The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has expressed worries over the increasing level of unemployment in the country estimated to hit an index of 33.5% by 2020, stressing that this will present serious challenges to the nation.
The minister, who relied on the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) indicating that Nigeria’s unemployment rate may reach an all-time high of 33.5 per cent by 2020, raised this alarm while making his presentation at a workshop in Abuja on Thursday.
The two-day workshop which drew stakeholders in the labour circle was predicated on the theme: “Breaking the Resilience of High Unemployment Rate in the Country”.
The minister noted that urgent steps need to be taken to avert the situation, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari’s Government has mapped out strategies to tackle the menace through various social interventions programmes
The NBS current unemployment rate in 2019 stands at 23.1 percent, while under-employment is estimated to be in the threshold of 16.6 percent even as the stakeholders attributed the high prevalence of crimes such as murders, insurgency, militancy, armed robbery, kidnappings, drug abuse to the growing number of unemployed.
“It is a worrisome status as the global poverty capital (World Bank, 2018); as if this situation is not scary enough, it is projected that the unemployment rate for this country would reach 33.5 per cent by 2020, with consequences that are better imagined, if the trend is not urgently reversed.
“It is a thing of joy to note that Nigeria has not been resting on her oars over the years in terms of dedicated efforts to curb the unemployment problem, “ the minister said.
According to the minister, there have been various government social intervention programmes, aimed at tackling the unemployment scourge especially among the youth and eradicating poverty, which he noted had been implemented by different administrations since Nigeria gained independence in 1960.
The Minister pointed out that available records show that between 1972 to date, about 14 of such programmes have been implemented. Some of these programmes include the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP), implemented between 1972 and 1973, including the current National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), which has been on-going since 2017, embedded in the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020.
The minister however, lamented that despite these interventions, the unemployment rate and poverty levels are rising, which probably indicates that the programmes may not have been far-reaching.
He stressed that changes are needed in the policies, plans and strategies to tackle the menace adding that Nigerians must be given jobs to forestall future crisis.
He, however, called for collaborative efforts that would yield desired results while assuring that the recommendations from the workshop will receive prompt and sustained attention.
Contributing, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment Williams Alo noted that it has become incumbent on stakeholders to use the workshop to present the findings of the survey on how to break the resilience of high unemployment rate in Nigeria.
“To stimulate actions towards exploiting untapped available options for massive job creations; to chart way forward on immediate next steps that would yield measurable results, ’’he added.
Country Director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Nigeria, during his remarks bemoaned that unemployment was a major concern to the ILO, especially Nigeria that has significant proportion of unemployed youth across the continent of Africa.
“We believed that if Nigeria addresses the issue of unemployment, it will go a long way to address the whole problem that is faced in Africa to that extent.
“Let me say that over the years, we have recognised the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria, where it has approved various initiatives including the adoption of Employment Policy of 2017,” he stated.
INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja
