When world youths gathered in Abuja for unemployment

Nigeria recently hosted the Global Youth Employment Forun organized by the International Labour Organisation. Daily Trust’s reporter was there to capture all the deliberations.   More than 200 young people from around the world attended the (GYEF) Global Youth Employment Forum, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria to discuss how to ensure more and better […]

Nigeria recently hosted the Global Youth Employment Forun organized by the International Labour Organisation. Daily Trust’s reporter was there to capture all the deliberations.

 

More than 200 young people from around the world attended the (GYEF) Global Youth Employment Forum, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria to discuss how to ensure more and better quality jobs for young people.

The forum, which was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the Nigerian government, took place from 1st to 3rd August at the Sheraton Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria.

Nigeria had earlier accepted the offer to host the Global Youth Forum when Chris Ngige was then serving as Minister of Labour and Employment. It was designed to prove to the world that Nigeria is not a dangerous place as is widely speculated.

“Nigeria is the first country to host this forum outside the ILO headquarters in Geneva,” Ngige said.

The first edition of the Global Youth Employment Forum was in Geneva. This was only the second.

With the commitment and share will Nigeria has showcased in addressing labour issues, it has been moved from a non-governing country to a governing country of the ILO.

He urged the participants to maximise the opportunity given to them by the forum to brainstorm and tap knowledge, adding that youth should find a solution in curbing issues of unemployment.

With 59 million young people unemployed worldwide and 136 million in poverty, youth employment is one of the most pressing issues facing the world of work.

Participants discussed how to accelerate progress on youth employment-related targets and youth-related Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, rights, the rural economy, youth representation and the opportunities and challenges facing young people in their search for decent work.

Nigeria’s stand on youth employment

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, who declared the forum open disclosed that his administration has through the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), yielded over two million direct and indirect employment opportunities and lifted over five million Nigerians out of extreme poverty.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who represented the President, disclosed this while addressing the delegates.

At the forum which had the theme: “Today and Tomorrow with Decent Jobs for Youths”, Mustapha said the Government of Nigeria recognised the need to focus on youth empowerment by creating enabling environment for job opportunities and capacity building.

He said some sectors of the economy, which had high propensity for massive job creation and employment generation, were specifically targeted by the government for various forms of support.

The sectors are agriculture, solid minerals, power, works and housing, trade and investment and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Mustapha said that Nigeria places much value on its youths who represent the future of the nation, saying, “We are glad that this event is bringing together selected young people from member states of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) from different continent to discuss an issue that is of critical importance to both the young and the old; which is the creation of decent jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.”

He noted that one of the key components of the NSIP, “the N-power and its sub-components”, has led to the creation of job opportunities in different sectors of the economy for young persons.

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary, federal ministry of labour and employment, William Nwankwo Alo commended the ILO for the Decent Work Country Programme I and Decent Work Country Programme II.

He appealed for the ILO to extend its usual full support to the Nigerian Government in the formulation and implementation of Decent Work Country Programme III, which has become overdue.

Alo, however, requested for technical and financial support from the ILO for the implementation of action plans of various National Policies such as National Employment Policy, National Policy on Labour Migration, National Productivity Policy, National Policy on Child Labour and National Policy on Occupational safety and Health.

While acknowledging ILO’s support extended to Nigeria in the development of these policies, which are pivotal for the achievement of decent work, Mr. Alo added that ILO should consider providing technical and financial support for the establishment of National Labour Market Information System.

ILO boss on tackling unemployment in Africa, world at large

The Director General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Guy Ryder, the first ILO DG to visit Nigeria in its 60 years of existence in the country, said that there are many good reasons why ILO held the Forum in Africa.

“I want to say that all of us who visit your country are aware of the talent and vibrancy of your people. We see them across the world in all sectors. So, we know very well the quality and talent of the people of Nigeria. I am proud to be the first serving Director General of our organisation to visit the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Ryder said.

“If you ask any minister of labour what their priorities are,” Ryder said, “in nine out of ten, their answers has always been generating work for young people and for the young people, the priority has been to obtain quality education and a chance at a decent job.”

He said there is no more important job in any part of the world than the task ILO has set for this global youth employment forum.

Ryder said with 255 million young people who are not in employment nor are they in education or training, there is a potential for chaos if this demography is not addressed, adding that young women are three times more likely to be part of that number than young men.

With young people more likely to be unemployed than adults, he said, “Even when they can find a place of work, they can be in extremely difficult condition, which sometimes fall short of ILO’s ambition of decent work for all.”

Ryder stated that about 136 million young people are working but still live in poverty.

“These are the working poor and in Africa, that is the status of 60 percent of young workers, often concentrated in conditions of informalities and in rural economies,” he said.

“These are our global realities,” he said, the reality the international community set for itself when it adopted  in 2015 the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

“The commitment then was to leave nobody behind and that include the goal of inclusive growth and decent work for everybody, including youths. Last month, the UN took stock of the progress we have made so far in delivering on this agenda and the news is that we are way off track. The message here therefore is that we have to do more and better, “that is why we are here in Abuja,” he said.

ILO sets up call action plan for employment

Ryder said that in 2012, the ILO adopted its call for action on youth employment, which is the framework of the work for this forum noting that the call for action sets out five basic areas of action.

Those plans include “Pro-employment micro economic policies that will enable job creation among youths, which means that youth employment is not only a matter for ministries of labour or youths, but other agencies of government. The policy investment in education and skill, which is key so that the skill provided young people are those that the labour market really need.

The third area is “Active labour market policy and this could vary from employment service provision to wage subsidy among others, which can ease transition of young people from education to employment. The fourth is promotion of youth entrepreneurship and employment to harness the energy and talent of our young people. Lastly, we have to be aware often of the rights of the young people because they are workers like others and their rights need to be promoted and respected.”

Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the NLC president noted that the most profound challenge of the world of work lately has been linked to insecurity, uncertainties and impact of technology.

“Technology has threatened jobs; decent jobs should be at the centre of all economic policies, because human beings are at the centre of every development.”

Wabba said the NLC would continue to seek ILO’s support for capacity building and intervention for Nigeria to be at par with its counterparts, pledging more commitment to the values of social dialogue on minimum wage and other issues affecting Nigerian workers.

As young participants continue to search for solutions to unemployment

A participant from the Philippines, Muhammad Abdullahi said finding solutions should advocate for much more ambitious youth engagement around the world.

The speaker of the Nigerian youth parliament, Mubarak Mijinyawa, who spoke to Daily Trust reporter tasked youth around the world to use the medium of the GYEF to tap knowledge and “share the experiences they had back home.”

Ha said, “The GYEF would help Nigerian government in addressing the menace of unemployment bothering the country for many years.”

Mijinyawa urged Nigerian government to engage the youth to participate in both the government and other sectors in order to help curb unemployment.