A NATION IN THE THROES OF JOB CRISIS By Rev Chris Okotie okotie@revchrisokotie, follow on twitter @Revchrisokotie, 08078421451 (sms only) No nation can be at peace when 70 million of its citizens are in the labour market with no hope of getting employed and no welfare support to cushion the painful effects of joblessness. Shakespeare said, ’’ the smallest ant would stir, being trodden on‘’. The provision of jobs is a right of the citizens because it is gainful employment that guarantees the welfare of the people. If government tramples on their right to good life, the people would cause a stir, which is why there is disquiet across the nation. The reaction to the rising wave of unemployment comes in the shape of violence on the streets and other forms of social unrest. This problem has also spawned terrorism which is now threatening to rip the nation apart. Boko Haram has started to strike again after a brief hiatus because of the military offensive that was launched following the State of Emergency. When elected politicians get our mandate they are duty bound to deliver on their promises, which, for the youths are job creation, affordable quality education, intervention schemes for self empowerment and other poverty eradication programmes . In this critical area, this government has failed woefully, and it is almost clueless on the way forward for a country that is still hovering on the brink of anarchy. Every year millions of graduates join the labour market alongside an estimated 1.2 million students that are unable to secure admission into the universities. The federal government’s policy interventions to arrest this ugly trend have not been able to deal with a social problem that conflates with corruption to create unprecedented youth restiveness. The Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria, YouWin Project, which targets 110,000 jobs in three years merely scratches the surface of youth unemployment which according to the International Labour Oganisation, ILO, is about 42 percent. Another job creation initiative like the National Enterprise Development Programme, NEDEP, that Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga launched recently targets the creation of 3.5 million jobs in the next two years. Whoops! This grandiose scheme falls flat on its face because it is practically impossible to create jobs in an economy without reliable power supply and an appalling infrastructural deficit. Every work strategy is driven by effective social services, sound education policy and functional national infrastructure which are still lacking in our oil dependent economy. Mr Aganga’s initiative will only further create new overhead costs like the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, as well as the SURE-P that was launched to alleviate the pains of the fuel subsidy removal, which has still not made any visible impact due to poor implementation. Meanwhile, the oil subsidy scammers are still roaming the streets while our law officers look the other way. That’s how the president’s anti-corruption war is being fought. It is uncharitable for President Goodluck Jonathan and his aides to celebrate economic growth figures which do not physically enhance the welfare of the citizenry. If, indeed, Nigeria is the 34 largest economy in the world with our present rate of 7.1 percent growth, the widening poverty gap and the collapse of public infrastructure tell a different story. About 120 million Nigerians have no access to regular power supply; power generation, instead of increasing, has gone down to 1, 598 MW. So, our economy continues to run on generators and the capacity utilisation of our surviving industries is as low as 35 percent; while the dwindling oil exports still account for 80 percent of our revenue. Where is the magic wand that could grow this economy in real terms? Yet, for the governing elite, it is still business as usual despite the dismal performance of the economy. Our wealthy Governors, enmeshed in a needless power game have virtually relegated governance to the background in the on-going ego fight with President Jonathan over 2015 presidential election politics. After 14 years of democracy we cannot point to a single fully refurbished national infrastructure despite the much hyped privatisation programme. President Jonathan and the governors will have to explain to Nigerians why they think that their tenures are more important than the people upon whose mandate they are in power. Now is the time for all elected officials who are seeking re-election to run on their record. Sadly, politics here is never about issues. On Election Day a strange combination of the power of godfathers, rigging and thugery will determine the outcomes of polls; not the performance records of incumbent office holders or the programmes of those running against them. A PDP government that is unable to transform itself into an effective vehicle of governmental service delivery, can certainly not transform the failing state it is presiding over. The government has failed to keep its promise to combat corruption. Insecurity and corruption have become the twin monsters this government is unable to peel off from our battered global image. Now at the mid- point of his term, the President and most of the Governors continue to squander our resources on self perpetuation agendas instead of working to develop the economy. According to The Economist of London, 18 million jobs will be created in the United States with new investments of just $1 billion dollars. Compare that paltry sum with the billions of dollars stolen daily from our shrinking economy and you’d understand why our nation is still unable to get out of the ditch. Rev. Chris Okotie, A Pastor-Politician, wrote from Lagos.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 10:44:43 +0000
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