04042021 - Tension as gunmen kill Miyetti Allah leaders in Nassarawa

SUNDAY VANGUARD, APRIL 4, 2021, PAGE 7
WORSENING UNEMPLOYMENT:
Why jobs are
disappearing in
Nigeria, by experts
•The way out!
By Peter Egwuatu, Assistant
Business Editor, Tunde Oso &
Nkiru Nnorom
Unemployment rate in Nigeria
rose from 27.1 percent to 33.3
percent from December to
March 2021, according to the
National Bureau of Statistics,
NBS.
The NBS explained that the number of
unemployed Nigerians rose to 23.19 million
in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 on the back
of job losses occasioned by the outbreak of
COVID-19 pandemic and its stifling impact
on businesses during the period.
The Q4 unemployment rate report titled:
‘Labor Force Statistics: Unemployment and
Underemployment Report’, showed that the
number is 6.5 percent higher compared to 21.77
million.
Ever since the report was released, there have
been arguments back and forth on the true
unemployment state in the country.
While officials of the Buhari administration
argued that the situation wasn’t the fault of
government, others blamed what was described
as the failings of the regime.
However, in conversations with Sunday
Vanguard, some experts presented the true state
of unemployment in the country, saying the
continuous increase wasn’t surprising. They
identified reasons for the situation and proffered
ways out.
Managing Director/CEO, Highcap
Securities, David Adonri, said the
socioeconomic conditions in the country are
responsible for the situation.
Adonri said the increase in unemployment
rate to 33 percent wasn’t surprising.
Causal factors
“The increase in the unemployment rate of
labour to 33 percent in Nigeria is not surprising.
The prevalent socioeconomic conditions in the
country are precursors to this parlours situation.
If things continue the way they are, the situation
can get worse”, he said.
“Nigeria degenerated to this dangerous level
of unemployment owing to the absence of
population control and excessive supply of
unskilled labour.
“As a result of population explosion due to
lack of birth and migration controls, the
economy is overwhelmed with excess liquidity
of people.
“Then, concerning the demand for labour,
the economy lacks the required capacity to
generate productive employment that can
consistently mop up labour.
“Due to the absence of engineering
infrastructure, the economy is unable to sustain
itself internally, thus exporting jobs through
pervasive import dependence. “Nigeria is an
agrarian economy, but the recent breakdown
of the rural economy due to widespread
insecurity has worsened the country’s
unemployment rate.
Challenges
“Challenges to tackling rising
unemployment rate are mainly from
population explosion, absence of engineering
infrastructure to support production and
pervasive rural insecurity.
“The first two are age-long while the third
challenge assumed an unprecedented
dimension since 2015.
“While the first two challenges are inimical
to full employment of labour and capital, the
third factor deals with the employment of land.
“Analysis of these factors shows very clearly
that all the factors of production are massively
underemployed in Nigeria.”
Faulty
Speaking on the effectiveness of strategies
deployed to tackle unemployment, he said:
“The instruments and strategies deployed by
government to create jobs are faulty. They are
not formulated to address the inherent
weaknesses in the socioeconomic fuelling
unemployment. They are taking ineffective
panic measures.
“They should start implementing policy on
birth and immigration controls to lay the
foundation for labour optimization.
“They must start bridging the infrastructure
deficit. This will mechanize the economy and
enable it to become internally self-sustaining
with a high multiplier effect. “There should be
no room for rural insecurity if agriculture which
forms the natural base for employment is to be
revived.
“Government has not been serious in these
areas. The laughable policies of Tradermoni,
meager cash transfer and temporary
employment across all 774 LGAs are wasted
resources.
“They cannot form the kind of capital that
can generate massive productive employment
on a sustainable basis.
Unemployment
and insecurity
“High unemployment rate and insecurity are
mutually reinforcing evils. One can lead to the
other. They are two devilish brothers born on
the same day but insecurity, which is elder, is
the most terrible.”
On his part, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, a lecturer
in Capital Market Studies at the Nasarawa
State University, said since the GDP growth
rate since 2015 has been weak and below
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