Proposals for the Emancipation of the Unemployed Nigerian Youth

(Best 200 essays, 2010 World Bank International Essay Competition)

1. INTRODUCTION

In Nigeria, the issue of youth unemployment has become a race against time. For too long our governments have focused their energy on harping on policies for political benefits rather than focus on the implementation of the policies. What we have today is a country of endangered youths. Internet fraud, militancy and kidnappings have become the order of the day. Since I learnt to read the papers, never have I been confronted with such a massive revolt of the youth. If our youths are so endangered, then our future is endangered. Splashed on the newspapers are testimonies as to the nature of this endangerment. The youths are jobless, frustrated, and hopeless, and have found an ally in twisted morals. 

With the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the National Employment Training Scheme

(NETS) and the recently announced Vocational Enterprise Institute (VEIs) and Innovations Enterprise Institutions (IEIs), Nigeria has robust paper tigers to prey on the unemployment problem of the youth, but salient issues are delaying the transition of these interventions from mere documents that are only understood by a few people, to celebrated realities. These issues are those of capital and the lackadaisical attitude of both government and the trainees. Like most Nigerians, the trainees have lost interest in their government and most only enrolled in the programme to buy time for their frustration.

According to the PRO of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), only Kano state and the FCT have established VEIs^[1]. In a country of 36 states, what might the other states be waiting for? Or are these states immune to the unemployment scourge? The answers lie in the fact that similar policies have failed in the past. To implement a successful youth employment drive, something has to be at stake. It is on this basis that I have developed an initiative, Vocational Bond Institute (VBI), which will take care of the lapses.

For youth unemployment to be tackled in Nigeria, youths have to contribute. GENY^[2] is a thriving example. VBI will be one concrete example of such.

• THE IMPACT OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
  • SCENARIO 1

As I write this essay, the latest ethnic and religious crisis in the country is ravaging the city of

Jos, capital of plateau state. About 500 people mostly women and children have been reported dead. The Vatican, the UN, and many countries are sending in their condolences. A mass burial of the dead is ongoing in the city while CNN and other foreign channels are busy focusing on the country. When the party is over, everyone will return to their comfort station and the unemployed youths who were mostly used to perpetrate the atrocities will be arrested and locked up. Later, the religious and political leaders who used them will secure their release, pay them and then dismiss them to be reused for the atrocities of tomorrow. This particular fact is evident from the confessions that are being extracted by the police from the perpetrators of the above massacre.

In the states of Kano, Bauchi and Borno, similar scenarios have played out. Nigeria is at the mercy of ethnic and religious crisis because jobless youths are increasingly becoming victims of the self-serving doctrines of the elite.

• SCENARIO 2

The dust is yet to settle on how militant youths of the Niger-delta took militancy to another dimension. The world economy was affected as the price of crude oil fluctuated along with the grim news that constantly emanated from the region. Youths fighting the continuous exploitation of their oil resources in the face of extreme environmental degradation and monumental joblessness took to arms, bombed pipelines, kidnapped expatriates and lived like kings on the ransoms they collected. Most of the expatriates kidnapped are foreigners who have sworn never to set foot in my country again. Today, many foreign oil companies have left the country further compounding our unemployment woes while new ones are reluctant to invest in the country.

Many lives were lost, resources wasted, houses burnt and a whole kingdom in the area, the Gbaramatu kingdom was razed by angry soldiers avenging the murder of some officers by the militant youths. Billions of Naira have been lost and many families devastated.

The federal government had no option other than to offer the youths amnesty with a promise to accelerate the development of the area and engage the youths in productive enterprises. But due to the political crisis surrounding the health of the president, the amnesty programme is being threatened. Perhaps, more than at any time in our history, the unity of our country is threatened. For if the amnesty programme fails, and the youths return to the creeks, their next mission might be to secede from Nigeria.

In anticipation of the success of the amnesty programme, the singular most painful headache the government will have is the employment of the repentant youths.

       2.3.       SCENARIO 3

I am from Ondo state, one of the southwest states. In my living area, a new residential area that is mostly made up of uncompleted buildings, we witnessed firsthand the grim realities of youth unemployment during the 2007 general elections. One of the houses in the area was home to a group of political thugs of one of the leading political parties in the state. This group is made up of unemployed youth. They owned a bus with which they terrorised the residents. When I got home from school my father called me aside and warned me repeatedly to be quiet about my political leanings. I had no option than to comply because the leader of this group is a renowned thug in the state.

