I was going through some articles a couple of days ago and came across an astonishing data.The informations to say the least was startling as well as frightening.Reading through it again,i realised that we are sitting on a keg of gun powder. And should be patently obvious to all and sundry that present way of doing things is not sustainable,hence a continuation on same perdicious road will only mean us digging ourselves deeper in the slippery mire .
According to the Nat Bureau of Statistics the unemployment rate in Nig presently stands at about 23.9% (Data only goes as far as 2011).To be a little bit more specific some social commentators have inferred that 8 in every 10 NIG youth are presently unemployed, and registered as jobless or under employed. There are no official statistics for the number of graduates churned out yearly but using unofficial sources like blogs and newspaper articles, about 2.5 million graduates are being added to the unemployment pool yearly.The implication of this startling figures means, potentially another 2.5million by inferrence will be graduating this year that is without factoring in the perennial school closures which has added a compulsory extra semester, at the very least to every NIG undergraduate's school year.
The reocurring connundrum for me is this,if there are presently these alarmingly high number of graduates who are jobless with little or near impossible hope of getting a job,and another 2.5 million still joining them every year, how do we
1.Clear up the backlog of graduates who are presently looking for jobs with little hope of getting one?
2.How do we make sure present and future graduants are gainfully employed and dont have to rely on the few companies still operational ?
A lot of knee jerk and short term solutions has been introduced by the Government and even social commentators which seems to complicate the issue further rather than solving it,most times, sucessive Govts simply ignore it and roll the problem over for the next to deal with leading to the accumulated log jam we are presently facing.
It is very important to state here that this is not just a NIG or african problem,it is world wide especially due to the global recession which has meant a potential of even western graduates being in search of non existent jobs.However, the difference with them is that they are seeking realistic and pro active solutions, rather than just being complacently reactive as our government are.
The prevaliling harsh business climate obtained in the country has meant multi nationals are re-locating their companies to nearby african countries and abroad where the business climate and Govt business policies are more friendly to business,hence we are having fewer white collar jobs. A place like Nnewi in Anambra state with a blossoming cottage industry of about 50 manufacturing industries some years ago are left with only about six functioning now,with the downturn and closure in its wake the attendant unemployment and other economic malaise. The only vibrant sector in the Nigerian economy are the telecommunications and banking industry.They employ a lot of Nigerian graduates however, even they are not big enough to absorb the total work force,leaving the rest working in the ever shrinking and exploitative private sector with their repressive and and enslaving employment bonds and laws including state and federal govenment as civil servants on different pay grades.
What is a pro active and sustainable solution to getting the jobless graduates and even undergraduates into paid employments?
The obvious solution that readily comes to mind is Contemporary Agriculture and a properly structured Apprentice programme.However due to the fact that the Agricultural sector has been written on extensively and Govt have paid attention to it both in form of Legislation and Budgetary allocation,i will briefly be concentrating on the Apprentice Structure.
Presently,the way Apprenticeships Programme if it can be called that as presently constituted is structured is neither practical nor endearing for drop outs and illiterates who seem to be drawn to these sector presently,never mind graduates who might think of re-training and going on to set up SMEs.
The worskshops/place of employment are filthy,the ambience and atmosphere is not conducive for learning and most of the apprentice for the first 2-3 years are not taught much of the trade they signed on for but used as glorified slaves or runners remiscient of the dickensian workhouse of the 18th century england. In adittion to this is most of the technicians are illiterate,and at best semi literate,they are stuck in the same knowledge rut of the trade they have had since their informal graduation 10-20-30 years ago..as far as they are concerned,if these trial and error ways work for them,there is no reason to change it.Most do not aspire to anything greater than a small ramshackle lean to where they practise their trades and live a life of contentment,devoid of the natural intellectual curiosity found in the young and educated.
Presently apprentice are mostly young boys or girls brought to shop or business owners for service,their parent or guardian make a form of payment or Gratis to the principal, for them to impart their wards with knowledge and ways of going about the business,the technical and social intricacies and they in turn serve for some years ranging from at least 4-6yrs and above depending on the magnanimity of the boss. You will typically find apprentices in a wide range of businesses and crafts from cloth Trading to spare parts selling,Automobile engineers or mechanics as they are popularly called,carpenters and every skilled and unskilled labour/job you can think of. This form of Apprenticeship has been going on for as long as i can imagine and till the present time nothing seems to have changed in the way it is structured and run across all the diverse businesses and skilled employment.
However in my humble submission,if we are going to be Pro active and bullish in the quest to isolate and confront this issue of burgeoning unemployment once and for all, a primordial path needs to be carved out towards a new tangent,it is very important for society and the Govt most of all to divest itself from the aesthetic to a radical choice with a view to an egalitarian society,this is the only way for us and Govt to divest itself of millions unemployed and at the same time stimulate the economy and start the journey towards moulding a middle class by fostering and encouraging Small and Medium enterprises.
The Govt should as a matter of fact approach this in a multi faceted way,on one hand there should be a Government backed legislation from the state to Federal for a structured and intellectually aware apprenticeship programme with a set time as is done in advanced western countries,with this naturally will be a syllabus showing the clear cut modules both in theory and practical.They could be attached to existing colleges and Polytechnics as a short to medium term course.This will create an educational/intellectual atmosphere and also cut out the frankly unproductive extra years apprentice spend doing nothing but running around doing odd jobs and errands at the behest of their seniors. Inserted in this Programme is the nucleus and the most important (segment?) which is funding.Government should attach a special funding or subvention semi independently run which will solely benefit graduands of these apprenticeship programme in the form of long term soft loans to be used in setting up small and medium business in the area of their skills/crafts.
To put this in context,if 10,000 of the 2.5million presently graduating this year are admitted into a pilot of this programme,in a year plus,we can safely see at least 60% of them employing an additional 2 extra staff to help in their small medium business, meaning they would potentially take at least an additional 12,000 unemployed Nigerians out of the mix in addition to the initial 10,000 making a grand total of 22,000 within the first year only.Now extrapolate these numbers in a yearly geometric progression and we could see the numbers of unemployed drastically reduce and the economy stimulated
These objectives are by no means a stand alone concept nor all encompassing solution to the present issue of unemployment presently confronting the nation, it should not be seen in isolation but as an interrelated way of achieving a prosperous and an independently run economy which will in turn help foster a socially and financially endearing environment. I believe it is an original and positively primordial legacy which will go a long way in offering up an alternative to the Jobless Nigerians presently despondent and hopeless in the stark reality of the situation they have found themselves even though it is none of their making.
SMEs have stimulated economies all over the world,not just this they are the bedrock of any forward thinking model and have always been key to the stimulation of distressed economies and precisely what is needed to free up the constriction in our economic entanglement.
It is not realistic,even in the western world a with smaller population of unemployed graduates to expect them all to be employed by the existing sectors as presently constituted,hence an alternative definitely needs to be explored,especially if it has the potential to create alternative life skills and crafts via the re training of graduates, above all it will also create an avenue where young and educated newly graduated technicians of whatever field aquire more specialised and relevant knowledge in modern ways of going about their craft more useful in the contemporary world which the old time technicians do not have.(AN example are mechanics presently who do not realise that only spanners and screw drivers are archaic ways of detecting faults,totally alien to the concept of computerised detections methods e.t.c)
http://www.ncsu.edu/aern/TAS8.2/TAS8.2Ajayi.pdf
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/unemployment-rate
http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-60-of-nigerian-graduates-are-unemployed-/130658/
Ps ;i am writing based on the stats available to me so i admit there might be factual inacuracies pls if any is found i will appreciate and acknowledge correction thanks
