’t create much room for
someone to remain unemployed for too
long.
“With the lack of a government package for
the unemployed, and with the social stigma
associated with unemployment, you find
more of underemployed people than the
unemployed. And this is just as dangerous,”
he said.
“Of course, hunger doesn’t allow people to
remain totally unemployed for too long. But
the question is for how long can we
continue to have underemployed people? If
someone is underemployed for five years,
that is a very negative indication of our sum
growth as a nation. Because that person
certainly has the abilities to be more
creative and productive, but he or she is
denied the opportunity. So it is not just a
personal concern, it is a national one as
well,” he added.
Abu Mayaki, a private sector analyst, says
that he encounters one unemployed person
to every five employed persons, as he
executes activities. He believes that more
should be done to improve the quality of
jobs in the country, as more and more
people are falling into the under
employment numbers, all in the name of
finding jobs.
“About two of the security guards in my
office are graduates who are earning very
little. Of course they hope to get better jobs,
but that the definition makes them
employed, even though they are underused,
is just unacceptable.” he said.
In all of this, the unanimous resolution of
many is that both under employment and
more importantly, unemployment, be
stamped out in Nigeria.
“Contract staffing and precarious work is a
major problem besetting decent work and
social justice in the Nigerian work
environment. The shift away from regular
employment into temporary work or jobs
through agencies and labour brokers is
having a deep impact on all workers, their
families, and on the society,” said Mayaki.
“Erosion of the employee-employer
relationship, often the basis of labour law, is
leading directly to a growing number of
violations of workers’ rights. So, while
Nigeria continues to focus on reducing the
unemployment rate, a bigger and more
pertinent challenge of under employment
continues to stare it in the face,” he added.

Nigerian youths should embrace entrepreneurship. They should go for entrepreneurial education. Internet is full of valuable resources.