As culled from The guardian UK

With unemployment among the world’s worst and those under 35 hit hardest, young Nigerians see their prospects rapidly diminish

Emmanuel Akinwotu in Lagos

Favour Obi graduated in 2016 with a first class degree in biomedical sciences and what felt like reasonable hopes for a career in medical research.

Before a recent shift waiting tables at a fast food restaurant in Lagos, the 27-year-old explained how gradually she let those hopes drift away. “I knew it would be hard to find a job but at the same time I was so determined, I was staying hopeful,” she said.

Her job for the past three and a half years pays 35,000 naira (£60) a month, just above Nigeria’s minimum wage and barely enough to live on. It was initially meant to be temporary.

“But it’s been years now and I’m still here. There are so many people I know in a similar position,” she said, describing friends around her age, who were well-qualified yet grappling with how to do more than just survive.

...

Obtaining a graduate degree has always been revered in her family, Obi said, yet her post-university life has been an uphill struggle. Like many of her generation she has been forced to learn trades and pursue other career paths. “We grow up being told that going to university will help you become successful,” she said. “Being qualified makes us proud, our parents are proud, but for many of us, it hasn’t changed our lives for the better because we’re lacking jobs.”

Nigeria’s vast, rapidly growing population of 200 million people has a median age of just 18. Many of its young people have seen their prospects quickly diminish in recent years.

The economic challenges are stark and affect people across the age spectrum, but the rise of youth unemployment has been among the most troubling factors.

The unemployment rate has quadrupled since 2015 to become one of the worst globally. At the end of last year, 23 million people – or 33% of working age people looking for work – were recorded as unemployed, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and younger people were worst affected.

Almost half of working-age Nigerians under 35 are either unemployed or underemployed – working part-time when they would like to be full time – the NBS said in March. A shadow has been cast over the young, reinforcing the sense that greener pastures lie elsewhere.

The number of jobs are shrinking and the number of people looking is growing everyday,” said 46-year-old Julius Oshie, a job agent for the past five years, as he explained how the job market had dramatically changed.

“The other problem is that the type of jobs available are not what many young people see as beneficial to them. They are jobs that they take to survive, not to get on in life,” he said. “Cleaning jobs, bar jobs, ‘house helps’ [maids]. And it’s not just the poorer masses taking these jobs. It’s the aspirational classes, the more highly educated,” he said. “It’s been like this for a long time, it’s just you can say it’s getting worse.”

Oshie gestured to a stack of CVs at the end of his desk. “I have people with top degrees in very technical, impressive subjects – physics, statistics – and they come here and after years without work in their field, they’re going to low earning jobs, paying less than 30,000 naira per month,” he said.

Source
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/young-qualified-and-barely-scraping-by-inside-nigerias-economic-crisis

Very nasty situation

Before you scream Buhari and IPOB, know that the issues facing Nigeria has been existing since the time Fela sang "Suffering and Smiling"

ArcFresky:
Before you scream Buhari and IPOB, know that the issues facing Nigeria has been existing since the time Fela sang "Suffering and Smiling"

Early 80s and late 70s was better at least b4 buhari
My dad from a minority tribe in Nigeria walked into top tier Nigerian foreign service without connection.
It's impossible to do that today

ArcFresky:
Before you scream Buhari and IPOB, know that the issues facing Nigeria has been existing since the time Fela sang "Suffering and Smiling"

Will you SHUT it there!!!

Was that not why Buhari was elected, esp in 2015? Didnt Buhari promise to remedy the situation?

How come the situation is getting worse on almost every index?

You and the lot of you are even worse than Buhari. You enable him. And you will somehow bring an even worst person in 2023

nameo:


Will you SHUT it there!!!

Was that not why Buhari was elected, esp in 2015? Didnt Buhari promised to remedy the situation?

How come the situation is getting worse on almost every index?

You and the lot of you are even worse than Buhari. You enable him. And you will somehow bring an even worst person in 2023

Facts
Lalasticlala

Disturbing reality, though underreported because the actual value of unemployment in Nigeria is higher than the published NBS figure and press summation.