On the day of the election, I and my papa sat in front of the television and watched as news of how political violence marred the election filtered in. Arrested thugs were shown on television and all of them were youths, some even younger than me. As we expected, the election was massively rigged. The same scenario was recorded across the country.

Politicians have found a job for the jobless youths. They are used as political thugs during elections to subvert the peoples’ will or terrorize rival political parties. 

       2.4.       SCENARIO 4

Some weeks ago, I read in the newspapers the latest of the incessant arrest of internet fraudsters by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Nine students of one of the state universities suspected of carrying out fraudulent activities on the internet were whisked away by operatives of the EFCC. The Nation quoted one of the residents as saying “you need to see the criminal extravagance of these students. What is worrisome is that these prodigal students are from downtrodden families.

They ride exotic cars that professors cannot afford, and they live in houses difficult for lecturers to cope with. What then are their sources of income?…”. 

Earlier, precisely on November 26 2009, one of my articles titled The Oliver Twists On Our Campuses, along with my picture, was published in a national daily. In it, I explained what I believed to be the root of the problem. Some youths came to me thereafter, wanting someone to talk to about their frustrations on the internet. On interaction with some of them, I discovered that ignorance is the number one cause of the problem. This ignorance later pushes them into criminality.

In many countries, there are various opportunities for students to work and earn some money to augment their expenses. But in a country in which graduates are grossly unemployed, employment opportunities for students are mostly non-existent. 

Robbery and related crimes are now more rampant. Even on campus, the alarm bell is tolling more than ever. Just two weeks ago, I was a victim. My laptop containing sensitive documents about my foundation and all the materials I was planning to read in preparation for this essay was stolen. That week alone, about four other laptops were reported stolen. If we as youths delay in proffering solution to the problem, we are all victims already. 

• INITIATIVES  

The initiatives proposed here are both new and ongoing projects and are outlined in four movements.

       3.1.       The Vocational Bond Institute (VBI)

1. Introduction- This initiative is much expedient considering the pitiable level of trust between the government and the citizenry of my country, particularly the youth. For the government to effectively confront the problem of unemployment, the issue of trust has to be taken care of. VBI will employ a different approach towards fighting the unemployment surge as will be outlined below, using trust and motivation. 
   1. The initiative– VBI will be an institute established by the government solely to enrol youths for the acquisition of vocational skills. Incoming students are expected to pay a fee on admission. But this will be a one-time fee paid on admission to what will be a four-year programme. Like most employment drive of the government, the initiative will be free except for the one-time admission fee. The fee can be pegged at N10,000 minimum and will vary according to the capital needed to establish the vocation enrolled for. A Bond can be defined as “A certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal”. The admission fee above will exist in the form of a Bond between the government and the students which the government is expected to repay on completion of the course along with interests. This interest will vary in line with a reward scheme that will encourage more seriousness on part of the students. There will be a class system to reward the performance of graduates of the institute. First-class graduates of the institute will be paid more interest, followed by other classes as deemed fit. The private sector, NGOs and international organizations will also be encouraged to disburse funds to outstanding graduates of the institutes. 

VBI can be explained simply as someone investing his money and then going into training to learn what to do with the investment on maturation.

