NYSC SAED: THE WAY FORWARD IN ELIMINATING POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

 

According to the National Bureau of Statistics in 2016, the population of Nigeria was estimated to be about 200 million.

 Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and also identified as one of the countries with the highest resources ranging from crude oil to human resources, mineral resources, etc. 

As the 10th largest proven oil & gas reserves in the world and the 6th in terms of reserves and daily production in OPEC, her oil and gas exports account for more than 98% of her export earnings and about 83% of the federal government. Oil alone generates more than 50% of its GDP and provides 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of government budgetary revenues. In addition, Nigerian average GDP growth is consistently between 5-8%.

Despite the enormous abundance of resources, the world bank as described the situation of Nigeria as a paradox as more than 70% of its population live under poverty line of $2 a day.

 Nigeria’s economy has been projected to be growing, it is most likely for the rate of poverty to worsen as the gap between the rich and the poor widens.  

The relationship between unemployment and poverty is extraordinarily complex in Nigeria. While the unemployment rate has remained remarkably high due to the rising rate of poverty, the poverty rate has equally remained high due to the high level of unemployment. To tackle poverty therefore the menace of unemployment must be checked through a highly effective employment policy. 

According to Okafor (2010), youth unemployment in any country is an indication of far more complex problems.

 The National Population Commission states that about half of the population is made up of youth, defined as individuals between 15 and 34 years of age (Nigeria’s Economy- A Youth Economy). Unfortunately, as the youth population grows, so does the unemployment rate. At least two-thirds of unemployed youth are between 15 and 24 years of age.

Statistics from the Federal Manpower Board and the Bureau of Statistics in 2011 noted that the Nigerian youth population is about 80 million, representing 60% of the total population of the country. 64 million of youths are unemployed, while 1.6 million are under-employed. The urban youths aged 20 – 24 had an unemployment rate of 40% while those aged between 15 – 19 years had an unemployment rate of 31%. 

Most recently, the Minister of Youth Development reported that 42.2 per cent of Nigeria’s youth population is out of job.

 Furthermore, the Chairman of the House Committee on Youth and Social Development revealed that of the over 40 million unemployed youths in the country, 23 million are unemployable and therefore susceptible to crime, hence the need to articulate what could be done to salvage the situation. 

The pace is increasing because most graduates lack relevant marketable skills. The Nigerian youths are said to be confronted with poverty, unemployment, urbanization, lack of capacity and skills needed to move the economy forward.

In 2013, NISE reported that over half of unemployed youth did not have an education past primary school, consistently (2008-2012) consistently accounting for over 50 percent of all unemployed youth.

 However, graduates of tertiary institutions also seem to be badly hit by unemployment too, making up about 20 percent of youth unemployment and often remaining unemployed for upward of five years after graduation.

In trying to tackle the issue of poverty and unemployment, we shall consider the following routes:

The Government

It should be noted that as a federation, public policy on employment should be addressed at the three levels of government—federal, state and local while making youth the primary constituency of concern. Consequently, certain institutional arrangements and agencies have been established to promote employment among youth. One of such is the NYSC SAED. 

SKILLS ACQUISITION & ENTREPRENUERSHIP DEPARTMENT (SAED)

NYSC, founded in 1973 as a means of rebuilding and reconciling the nation after the civil war is now also identified as a response to problems of un/underemployment and the shortage of skilled persons in more recent times. 

The NYSC set up the SAED in March, 2012 with the sole aim of addressing the unemployment in the country through teaching Corp members skills they will need to be self-employed in today’s harsh economy.

 Some of these skills include fish farming, makeup artistry, soap making, fashion designing, bead making, baking and sewing. The programme is divided into two sections- Skills Acquisition Division and Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Division, implemented to aim at wealth creation. 

Nigerian graduates (young) deployed to respective states in the federation for their mandatory one-year service are the target for this entrepreneurship scheme. They are expected to benefit from this scheme through the training provided during their service year in order to become successful entrepreneurs which will in turn contribute to the company’s economic growth.

As stated by the NYSC, the functions of this department include:

Annual sensitization and mobilization of 200, 000 young graduates for skill acquisition.

Facilitating the training and mentoring of 100, 000 young graduates in skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development for self-reliance.

Promote public-private partnership for entrepreneurship development and self-reliance amongst Nigerian youth

Promote documentation and sharing of best practices on youth empowerment in Nigeria

Supporting evidence-driven advocacy efforts for favourable policies on youth empowerment in Nigeria

Developing standard curriculum for the in-camp skill acquisition exercise

Identification of organizations at state level to provide training and mentoring in specific skills set.

Attaching corps members to the various organizations for SAED

On-going monitoring and supervision of trainee corps members

Facilitating access to available funding opportunities

SAED initiative has over the years has been a driving force in eliminating the poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. The initiative has empowered numerous youths by creating avenues and trainings in various entrepreneurship schemes.

DAIRO ISEOLUWA

ENGLISH

OS/21A/0303