- Graduates from the Republic of Benin and Cameroon feel more optimistic kicking off their career indigenously, as opposed to Nigerian graduates who “seek greener pastures”;
- Nigerian graduates are better off gaining employment elsewhere, save war-torn countries;
- Meanwhile, Canada opens its door for Nigeria’s young professionals.
Much of the talk in recent weeks has been on Nigeria’s rising unemployment numbers. Notably, unemployment figures surged by 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020. In essence, there are less than 7 in 10 Nigerians employed, all of working age.
US-based CEO magazine provides an even more shocking statistic from its survey of adults younger than 35; you are better off gaining employment anywhere but Nigeria, save the three war-torn countries– Libya, Syria and Yemen. The survey which partnered with the Global Business Policy Institute explained how Nigerian graduates have to work twice as hard than others.
Using the word most ‘attractive‘ for graduates, the report ranked Nigeria 124th and the 4th worst country globally. And by implication, Nigeria ranks 2nd worst in Africa below Cameroon and Benin Republic to start a career as a graduate.
Ranking for African countries
South Africa which ranked highest at 59th was followed by Egypt at 65th, Mauritius at 66th, Algeria at 69th, Ethiopia at 72th.
In ranking the countries, the organisation said it looked at 19 criteria points: job market; economic stability; entrepreneurial atmosphere; income equality; innovation; progressiveness, and whether the graduates surveyed wanted to live in any of the countries selected. The survey further asked questions like, “Which are the best countries for starting a career?’ And “how does your country compare to the rest of the world?”
The survey also revealed how youths in some African countries were open to the idea of working in their respective countries, viz: Cote d’Ivoire Burkina Faso, Chad, Rwanda, Namibia, Benin, Zimbabwe, Uganda Niger, Mali, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Papua New Guinea, Botswana and Gabon. In contrast, the consensus for most Nigerians has been to “seek greener pastures.”
The metrics
“To evaluate those dimensions, researchers looked at 19 indicators that fell into one of the two categories. Each indicator was graded on a 100-point scale. Each indicator is based on relevant research and reports that follow strict requirements to gather and analyze their data in order to build their rankings.”
CEO magazine said its researchers compiled, analyzed and compared 127 countries across two key categories: 1) Livability 2) Professional Opportunities.
- Livability measures are:
- Opportunities, on the other hand, was measured by:
The Exodus of graduates
When you juxtaposed the five-hundred and something thousand graduates from higher institutions with NBS’ unemployment statistics which names youth as the worst hit, there’s a clear mismatch! In clear terms, unemployed Nigerian graduates and postgraduates estimate a total of 2.9 million.
N-power, the recent Federal Government (FG) programme further paints a dire picture. When FG opened up applications, over 5 million reportedly applied in one month with 1 million applications in just 48 hours for a 300,000 vacancy.
Indeed, this low level of trust in the system has seen an uptick of youths’ exodus to different parts of the world.
In fact, in 2019, data from the government of Canada revealed that over 12,600 Nigerians gained permanent residence; an estimate which represents a tripling of Nigerian immigration to Canada since 2015 through the Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
And it seems this estimate is not declining any time soon as even more Nigerians are studying in Canada.
The Solution: Graduates at the forefront
Also speaking on the numbers, an Education consultant, Niyi Adeboye explained how the government has to change its perspective. The Kwara Polytechnic lecturer emphasised that the age group, 15-35 are the bedrock upon which the government should situate her development plans.
“The improper funding of various learning institutions over the years has also contributed to the number of unemployed youths in the country. If our education is well funded it will help institutions provide world-class education which will ultimately mean better-equipped graduates ready for the job market,” he said.
“In 2017, you will recall when Punch Newspaper reported that the National Universities Commission had budgeted N8m for research and development while N85m was earmarked for the purchase of motor vehicles for its 2018 budget proposal. This is exactly what we are talking about misplaced priority.”
For Tunji Akande, a professor of agricultural economics at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), the problem of youth employment is largely structural and therefore needs structural solutions.
“The structural changes needed, involve taking a comprehensive approach to employment issues in general. This could be done in a way that not only targets youth but which also looks at educational, training and labour market issues so that dynamic and progressive policy interventions are initiated to address all issues comprehensively.”
From his research paper titled: Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: A Situation Analysis, he added,
“For years Nigeria has sought to operate different policies which many of the agencies, ministries working in isolation. This is wrong, in the absence of a coherent strategic approach, resources are likely to be misapplied. “In addition, public funding is often insufficient and erratic and, indeed, not released fully.”