Unemployment is known to impoverish and cause untold suffering to the populace of countries facing this problem; one of the implications of unemployment in Nigeria is that the percentage of the populace living in absolute poverty; that is those who could afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing rose to 60.9 per cent in 2010, from the 54.7 per cent it was in 2004.There is this estimation by National Bureau for Statistics that this trend may have increased further in 2011 if the potential positive impacts of several anti poverty and employment generation intervention programmes are not vigorously pursued.It is against this backdrop and the pestilence posed by unemployment that the FCT Minister is using a multi-faceted approach to tackle the menace of unemployment which is known to increase the rate of crime in any society.The FCT Minister has already attracted investment from within and outside the shores of Nigeria that is put at an aggregate of $10 Billion dollars from April 2010 when he assumed office till date, including the investment from the US-based Balkan Development Centre of Dallas for the building of Abuja Town Center at a value of $2.6 Billion, the construction of a World Trade Center by the Church GateGroup which is valued at $1 Billion, various Mass Housing Projects by Foreign and Local Companies and also the Investment by Innoson Group from Nnewi that is constructing an Ultra-modern automobile manufacturing and service centre in Abuja, the list is endless and it goes to show that the FCT is fast becoming the best and biggest investment hub in Nigeria with a conducive and secure atmosphere for doing business courtesy of the favourable and attractive policies of the Bala Mohammed led Administration; this has already created more than 10,000 jobs.The recent ground breaking that symbolized the official launch of engineering infrastructure that will in its totality provide 70,000 kilometres of road network of diverse categories inclusive of bridges and culverts; drainage systems, water, sewage, electricity and telecommunication points.These new districts include Katampe, Maitama Extension and Kagini 1 covering 777,231,798 hectares correspondingly. Senator Bala's apparition is geared towards the provision of viable infrastructure to the FCT; the new districts will consist of more than 10,000 plots thus ensuring accommodation to the ever increasing populace of the FCT, also providing business and the propensity for employment opportunities which is put at over 30,000 jobs to help towards financial empowerment for the teeming unemployed in the Federal Capital Territory and decongestion of the city.Similarly, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board is another Department that is being used by Senator Bala Mohammed to create jobs; this has to do with the Environmental Task Force unit which recently recruited over 400 jobless persons to enforce the environmental laws in the Federal Capital Territory. Some of the Task Force members were recruited from surrounding communities of the FCT; this is to give the task force a community based and a people participatory inclusion in the fight against environmental pestilence and degradation. Before the commencement of work by the Task force; they were first subjected to training and induction by a combination of the country's security forces. The new Environmental task force is now more effective than ever and its visibility and operation can be seen all over the Capital City on a 24 hour basis, 7 days a week enforcing the environmental code as contained within the provisions of the applicable laws aimed at the preservation of a viable and practical environment, all civilised societies of the world operate on this kind of ideals.Some of the beneficiaries of the FCT Minister's employment creation shared their experiences. One of them, Garba Haruna narrated the circumstance that brought him to Abuja 'I was a student of the Nasarawa Polytechnic but due to financial constraint I became a drop out. I lost my father in 2007. I am 22 years old, an indigene of Katsina State'; he has been staying in Abuja jobless for 2 years until Senator Bala Mohammed created this employment opportunity that has seen to his being employed as a labourer in one of the sites. He thus further said, 'I can now eat well, cloth and house myself. I have also started saving money with the singular hope of returning back to school.The case is no different for Angela Ugochukwu, who had to resort to prostitution when she could not get a job. She said 'I came to Abuja three years ago but had to resort to prostitution as a means of survival when I could not get a job'. She added that 'my life as a prostitute was full of danger and risks; sometimes I get arrested by police and harassed by thugs'. Now she no longer has to practice prostitution that is very demeaning and this is predicated on the new FCT employment opportunity, as she now operates a restaurant on one of the sites of the districts that was recently opened by the Federal Capital Territory Administration; with about 5 persons working for her, she can now support herself, and her siblings back home in Anambra State.The job creation effort as demonstrated by Senator Bala Mohammed is based on the vision of President Goodluck Jonathan's transformational agenda which stipulates the increased creation of jobs for the teeming unemployed in the country whom are mostly youths; in light of the rising spate of crime and security challenges. Ibro is a Media Analyst and he wrote in from Abuja via lipsog@yahoo.com
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