THE problem of chronic unemployment in Nigeria is too plain for all to see. Thousands of graduates are turned out every year for whom there are no jobs. Nigerian streets are littered with hawkers who ordinarily would have found gainful employment in some enterprise. The self-employed are in a quandary as scant electricity makes it impossible for them to ply their trade. On a different scale, large enterprises capable of employing more staff are not hiring owing to the high cost of doing business in this country. A business that depends on diesel generators as main source of power cannot be competitive as its cost of production will inevitably balloon upwards. Other countries with lower manufacturing costs have found Nigeria a fertile ground for exploitation and are dumping all manner of goods on the Nigerian market. The federal government of Nigeria in a show of concern about rising unemployment appears to have allocated N50 billion in its 2011 budget to fight it. As is typical with many government initiatives, every time there is a problem, they throw money at it hoping that the problem will go away. Speaking at a recent event, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, confirmed that the Federal Executive Council had approved N50 billion to tackle unemployment. He is not specific about what the N50 billion is meant to achieve, rather he makes a convoluted explanation that confuses more than it enlightens. Said he,the Federal Government has proposed a N50 billion job creation package, ostensibly to test- run National Action Plan on Employment Creation (NAPEC) and to focus on employment relations alongside efforts at sustainable employment creation in the fulfilment of objectives of providing decent work for all. This looks like classic rigmarole. If the aim of NAPEC is the provision of decent work for all, N50 billion seems a drop in the ocean to achieve such a gargantuan objective. The minister describes his effort as a test-run which we conclude to be an experiment. If it fails, the money is lost. In a related development, the minister informed his audience that the federal government was currently reviewing its labour laws and that a bill to that effect was doing rounds in the federal legislature. Not being privy to what is contained in the revised labour laws, we can only assume that the interests of the Nigerian worker are protected and that unwholesome practices like dismissal without reason, abuse of expatriate quota, casualisation in the oil industry, payment of a liveable wage, the right of workers to organise trade unions, collective bargaining and a sensible grievance procedure are covered in the revision. We hope too that health, safety and environmental issues are provided for, including regular inspections by government agencies to ensure compliance. Governance is about problem-solving. The easiest recipe in a profligate regime is to vote money rather than critically evaluate the entire spectrum of the problem. We have seen this method fail time and time again. We have seen vast sums frittered away in a fog of dubious expenditure. Government pronouncements are often generalised, making future audit almost impossible. This allocation of N50 billion would have made more sense if the money was linked to a specific project like the resuscitation of the textile industry. The fear is that vague allocations in an election year may suffer from insufficient supervision and may end up achieving little. To create employment, government needs to establish an enabling environment for development to flourish. Central to the issue of employment is the empowerment of small businesses through the provision of regular electricity. Manufacturing should be encouraged through the promulgation of industry-friendly regulations and the provision of reliable electricity. Agriculture which should be the mainstay of our economy has been put on the back burner. We are importing rice from all over the world although we have the capacity to grow enough rice to feed ourselves. Our infrastructure has virtually collapsed. Where we are spending an inordinate amount on recurrent expenditure of which the N50 billion test-run of NAPEC is an example, we ought to be investing in capital projects like the building of a modern railway that is guaranteed to provide employment for thousands of our people. Time has come for the issue of unemployment to be addressed holistically. Countries like Tunisia and Egypt already convulsed in popular revolt are ahead of Nigeria in the provision of basic amenities and in providing employment for their people. It is in the interest of our leaders to stop paying lip service to employment issues. The minister is doing his best in the circumstances but he must be told that he is using a gnat to fight an elephant. The federal government must address the high cost of governance in this country, beginning with a slash of the grotesque perquisites of legislators and other political office holders. It must address the issue of rampant corruption and plough back the money saved from various leakages into capital development. Nigerians need light, water, good roads, working industries, quality education, good health care, food and affordable transportation. Other countries with fewer resources have been able to successfully manage these preoccupations thereby creating employment for their people. Nigeria can do similar if only our leaders can be persuaded to put the welfare of the people first in their utterances and action.
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