There are 200million people in
Africa between 15 and 24 years of
age. This represents about 20% of
the population. According to the
Population Research Bureau, Africa
has the fastest growing and most
youthful population in the world.
Over 40 percent of its population is
under 15. Africa’s high fertility rate
is responsible for this. This
demographic finding portends
challenges and opportunities. The
challenges are economic and social;
both are highly connected. As the
population expands, jobs must be
created. If these jobs are not
enough, there will be many young
people who are unemployed.
According to the International
Labor Organization, 3 out of 5
unemployed people in Africa are
young people.
The World Bank 2008 Report titled
‘Youth Employment in Africa: the
potential, the problem and the
promise’ notes that youth
employment is more prevalent in
urban areas. Worsening conditions
in the rural areas lead to rural-
urban migration. This compounds
the unemployment challenge in the
urban centres. This is clearly
evident in many big cities in Africa
including Lagos, Ibadan, Aba, Zaria,
Accra, Darkar, and Johannesburg,
just to mention a few.
Effects of Youth Unemployment
Unemployed youth are therefore
readily available for anti-social
criminal activities that undermine
the stability of society. An unstable
society increases the risk of the
market. This scares investors. Jorge
Saba Arbache of the Africa Region
of the World Bank says
‘unemployed and underemployed
youth are more exposed to
conflicts and illegal activities-many
of them fall prey to armed and
rebel conflicts’.
In Nigeria, the unemployment rate
is worrisome. It has consistently
increased in the last few years.
Former presidential aspirant and
business mogul Prof Pat Utomi
wonders why Nigeria experiences
rising rate of unemployment
despite its rating as one of the
fastest growing economies in the
world. The situation is no different
in the other 6 countries listed in
Africa listed as one of the 10 fastest
growing economies in the world.
Zambian Minister of Finance
Alexander Chikwanda once said that
the youth unemployment is ‘a
ticking time bomb for all of us’.
Response by African Leaders
In response to this challenge,
regional and continental
governments have met severally to
discuss solutions to youth
unemployment in Africa. On 18th
February 2009 in Addis Ababa,
African heads of state declared
2009-2019 as the decade of youth
development in Africa. They
resolved to advance youth
development and ensure increased
investments in youth development
programmes at national levels.
The declaration was reviewed two
years later. On 1st July 2011, the
heads of state and government met
in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to
discuss the need to ‘accelerate
youth empowerment for
sustainable development’. They
reinforced the Addis Ababa 2009
declaration and promised ‘creation
of safe, decent and competitive
employment opportunities’. In July
2012, the African Development
Bank facilitated a policy dialogue on
youth employment for the
Southern African region, chaired by
its Vice President Prof Mthuli
Ncube.

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http://www.doublegist.com/economic-effect-unemployment-nigeria-economy/

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