ABUJA— THE Senate,
yesterday, raised the alarm over rising rate of unemployment in the country and
called on the federal, state, and local governments to urgently declare a state
of emergency on the problem.
With the State of Emergency, the Upper Chamber said the three
tiers of government would provide jobs for the teeming youth of Nigeria.
According to the Senate, the action has become
imperative because the nation is sitting on a keg of gunpowder, with the state
of unemployment among teeming qualified youths. It said this remained the only
way to save the country from the problems of banditry,, kidnapping, armed
robbery and other social vices. Asking the federal government to direct the
Ministry of National Planning to set up a machinery for job creation for
youths, the Senate also urged federal, state, and local governments to
revitalise existing industries, build new ones, and provide conducive and
enabling environment for the private sector to build more industries. It
equally asked government to initiate a sustainable Unemployment Fund for the
payment of living stipends to unemployed Nigerians until such persons secured
employment. Resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion sponsored by
former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, PDP, Enugu West.
Ekweremadu, who brought the motion to the floor through Orders 42 and 52 of the
Senate standing rules, lamented that the large number of graduates from
institutions of higher learning in the country annually without jobs was a time
bomb waiting to explode. Presenting the motion, Ekweremadu cited a report
published by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS in 2019, which put
Nigeria’s unemployment rate at 23.1 per cent. Also quoting the Minister of
Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige, Ekweremadu said the unemployment
rate would hit 33.5 per cent by 2020. He said: “Any nation with such
number of unemployed but employable youths is only sitting on a keg of gun
powder. “The most pressing demand of every legislator and public officer is the
rising number of curriculum vitae and application for employment from
Nigerians. “A situation where every school graduate has to queue up for job
only in government offices is an indication of the breakdown of the private
sector which is the major driver of world economies.” According to him,
unemployed Nigerian youths with potential talents lying idle and wasting away
are usually misdirected toward many unprofitable and harmful ventures and
lifestyles. He said the most active percentage of the nation’s population was
forcibly being kept away from participating in the economic development of
their fatherland and could not, therefore, contribute to the nation’s Gross
Domestic Product, GDP. Attributing the high level of crime in any society to
high rate of unemployment, Ekweremadu noted that unemployment remained one of
the major causes of upsurge in rural-urban migration which put pressure on
facilities in urban centres. He expressed concerns at the large number of
graduates churned out by various institutions of higher learning on annual
basis who could not be absorbed by the labour. Market. “Report published by the
National Bureau of Statistics in 2019 states that Nigeria’s unemployment rate
stood at 23.1 per cent of the workforce in the third quarter of 2019.
“Statement credited to the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Sen. Chris
Ngige, showed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate will hit 33.5 per cent by 2020.
“Any nation with such number of unemployed, but employable youth population, is
only sitting on a keg of gunpowder. “Unemployment is one of the major reasons
insurgency, kidnapping, armed robbery, cyber crimes and other vices are on the
increase “Various intervention programmes by successive governments targeted at
reducing youth unemployment and eradicating its co-traveler, poverty, have not
yielded the desired results,’’ he said. In her contribution, former Senate
Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi, PDP, Ekiti South, who called for a
state of emergency on unemployment, said if serious action was not taken to
solve the problem, it could swallow everyone. She said the neglect of the
agricultural sector has really contributed to unemployment in the country,
stressing that women were the most affected. On his part, Senator Smart
Adeyemi, APC, Kogi West, described unemployment as a serious national problem affecting
everybody directly or indirectly. He said: “This is an issue we must all
take very seriously by proffering solutions as to how we should reduce
unemployment in our country.” He said the Iron and Steel Complex, Ajaokuta, in
Kogi State alone was capable of employing over 25, 000 people, lamenting only
less than 500 were currently absorbed by the company. While describing
unemployment as an issue beyond the Federal Government, Adeyemi said states
should be encouraged to set up small scale businesses for citizens to check
unemployment. Adeyemi, who noted that banks have contributed immensely to the
problem of unemployment in the country, said: “They (banks) refuse to
give facilities to small scale industries. Graduates are roaming the streets; some
of them have ideas as how to be self-employed but the facilities are not just
there for them.” He, however, called for a blueprint to encourage young
graduates to be self-reliant. Similarly, Sen.Istifanus Gyang, PDP, Plateau
North, said the menace of unemployment in the country was capable of resulting
in despondency, helplessness and hopelessness among youths. Calling on
government to declare a state of emergency on the unemployment situation in the
country, Gyang said: “This is so that all hands would be on deck and
deliberate steps taken to ensure that we rescue the generation of Nigerian
youths that are in this state of trauma, despondency and helplessness. “It will
require such sectors as agriculture, with potentials to generate a lot of
employment opportunities. Such sectors should attract attention
at the policy level and as a deliberate effort of government.” Also
in his contribution, Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi, APC, Ekiti North, decried the
inability of the private sector to address the escalating number of unemployed
persons in the country, lamenting that government on the other hand, lacked the
capacity to create jobs. Resolutions of the Senate were unanimously adopted
after a voice vote by the President, Ahmad Lawan.
Source: Vanguard