The current economic challenges being faced by the Government
of Nigeria as a result of the unstable policies of the Government, especially
in the area of its monetary policies has led my graduates who are daily churned
out by the numerous Universities and other Tertiary institutions without Job in
sight to seek refuge in learning of trade and many going into businesses.
Between the month of May and June 2016, over 5,000 people
have been sacked by the financial sector with more to be sacked, according to
insider in one of the National Banks who spoke with me said the challenges the
banking sector is facing was largely caused by the Treasury Single Account,
TSA, policy of the Federal Government, where Government’s funds are moped into
a single account, managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, leaving the
commercial banks with less funds to trade with, hence they have no option than
to cut cost by laying off staff.
Forex scarcity is another bane of this Government which has
forced many multinational companies to relocate to neighbouring countries like
Ghana, Kenya etc with Nigerian workers being laid off. The private sector which
is the major employer of labour are laying off staff due to lack of profits
arising from the cost of doing business especially the increase in the cost of
Diesel and Petrol which they need to power their generators because the
Government has not been able to provide electricity.
Many University and Polytechnic graduates including the ones with first class
are resulting to self-help by acquiring skills outside what they learned, so
they can be self-employed.
Idowu Oladele is a first class graduate of Industrial Physics
from the University of Ibadan, but today, she is a Hair Stylist, according to her ‘I graduated in 2008, after
searching for jobs for 5 years without finding any, I had to develop a skill
and today I have two people working for me’.
Narrating his ordeal
with his former employer, Ikechukwu Okafor, who was able to get a job but ended
up being a mechanic due to poor condition of his job and the meagre salary that
was not enough to foot his bills ‘I’m a graduate of Engineering from the University
of Nigeria, Nsuka, I got a job in a firm in Lagos immediately after my National
Youth Service(NYSC) in 2010, but my salary was 20 thousand Naira and I never
had time for myself, so I had to figure out how to get through this and I went
to enrol as apprentice in a Mechanic Workshop in my area, today I am my own
boss and I earn good money, I have built my house and I drive a good car and I
will soon settle down’.
There are many graduates roaming the streets in Nigeria
without Jobs, especially in big cities like Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt and
others. Some even postulate that formal education is fast becoming a waste in
Nigeria as graduates have no hope except he or she has political connections.
The level of crime in the country has increased in the past
one year to unbearable level, Kidnapping was only perpetrated by a particular
group in the oil rich region and their interest was to kidnap oil workers so as
to draw the attention of the Government to address the degrading environment
caused by oil companies’ activities in the region. Now, Kidnapping is being
perpetrated in every nook and crannies of the country for ransom, arm robbery and
other crimes are on the increase.
The credibility of the present Nigerian President is being
called to question by some groups, who daily accuse the president given false
hope of change to the populace during his 2015 campaign with the CHANGE mantra.
However, Economists have suggested that the school curriculums
need to be tailored to the aspect of practical so as to enable graduates to become
self-reliant and create jobs rather than looking for ‘White collar jobs’ which
are not in existence.
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