Unemployment is cause of social unrest

The answer to this question is not farfetched. Injustice, unemployment, deprivation, hopelessness, and the total lack of commitment of the leaders to the plight of the struggling Nigerian youths are some of the answers to this question. An idle mind they say is the devils workshop. Unemployment in Nigeria today has become every youth’s nightmare. […]

The answer to this question is not farfetched. Injustice, unemployment, deprivation, hopelessness, and the total lack of commitment of the leaders to the plight of the struggling Nigerian youths are some of the answers to this question. An idle mind they say is the devils workshop. Unemployment in Nigeria today has become every youth’s nightmare. It is no longer about going to school and graduating or learning a trade, but about how to face the reality of graduating and joining the brigade of the unemployed with no hope of a better tomorrow.

Unemployment coupled with the ever widening social gap was what prompted the youth of the Niger Delta to pick up arms in protest. When MEND started vandalizing pipelines and kidnapping, many “truth shy” politicians and other stakeholders condemned their acts and declared war against them without taking time to consider the hardship and deprivations those youths were going through.

Blessed are the peace makers. The late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. Though initially ill-advised by the war mongers, made a U-turn and took the path of dialogue by declaring an amnesty for youths of the Niger Delta. He also took a step that those before him lacked the morality to take by coming up with a programme to empower the youth of the Delta. The dramatic way Yar’adua’s amnesty and empowerment programme brought to the end the Niger Delta saga is a testimony to the saying “A hungry man is an angry man”.

The emergence of Boko Haram brought about a new culture of suicide bombing and martyrdom to Nigeria. Our leaders quickly dismissed the group as that of religious extremist who were misguided and brainwashed by their leader, without taking time to look at the facts.

The only solution to the problems is for our leaders to stop dragging their feet and create employment opportunities for our teeming youths, so as to keep their minds busy and off violent thoughts. A stitch in time they say saves nine.

Amiru Adamu is the publisher of Northern Wind Magazine