YOUTH unemployment in Nigeria said to be the highest in the world if numbers from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Bank are anything to go by.
According to statistics from the two institutions, the average rate of unemployment worldwide is 14.2 per cent while Nigeria’s rate of unemployment is 19.7 per cent. The country as a whole is above the world average and some states are actually above the national average. In fact, the picture is grimmer when it is dimensioned along age bracket, geopolitical zones and professions as it also indicates that youth unemployment between the age bracket of 18 and 24 years is as high as 41.6 per cent.
Indeed, 15 states out of the nation’s 36 and the Federal Capital Territory fall within the category with high unemployment population figures above the national record with the headline states being in the North East region of the country where insecurity is more prevalent with the resultant attack on the economic activities of the zone. A quick look at the figures may perhaps provide the reason while the zone is fertile ground for the easy recruitment for insurgencies. The figures actually represent one of the highest in the country: Bauchi - 37.2 per cent; Gombe-32.1 per cent ; Adamawa-29.4 per cent; Borno-27.7 and Yobe-27.3 per cent respectively.
Apparently, disturbed by this unacceptable situation, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance , Dr. ( Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, launched the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) solution as part of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE – P) which is a social safety net programme meant to mitigate the perceived pains arising from the partial removal of petroleum subsidy gains by the Federal Government about three years ago.
Under the GIS programme, more than 50,000 youth across the country are being employed to ensure that their skills are being developed towards empowering them to be employable in the short/medium/long term. GIS will ensure that youths are attached as apprentices in reputable public/private firms for a period of one year where the skills of such individuals will be sharpened as well as boost their chances of becoming self employed.
According to the Head, Public Communications of the GIS, Mallam, Sulaiman Haruna, in a chat with The Guardian on the scheme : “ While the GIS is designed as a short-term measure, it has high prospects for job creation. The specific objectives of the program are : it will employ 50,000 youth across the country to ensure that their skills have been developed towards empowering them to be employable in the short/medium/long term. GIS will ensure that youths are attached as apprentices in reputable public/private firms for a period of one year where the skills of such individuals will be sharpened as well as boost their chances of becoming self employed.”
According to him, “ To reduce the vulnerability of unemployed graduates. To build manpower base towards attaining national development operations. During this period the Federal Government of Nigeria will be responsible for paying a monthly stipend to the graduate interns.
The participating institution will be expected to provide adequate opportunities for training and mentoring the interns. Benefits to interns include provision with skills and information required to enter into work; Youth empowered to prepare to work for themselves or create jobs for others; Acquiring skill will protect youth from demand and supply shocks; Opportunity to sharpen their skills and enhance employability and Opportunity to build new networks and professional contacts among others,” he further enumerated.
Already, he revealed that the scheme, which was launched in October, 2012 has commenced with much vigor with participation from both applicants; stakeholders firms and State Governments that are already providing the skills needed to the applicants.
In fact, Haruna declared that the GIS has recorded over 181,800 beneficiaries (applicants) already registered over and beyond the threshold of 50,000 allotted for the scheme in any given year. Deployment of such beneficiaries has commenced to the various sectors like Agriculture; IT; Education; Engineering and Finance.
One sector where the scheme has seemingly recorded a huge success is in agriculture and allied services industry where the Ondo State Government is partnering the Federal Government in the training of 280 graduates through the State’s Pro-farmers and Agropreneurs Sustainable Scheme (PASS).
Inaugurating the scheme recently in the State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, tasked the young graduates to show commitment and absolute dedication to the programme. He declared that agriculture provides the best avenue for employment and wealth generation aside oil and gas, stressing that youth empowerment through agriculture was part of his administration’s policies to engage youth in productive venture.
He said four agro business cities with state of the art facilities comprising hostel accommodation for more than 1000 youth, dams, fish ponds and poultry houses among others have been established in the three senatorial districts of the State.
Mimiko restated his determination to key into federal government’s programmes such as Growth Enhancement Scheme and Cassava Value Chain Programme that support his administration’s vision in agriculture with a view to providing gainful employment for teeming youth. He further explained that the state government was embarking on the clearing of 1000 hectares of land at Ore for the use of the profarmers out of which 500 hectares would be used to commence rice project in collaboration with its Malaysian partners.
The Governor added that about 1million oil palm seedlings were being transplanted from the nursery to plantation in Ore under his administration’s oil palm revolution, noting that the revitalization of the state’s cocoa plantation in Oda is to boost the establishment of its chocolate academy.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Ondo State Employment creation agency under which the PASS programme is being run, Barr. (Mrs.) Bolanle Olafunmiloye expressed satisfaction at the commitment and dedication shown by the applicants in the pro-farmers’ programme and advised other States to borrow a leaf from ondo because of the gains both to the young unemployed applicants in the first instance and the nation at large because of the imminent boost in food production and processing.
She spoke more on the vision of the Programme and the successes recorded so far: “ In the drive to tackle the menace of youth unemployment in the State, the State Government established the Wealth Creation Agency in 2009. Since then the Wealth Creation Agency (WECA) has been involved in several youth development programs and initiatives one of which is the establishment of 4 agro business cities across the state, a sericulture unit, an apiculture unit, a honey processing company and other departments in the Agency.
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