Nigeria is a country with over 170 million in population. Barely a quarter of this population are having jobs; barely half of people with jobs are satisfied with it.
The question shouldn't be weather there are available jobs, the question to be asked is if the jobless population are willing to work. To me, the root of the problem of this unemployment pandemic is OVER TROOPING TO A SPECIFIC JOB. Yep, you see everyone running to study either engineering or medicine and surgery or law or political and adminstration studies or business studies. What happened to innovation? If you study the students on either of these courses (I.e medicine and surgery), you'd notice that not even a quarter of people admitted into the course aren't able to continue same course until graduation. I see the youths liking to do what their friends are doing but the real truth is that their walking towards deep pits. Most students in the engineering department actually wanted to learn something else, it's just the fear of an uncertain tomorrow. That fear motivated them to study the course. In the future, imagine an engineering company has employment space for 50 whereas more than 1000 are applying, tell me how there won't be mass unemployment. The solution to this problem..... to me is that the youths shouldn't be afraid of tomorrow and in fact try to welcome it. Take a course that's your passion. A man once said that experts are happily mad. Another man said that it'll be difficult not to be happy if you follow your dreams. Although been able to keep an oil related job, you'd be paid well, lead a good life, so on and so forth..... but if that job wasn't your dream, it'll be difficult to find inner happiness.
A student who's reading a course of his/her (favorite) choice hardly skips classes cause he or she doesn't want to skip a class beneficial for continuous learning. This means that not following your dream course, results to class skipping, little or zero attention in class, and many sorts of negative outcomes. Seriously speaking, if a student was serious at school, that student is more likely to secure a job than a wayward student.
The fault of the government and public companies in this issue isn't inability to produce more jobs. It's inability to enlighten the public, inability to encourage the youths not to be discouraged for tomorrow, inability to find hard working students. My advice to everyone who reads this is to stay strong and follow your passion.
If you ask students in engineering and some other courses about their positive view of the future, they'll say stuffs like hmmmmm.... I can see myself working on oil companies like Shell, Chevron and so on. Others might say they wanna work with marine companies. Hardly would you see anyone who'll say he or she wants to make his or her own company and start from the scratch. As we all know, a tree under another tree cannot be taller than the umbrella tree. An employee can never be wealthier than the company that pays him or her.
Innovation is the key. Innovation should be the focus of the Nigerian mind. If oil should be drained completely off Nigeria, where would all the Shell and Chevron find oil? That's the same place to run from Nigeria to. They'll most probably leave all their employees to join in the unemployed community. So therefore let each youth think twice before rushing to take popular courses for it might not augur well in the future. Let's not be shameful if we take agricultural courses, let's not be shameful if we take art and culture related courses because if oil fails, we've got where to run to.

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Peer pressure and the shortcut attitude is a major challenge. In Engineering for example, most graduate's target is the fat pay of a ready made job role and not the raw craft and artistry that helps realise the potential in engineering and so cram through school. 95% of engineers never really engineered anything in their career. They did technician's job and claimed it as successful engineers. How many of those looking for N300k/Month job can grow a business to that level? Today our govt can't pay salaries but no one is resigning because our effort has no connection with what we earn. Everything is on a man-know-man level in this country.

The facts behind the scene is that our education is not well structured. Not well structured in the sense that we all want a job relating to our course of study. Meanwhile, Education according to Babs Fafunwa 1974, is the aggregate of the process by which a child or young adult develops the ability, attitude and other forms of behaviour which are of positive value to the society in which he/she lives. On a note of reality, graduates are now a real burden to the society they live in. Is it a must we all get a white collar job? The era of ready made job for graduates is gone, we need to strive, lobby, connect to get a job now because we are more than the jobs available.

Let stop shifting blame to government all the time, if they cannot help us let us help ourselves. Help ourselves by learning beyond the classroom, know many things about computer, have enterpreneurship skill and be willing to start small. Don't just sit at home and expect your brother or sister to find you a company that pays 200 thousand for a start.

However, Government needs to help small scale business grow by providing basic amenities. Electricity and security is highly important for any business. Let them reduce tax payment for small scale businesses...

Above all, our destiny lies in our hands. You shouldn't wait until your neighbour tells you 'bros go find work do'...

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