WHY IT IS SO HARD TO GET A JOB IN NIGERIA INTRO
In Nigeria, there exists an all too familiar story of unemployment
and lack of any incentive whatsoever by the government to ease the crisis.
President Mohamadou Bou-harry has even been quoted once saying that young people in Nigeria
are in no position to complain about unemployment and they’re simply being lazy youths. This,
however, couldn’t be further from the truth as Nigeria’s youth population
is one of the most spirited and entrepreneurial on the continent. The case here therefore all
falls back to the Nigerian government’s approach to the issue of unemployment.
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Today we are going to take a close look at some of the main causes of unemployment in Nigeria.
We will also look at what can be done to resolve the crisis.
Let us start with THE CRISIS.
Nigeria’s inability to appeal to and engage a wide proportion of its population, especially
the youths through meaningful job creation has a dire consequence in its tracks. The increasingly
disastrous unemployment situation faced by graduates and those with advanced education in the
country is in danger of getting out of hand and is also becoming a cause for widespread concern.
According to The World Bank, Nigeria has an unemployment rate of 13.69%
amongst Nigerians with advanced education and this figure keeps rising. In fact,
that percentage was from a 20 16 analysis. A more recent analysis has unemployment amongst graduates
with advanced degrees at 15.35%. This is no doubt a very worrisome situation faced by Nigerians.
These bulging, youthful and energetic young Nigerians are left stranded,
with no means of earning a living for themselves and no means by which they
can contribute to the growth of the Nation. Each year, Universities and polytechnics
admit close to 2 million students and produce about 600,000 graduates who immediately become
oriented into the grim reality, that is their country’s unemployment crisis.
Every year the National Youth Service Corps mobilizes an average of over 60,000
young Nigerian graduates to partake in its mandatory one-year service to the country.
This practice has been ongoing ever since the 22nd of May 19 73 as an avenue for
the country’s rebuilding, reconciliation and reconstruction after the civil war.
The current status of the seemingly saturated Nigerian Labor Market places
so many graduates in an utter dilemma and reduces their chances of ever making it in
a competitive environment designed to fail them. The International Labor Organization, the I.L.O,
has linked the unemployment situation in Nigeria to the aspect of jobless growth,
increased number of school graduates with no matching Job opportunities,
a moratorium on employment in many public and private sector institutions,
as well as, continued job losses in manufacturing and oil sectors. In addition, the I.L.O said the
recent economic growth in Nigeria has not led to a decrease in the rapid reduction of poverty
nor has it led to the creation of sufficient jobs for the young and rapidly growing labour force.
A detailed report by the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan, a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry
of Youth and Sports Development published on August 20 21, confirms that unemployment
rates are increasing. According to the report, as of the second quarter of 20 20
youth unemployment in the country stood at 35%. A further 28% of young people in the labour force
were considered underemployed that is, working less than 40 hours a week
and about 37% were working full time. Further details on the report revealed that the COVID
19 pandemic has even further strained the already dire unemployment situation.
With the current state of unemployment, many might be led to believe that the population is
underqualified for certain skill sets required in the workspace of the 21st
century. However, even students who have gone through the painful process of sitting for the
West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination followed by the Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination, gain admission into any higher institution,
sit for exams from the first year to last year and upon graduation serve a compulsory 1 year
Youth program just to be unemployed after everything they’ve been through. This is
probably the most disheartening thing about the unemployment situation in Nigeria.
According to the World Bank, approximately 60% of Nigerians are under 35 years old meaning that
Nigeria has a young, energetic working-age population who are perfectly capable of
growing the country’s economy if and only if the employment situation in the country was better.
However, some young Nigerians are “taking the bull by the horn” by venturing into entrepreneurial
rather than employment roles as many youths with master’s degrees are becoming influencers, fashion
designers and musicians. These are creating an environment where small businesses thrive.
One key aspect that continues to plague Nigeria is the fact that since 2008, literacy levels have
been on a steady rise of about 10% per year. Right now, it stands at about 60%
meaning that more Nigerians will keep coming into the employability pool,
which will further exacerbate the current unemployment crisis.
What are some of the possible SOLUTIONs TO THE CRISIS?
Nigeria needs to increase its spending on education. Many experts like Hamzat Lawal,
founder and C.E.O of Connected Development, the CODE, who is also the founder of the Pan
African grassroots data-driven movement known as Follow the money, has stated that a lack
of adequate funding simply means students and lecturers have to make do with little
or sometimes no funding to carry out learning and this undoubtedly dissuades students from
continuing their studies or actually learning any industry skills that employers are looking for.
Nigeria’s education budget is, as of now, lower than that recommended by UNESCO,
at 15 to 20% of the budget. So for a start, Nigeria can target reaching at least 20% of
the budget for funding education. This effort might enable better educational research required
for Nigerian students to gain industry skills that are essential to their future employment.
A report that was published by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting in late 20
21 detailed that out of the National budget of 33.1 billion U.S dollars,
the Nigerian government devoted only 1.89 billion U.S dollars towards education.
An allocation of 5.68% is far from the figure recommended by the world bank. Worst still,
the budget of 20 22 devoted toward education is said to be even lower at 4.35% of the budget.
Another solution that must be highlighted is from a recruitment standpoint.
The idea here is that the many young Nigerians all make the too familiar mistake
of showing up for a job interview unprepared. They expect their degree to get them a job,
failing to understand that a degree is just a pass in a workspace
and no one cares what you have on it as long as you can contribute effectively in growing the
enterprise. This is also a very big problem for youths in many African countries. There needs
to be a reorientation of the way students should see life after graduation. The course curriculum
in higher institutions needs to be revised to become more industry-based, as well as promote
industry-driven internships so as to be well equipped for the respective industries involved.
The Nigerian government must recognise that times are changing, and the world
is transitioning into a digital economy. “This means that there must be deliberate,
all-round investment in education, such that students in tertiary institutions are
exposed to tools and knowledge existing in this digital age. There should be an improvement in
the school curriculum and courses being offered that should match the relevant
skills in demand and jobs that are available, not just in Nigeria but all over the world.”
The Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan for 20 21 to 20 24 outlines several action steps to curb
graduate unemployment in the country, including remedial programs in key areas of deficit to
assist at least 50% of unemployed graduates. Comprehensive educational reform,
including through the introduction of entrepreneurship, innovation, ethics,
and life and digital skills in school and training curricula, is also on the cards.
Another step is to promote incentives for enterprises to hire new graduates,
implement the National Gender Policy, especially relating to labour and employment and gender
budgeting, as well as to increase advocacy about the need for increased funding for education.
Overall, there is so much that is wrong with Nigeria’s current employment level
and the government is mostly to blame for it. However, the system has unfortunately
derailed some Nigerians. It has also managed to inspire a new generation of forward-thinking,
passionate Nigerians who refuse to accept the status quo,
refuse to conceit their future to tyranny and instead are making a proper name for themselves
by enterprising and building iconic business ventures which have left the whole world talking.
Nigeria’s potential can only be matched by the capacity of its youths to fight,
to hustle and carve out a better life than they were presented with. This spirit of resolve and
bravery is sure to increase Nigeria’s dominance on the continent and even further into the future.
What do you think about the high unemployment in Nigeria?
What measures do you think could be put in place to solve Nigerian’s high unemployment?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
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