‘Unemployment rate in Nigeria threatens African stability’

Dr. Richard Munang, UNEP Africa Regional CC Coordinator, has said  the unemployment rate in Nigeria was a challenge which constituted an impending threat to stability on the African continent. Munang stated this during the launch of the Nigeria national branch of the Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (NNB EBAFOSA) held Friday in Abuja. […]

Dr. Richard Munang, UNEP Africa Regional CC Coordinator, has said  the unemployment rate in Nigeria was a challenge which constituted an impending threat to stability on the African continent.
Munang stated this during the launch of the Nigeria national branch of the Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (NNB EBAFOSA) held Friday in Abuja.
He said: “As we speak, the youthful population of age 15 – 25, currently at 200 million and projected to double by 2045 has an unemployment rate of 60%. This constitutes an impending threat to stability in the continent, a possibility acknowledged by the African Union.’’
He said that commodity earnings, that constituted one of Africa’s crucial revenue sources, were also threatened as well as the world commodity prices, which peaked in 2011, and which “have gallantly fueled the colorful Africa rising narrative, of heading remorselessly downwards with a decline of over 40% cumulatively.”
This decline, according to him, has resulted in between $63 – $88.2 billion loss in continental revenue, with accompanying effects including rising inflation, thousands in job losses, currency depreciations and slashed development budgets among others directly threatening the continent’s growth.