• Admission requirements– Every youth between the age of 15 and 25 will be welcomed into the programme. Admission into VBI will require no educational certificate.
  • Structure– VBI will have an administrative office in every state. Students will be attached to skilled entrepreneurs, but unlike the NDE scheme, students will be expected to spend a fixed amount of time of about twenty hours per week with the entrepreneurs. On weekends, classes will be held in which students will be told things they are expected to learn from the skilled entrepreneurs per week and tasks of the previous week discussed. In this way, coordinators will be able to assess the competence of the entrepreneurs. Public schools will be used for the weekend meetings. Additionally, students with basic educational needs like reading and writing will be encouraged to attend an adult education programme that will be organized by the institute.
  • Funding– Government, with solicited contributions from NGOs, private sector, wealthy individuals and international organizations.
  • Making the initiative Youth-led– To convince youths to enrol in this initiative will require the testimonies of fellow youths. Yes, that is how low the youths regard their government. Now, let us imagine these fellow youths are assured a reward if they share their testimonies, we will discover that more youths will be informed about the programme. VBI will be youth-led in that the publicity of the programme will be left entirely to the youths. Students will be rewarded based on the number of other youths they are able to bring into the programme. The reward may not be monetary but may form part of the course requirement. The Nigerian government may never solve the problem of youth unemployment if motivation is excluded.
  • Projected challenges– Corruption is perhaps the singular most daunting challenge that will face this initiative. But it will be overcome in this way. Students will form a group called The Heritage Watch. This group will frequently demand information from administrators of the fund and liaise with credible experts to help analyze such information. The Heritage Watch will also liaise with government anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and ICPC in case of suspicious activities by administrators of the fund or the skilled entrepreneurs. Another challenge will be how to get enough skilled entrepreneurs to support the programme. But as more students graduate and become established, this challenge will be overcome.
  • Impacts of VBI– 
    • The challenges of assessing capitals will be tackled.
    • Youths will be motivated enough to focus on acquiring vocational skills, especially when formal education is not within reach.
    • Illiterate youth would be able to acquire basic education along with vocational skills acquisition.
    • Youth unemployment will be reduced.
• Recommendation- My first recommendation will be that government should totally adopt VBI as a separate option for youths between the age-grade 15 to 25, especially the uneducated ones in the rural areas where the majority can neither read nor write. The second recommendation is that government should inculcate the core strategies of the initiative into the ongoing programmes.
• The Niger-delta experience- One issue that is causing concern among observers is the decision of the federal government to pay repentant militants in exchange for their arms. This is a temporary solution that cannot last. What happens when they finish spending the money? Why not adopt the VBI option. Instead of paying militants, the government should issue them a vocational bond certificate which is redeemable on completion of a vocational or entrepreneurial course.

       3.2.        CHILD EMPOWERMENT STRATEGY (CHESS)

1. Introduction– One might be tempted to question the urgency of child empowerment when the real problem lies in youth unemployment. But the child becomes the youth. Some time ago, the editor of Campus Life, a weekly feature in THE NATION, the most popular newspaper on Nigerian campuses, gave up her weekly column for an Opinion sent in by a staff of one of our universities. The article diagnosed the reason behind the menace of students staying too long on a course and eventually becoming unemployable graduates. Her diagnosis was that these youths were pushed into courses they have no talent for. Most of these students eventually end up focusing more on these talents with no time for their studies. I propose a Child Empowerment Strategy that will not only give direction from an early age but will ultimately redefine the job market in the very near future.
   1. The initiative– Ten clubs based on the following areas will be mandatory in every secondary school; science, innovation, debate, drama, nature, business, technology, music, writing, sports and health. During their first year in secondary school, students and their parents will be asked to answer some questions aimed at determining the following
      1. The careers to which the students have the greatest disposition.
      1. The subjects in which the students perform best and the ones they love most.
      1. The television shows, hobbies, games and home chores they prefer.
      1. Activities in which they have shown specific talent. Etc

The students will then be distributed into the various clubs based on the information gathered from the above. In Nigeria, the critical stage in the academic life of a child is the first three years in secondary school. Thereafter, the secondary school students are usually distributed to three major classes; Art, Commercial and Science classes. Usually, no criterion is followed and students are forever confined to careers they might never excel in. CHESS will serve as a way to correct this anomaly. Other than academic performance, a good performance by students in any of the clubs will be put into consideration 

III.      Implementation– CHESS will be a collaboration between the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the Parent-teachers’ association (PTA) of the schools. Due to poor funding by government and even private owners, it is not uncommon for the PTA to hire teachers for their wards’ school and contribute money to pay the teachers. PTA will only extend this goodwill to CHESS for the employment of one coordinator per school. NANS role will be to register volunteers among Nigerian youths in tertiary institutions across the country to work with the school coordinators to supervise the programme. Usually, many Nigerian students of tertiary institutions are on holiday at a particular time due to irregular academic calendars. NASS will canvass for volunteers among the holidaying students. The coordinator along with the volunteers will approach NGOs, private companies and individuals who are involved in areas of the ten clubs for sponsorship of specific programmes per year. The clubs will bear the name of sponsoring companies in inter-school contests. This will infuse excitement into the programme.

(3.3 and 3.4 have been redacted for personal reasons).

4. REFERENCES

 News articles from THE NATION newspaper.

 Wordart dictionary.

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[1] Front page, education feature, The Nation newspaper of march 11 2010. 

[2] Growth and Empowerment for Nigerian Youth. I am the founder and coordinator.