Rising unemployment rate: Experts task government on improved economic policies

Due to the rising rate of unemployment in the country, financial experts and economic stakeholders have called on the federal government to come up with better and improved economic policies.

The call becomes necessary as the Nigeria’s current population statistic stands at 182.20 million with 49.5 per cent youth unemployment rate as at second quarter 2016.

Speaking in Lagos at the World Stage Economic Summit 2016, with the theme: ‘Addressing Unemployment Crisis in Nigeria’, financial experts challenged the government to carry out a major review of its economic policies so as to solve current economic problems rather than creating more confusion.

Dr. Femi Saibu of the Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Akoka, who presented a lead paper at the summit drew attention to the government policy on the ICT revolutions saying it was employment destructive and service oriented and not production/manufacturing sectors oriented.

On government direct employment policy, he said it only created temporary jobs not employment at a greater cost while the series of youth entrepreneurship scheme across the country including ‘You Win’, adding that it always ended up in creating social media entrepreneur with no employment multiplier.

According to him, “Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme had failed to achieve its objective as the funds were difficult to access and politicized, while “people see it as share of national cake and generate little if all employment.”

He, however, suggested that for the country to have improved economic growth and significant reduction in its high rate of unemployment there is a need for large scale industrial set up that can mop up the thousand of unemployed youths.

“The country needed the establishment of businesses with value chains in productive sectors with greater employment multiplier and government spending in key sectors to provide basic infrastructures that reduce cost of business.

“Innovations and technology that lead to higher productivities and not those that take jobs from men to machines”, he said.

In a similar direction, Barrister Oduntan in his presentation ‘Getting the Power Sector Right to Boost Productivity’ said the power sector was facing many surmountable huge and difficult challenges that had made it unable to play its role as the engine of growth for job creation.

According to him, “The whole electricity supply chain still remain comatose; the promised increased generation and reliability as part of privatization –has not happened; generation continued to hover in the mid-range of 3000 to 4000Megawatt; energy theft and meter bypassing are very rampant; and insufficient number of meters due to liquidity gap and massive shortfalls.”

Moreover, he said the “GENCOs have been bedevilled by gas supply issues, cost and vandalization of gas pipeline networks in Nigeria, delay and frustration in construction power plant sometimes on land and contract.”

The FIIRO boss who was represented by Dr Dele Oyeku, Director, Extension & Linkage, said there was no reason why Nigeria should be facing unemployment crisis if government can implement the research findings of institutions such as FIIRO.

For instance, he said there was an initiative on cassava substitution for wheat in baking which can generate millions of jobs across the country.

The CEO of Crown Natures, Mrs. Aromolaran who spoke on ‘Addressing youths unemployment through capacity building and skill acquisition’, said “our problems as a nation will come to an end once we become a manufacturing state.”

She also noted that Nigeria and Nigerians needed to start producing what are essential to enhance our economy and create jobs.

Photo Caption:

L-R: Mr Kanmi Ayodeji, Manager Planning, Department of Petroleum Resources, representing Mr. Mordecai Ladan, Director, DPR; Mrs Omolara Aromolaran, MD/CEO, Crown Natures Nigeria Plc; Tobe Ifeanyi, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN); and Dr Dele Oyeku, Director, Extension & Linkage,  Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), representing Dr. Gloria Elemo, Director General/CEO, FIIRO, at the WorldStage Economic Summit 2016 at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday, November 16, 2016.