Hope for a new dawn (III): Ameliorating poverty and unemployment

Those contrasts have sharpened in the last 15 years, particularly from 2009 to 2014. Nigeria’s enormous wealth is acknowledged and the potentials of economy to grow and sustain the government’s development plans are also recognised. If these resources are tapped and optimized for the benefit and wellbeing of the majority of the citizens, Nigeria would […]

Those contrasts have sharpened in the last 15 years, particularly from 2009 to 2014. Nigeria’s enormous wealth is acknowledged and the potentials of economy to grow and sustain the government’s development plans are also recognised. If these resources are tapped and optimized for the benefit and wellbeing of the majority of the citizens, Nigeria would rank among the world’s greats. But it has been punching below its weight in regional and global affairs. Much of the problem is caused by mismanagement, not only of resources, but of the economy too.  One of the fallouts of this is the twin-evils of mass unemployment and mass poverty, constituting a serious challenge for the country. Many reports have found correlation between both and the high level of insecurity that stalks the land.
Paradoxically, the overabundance of poverty alleviation programmes launched by various state governments, federal government, first ladies, and ministries of Niger Delta Affairs and of Women’s Affairs, churches, international and domestic nongovernmental organisations, has not made any dent, nor have the measures alleviated poverty in the most critical areas of need. They have failed to effectively address the situation, though this can be blamed chiefly on the absence of a framework to guide and coordinate them. Low economic performance, adoption of poor or inappropriate policies and jobless “growth” statistics contribute immensely to drive unemployment. These are aggravated by failure to fully implement technical and vocational education curriculum, neglect of the agricultural sector; poor, and sometimes hostile, environment for investment, rural to urban migration, rapid population growth and the continuing collapse of the manufacturing sector.
Several intervention measures have been made over the years to address the unemployment situation, but these have had little impact. The effectiveness of the Industrial Training Fund, National Directorate of Employment, Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) and the National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP) in the face of declining economic performance, is not impressive. These institutions must be re-evaluated and revamped to make them more focused and relevant.
Tackling the problems of unemployment and poverty would involve short, medium and long term measures. The surfeit of short-term solutions, such as the politically-inspired distribution of motorcycles, which only caused more chaos and had to be abandoned, has not solved anything. “Emergency” solution like appointing hundreds of personal aides by executive office holders is not productive either, but adds to the strain on public purse.   A realistic short-term solution would be to embark on massive public sector infrastructure projects.  A national modernized rail network linking every state capital should be given utmost priority. An economy with little expenditure on capital projects on a big and continuing scale cannot grow at a pace to match the needs of the people. In the medium term, effective investment in human resources is needed to empower citizens with knowledge and skills capable of making them gainfully employed. This would mean a vast expansion of educational opportunities.
Higher education system must be revised to ensure that the majority of qualified candidates are admitted into programmes that would give them better job prospects. Currently the nation’s universities graduate people that may be considered unemployable because they lack the skills and competence that employers look for.  A sustainable and long standing solution would be the political will, as distinct from sloganeering, to diversify the economy to reduce the overreliance on crude, a coherent bailout package to rescue certain industries, like the textile for instance, and continuous public works to absorb new entrants into the labour market.  Of course these would succeed only if they are complemented by sound ethical and moral values.