Sysdatek:
As culled from The guardian UK



...


The economic challenges are stark and affect people across the age spectrum, but the rise of youth unemployment has been among the most troubling factors.

The unemployment rate has quadrupled since 2015 to become one of the worst globally. At the end of last year, 23 million people – or 33% of working age people looking for work – were recorded as unemployed, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and younger people were worst affected.

Almost half of working-age Nigerians under 35 are either unemployed or underemployed – working part-time when they would like to be full time – the NBS said in March. A shadow has been cast over the young, reinforcing the sense that greener pastures lie elsewhere.

The number of jobs are shrinking and the number of people looking is growing everyday,” said 46-year-old Julius Oshie, a job agent for the past five years, as he explained how the job market had dramatically changed.

“The other problem is that the type of jobs available are not what many young people see as beneficial to them. They are jobs that they take to survive, not to get on in life,” he said. “Cleaning jobs, bar jobs, ‘house helps’ [maids]. And it’s not just the poorer masses taking these jobs. It’s the aspirational classes, the more highly educated,” he said. “It’s been like this for a long time, it’s just you can say it’s getting worse.”

Oshie gestured to a stack of CVs at the end of his desk. “I have people with top degrees in very technical, impressive subjects – physics, statistics – and they come here and after years without work in their field, they’re going to low earning jobs, paying less than 30,000 naira per month,” he said.

Source
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/young-qualified-and-barely-scraping-by-inside-nigerias-economic-crisis

Lalasticlala

Blame them

In the voice of dandizzy, e red enter eye. Buhari's how far

Sysdatek:


80s was better

Lemme disabuse your mind about how the 1980's was better

1.Things were just as bad then, especially when the oil price crashed.

2.Do you know Andrew? If you grew up back then, Andrew was always trying to check out of Nigeria for a better life...in a certain government propaganda ad...that was put out by the Bubu millitary admin.

3.Ever hear of SAP, and how SAP was sapping us.

4.There was one popular car sticker back then ...MY TAKE HOME SALARY CANNOT TAKE ME HOME.

5.Jobs were scarce back then...that was the time when many factories in Lagos were closing down...and becoming churches.

6.One lecturer recalled bringing mangoes from is house to dash students, because many of them were so hungry back then

7. Go and read Chiamanda Adiche's Americana, especially the growing up chapters.,...which give you an idea of how bad things were.

8.Infact the reason why some people refused to vote for Buhari now is that in 1984-5 he did not improve the economy much.


Things were bad in the 1980's. People were doing side hustle back then to survive, even using their car as taxi or kabu kabu...all because the oil price crashed in 1982

We operate a nearly-collapsed economy but they keep deceiving us that our economy is in good shape. I was happy the world bank told us the truth recently for once. Nigeria is on the verge of collapse but millions of blind youths are busy fighting on social media over corrupt politicians, whom they see as their mentors or godfathers, those who don't even give a hoot about their future. Just recently , Toyota moved an assembly plant to Ghana but such news would never make headlines in Nigeria. These are the things they'd not want you to know so they could keep mortgaging your life. We're only giants of Africa on paper and population. I feel sorry for my country.

The effect is felt even in the bones.
I feel for most youth though as they don't know what to do other than rely on their certificate.
Shame though.

There are hardly decent jobs out there.

.

Tragic!

[img]https://media1./images/c79e62ae148432a08067da3c21152ca8/tenor.gif?itemid=14148031[/img]

.

The problem is the Fast growing middle class of 2014 has diminished beyond recognition all thanks to some policies that stifle start-ups and innovation. Remember we are now been charged over everything we do by the banks and telecommunications working to meet up with government rules.

What we have now is the upper class of 5% and the lower class. Tell me why there would be good jobs, tell me how people will bring up innovative ideas, tell me how people would trust the government in proffering solution and just tell me how people who are fighting hard for a meal per day would be able to sit and be innovative.

There is a reason why many tech giants are now heading to Ghana and Nairobi despite Nigeria having the population and even able people. Simply policy!

Imagine coming back to Nigeria to start a mechanized farming only to be over run by some special people who believed their forefathers owned the land from sahara to the bank of Atlantic ocean?

Tell me how there would be Job. With security comes peace, with peace comes imagination and with imagination comes innovation. Tell me how that can happen in a Nigeria state.


.

Nigerians are really docile people... imagine the fake official figure as high as 22million with millions more underemployed just for survival
You cant have such a high number of people without jobs or welfare in a sane population and there would be peace.

It is well... e go beta

What's tha business?

There is unemployment because population is exploding more than jobs. And the so called graduates dont have skills that can be converted into value. Graduates of philosophy, statistics and international relations are currently useless to Nigeria as it is. We need people who are skilled in mechanized agriculture, fabric spinning and manufacturing, renewable energy, modular construction, Fisheries, logistics solution, primary technical education, waste recycling, etc. If we move into fields that will directly solve Nigerian problems, there will be jobs everywhere.

ArcFresky:
Before you scream Buhari and IPOB, know that the issues facing Nigeria has been existing since the time Fela sang "Suffering and Smiling"

So, u are saying that Nigeria has no solution na.

Why are we now wasting money on politicians and elections if they can't fix it.

Shame to Nigeria that after decades of self rule, the country has wasted billions of naira on politicians yet, has not solved a single problem. Worse part is that people like u support and give these useless politicians excuses.

ArcFresky:
Before you scream Buhari and IPOB, know that the issues facing Nigeria has been existing since the time Fela sang "Suffering and Smiling"

It's one million times worse!

Sai baba ..una go hear am!

I believe in Nigeria but I have given up on the govt. The govt has not solved a single problem, prove me wrong if you can.

The problem iis we run a resource dependent economy

The day we run a industrial economy, most of this issues will end...but we all want to chop oil money

Let's stop focusing on the employed youth for once and ask ourselves; who is going to employ and pay them?

Princedapace:


So, u are saying that Nigeria has no solution na.

Why are we now wasting money on politicians and elections if they can't fix it.

Shame to Nigeria that after decades of self rule, the country has wasted billions of naira on politicians yet, has not solved a single problem. Worse part is that people like u support and give these useless politicians excuses.

What pains me the most is that u see educated elites supporting these political clowns

ArcFresky:
Before you scream Buhari and IPOB, know that the issues facing Nigeria has been existing since the time Fela sang "Suffering and Smiling"

Yes, you are right...but that is because we run a resource dependent economy, not an industrial economy or a productive economy

We sit down, sell our oil and a host of other things, share the money and then import stuff from everyhwere...including things we can make well enough at home.

What separates us from Venezuela is that at least we have some sense to not import ALL THAT WE NEED...we still make a lot of stuff at home.

Sysdatek:


80s was better

I was there in the 80s. It wasn’t better. You people have it good now. You can do quite a lot online. So easy to make calls. How was that possible in the 80s? You can stay even in your bed and make money. For where then. My advice to the youths: get a vocation. The white collar jobs went with the 60s and 70s. Find something creative to do with you being the creator.

Aderewah:
There is unemployment because population is exploding more than jobs. And the so called graduates dont have skills that can be converted into value. Graduates of philosophy, statistics and international relations are currently useless to Nigeria as it is. We need people who are skilled in mechanized agriculture, fabric spinning and manufacturing, renewable energy, modular construction, Fisheries, logistics solution, primary technical education, waste recycling, etc. If we move into fields that will directly solve Nigerian problems, there will be jobs everywhere.

International relations=diplomat/diplomacy/analyst for foreign affairs/etc

Statistics can be turned into things like being a consultant for NGO's like UN bodies (a family friend of my parents earned money from working as something of a consultant to a UN body a while ago

Even philosophy has its uses.

Zetty177x:


What pains me the most is that u see educated elites supporting these political clowns

Always giving them excuses. Don't mind them. So, why am I wasting my money on election and on politicians when they can't solve our most basic problems?
Terrble humans exist in Nigeria. Supporting rubbish. Supporting those who oppress them.