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Tag: unemployment

  • Cleric rues unemployment, violence

    Cleric rues unemployment, violence

    President Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to tackle the nation’s ills, among which are unemployment and violence.

    The Diocesan Bishop, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) Idoani Diocese, Ondo State, Rt. Rev. Ezekiel Dahunsi urged the president to step up efforts in contain the threats.

    Dahunsi also flayed the culture of impunity and pervasive corruption in the country.

    He was speaking at the first session of the second synod  held at St  Paul’s Church, Idogun in Ose Local Government Area.

    the church noted that Nigerians are still together as a nation only by the power of God, in spite of the activities of Boko Haram.

    In a communiqué issued after the first session of the synod, Rt. Revd. Dahunsi bemoaned the culture of impunity and widespread corruption in the country.

    The church also noted that some legislators have turned their functions to money-making ventures, wondering what has become of the oil subsidy probe scandal and many other high profile corruption cases in the country.

    It lamented the level of unemployment in the country, stressing that highly skilled and educated youths are without jobs, a situation which breeds a crime culture among the youth.

    The synod urged the government to resuscitate ailing industries and provide the enabling environment for enterpreneurial growth to guarantee job creation.

    “We also condemn the activities of the saboteurs in the power sector including generator and diesel importers,corrupt officials and contractors; we warn them to desist or face eternal darkness and perdition,” the communique stressed.

    It wondered why billions of dollars claimed to have been spent by government  could not be seen to be making any difference in the lives of the people and has not solved the challenges of power supply in the nation.

    On 2015 general elections, the communique decried the tension already being generated, urging politicians to play the game by the rules.

    It reiterated the need for a national conference to deliberate on various issues among the nationalities.

    The synod also faulted the apparent validation of child marriage by the Senate and urged for a revisit and deletion  of the offending section from the constitution.

    At the thanksgiving  held after the synod where Revd Dahunsi inaugurated Diocesan Ladies Guild (DLG) which consists of young christian ladies in the Diocese, the Bishop urged members to be good examples in their responsibilities.

    The Bishop of Oke-Osun Diocese in Osun state, Rev. O. Fasogbon also urged christians to be good ambassadors of Christ.

    A priest, Rev Felix Daisi was canonised by Bishop Dahunsi in recognition of his hard work in the Diocese.

  • Unemployment worsening, says Sanusi

    Unemployment worsening, says Sanusi

    • Imoke inaugurates Southsouth entrepreneurship centre

    Governments efforts aimed at creating jobs and reducing unemployment may have yielded very little results, going by what the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi, Lamido Sanusi, has said.

    Sanusi, who spoke at the launching of the Southsouth Zone of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) in Calabar, the Cross River State capital yesterday, said the unnemployment rate in the country has exhibited a worsening trend, rising from 8.2 per cent in 1999 to 23.9 per cent in 2011. Specifically, the rate increased from 7.9 per cent in 2002 to 18.2 per cent, nine years later, he said.

    Quoting from last year’s General Household Survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, he said 23.9 per cent of the adult working population is unemployed, adding that this would obviously not only have a significant effect on the psychology of the individuals concerned, but also have a destabilising impact on the wider society.

    Admitting that the nation is confronted with a various developmental challenges, Sanusi argued that the apex bank in its bid to support efforts aimed at reversing the challenges, continued to partner with the government and some stakeholders to initiate policies, programmes and schemes that will impact the lives of youths in the country.

    He said the EDC would be expected to serve Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta and Cross River states, in enrolling and trainees the youths to take them off the unemployment queue.

    He said the EDC provides a platform for state governments, the private sector and the CBN to jointly support entrepreneurship development across the country.

    “The centre provide facilities for training, particularly secondary school leavers and university graduates to obtain skills on how to identify, choose, and practically engage in profitable production of goods and services,” he said.

    Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, in his speach, urged unemployed youths in the South -South region to take full advantage of the South-South EDC to empower themselves, saying the centre will enable them acquire capabilities to engage as active agents in the economic growth and integration of the region.

    He said: “In Nigeria today, there are millions of young people who are economically dislocated either through unemployment or a lack of engagement with any meaningful economic activities. In effect, 24 percent of our economic agents are disaffected and disenfranchised through unemployment and that figure rises to almost 70 percent when we consider those between the ages of 18 and 30”.

    The governor explained that in recognition of this problem, the state government, through the Investment Promotion Bureau, set up the Micro-Finance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA) to promote and deliberately cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit amongst young people, re-orientating them towards private enterprise.

    He said the state has made some noteworthy success in Agriculture as it has established Songhai farm with the first 98 participants returning from training at the Songhai Regional centre at Porto Novo in Benin Republic and are currently undergoing entrepreneurship training at the EDC.

    “Last month, we witnessed the launch of the Incubation Centre at the Tinapa Knowledge City, a project driven by the need to provide a creative environment for our ICT proficient youths to develop their skills and hone their craft with the end result being the development of ICT solutions which have direct market applicability and immediate commercial value.”

    Imoke, said the state is excited about the launch and that EDC initiative enables beneficiaries to acquire the relevant skills in generating good business ideas, develop bankable business plans, and gain access to microcredit linkage for business startup capital and business development services.

    “It presents a seamless integration with what we have already started here in Cross River and I am in no doubt that this initiative will consolidate our efforts. This initiative is a testament to the gains which could accrue from an effective partnership and collaboration between the states and Federal Government” he said.

  • Industrialist’s solution to youth unemployment

    Industrialist’s solution to youth unemployment

    An industrialist, Mr Chukx Onyia, has said unemployment can be significantly scaled back if youths learn some simple and inexpensive trade, such as industrial soap-making.

    Onyia said industrial soaps are “used in various industries as raw materials for making chemical products,” adding that they are easy to make and do not cost a fortune nor require a factory for starters.

    “Industrial soaps are about some of the most profitable products in the market today yielding as high as 200 per cent profit in many cases,” but if you are working on “an extremely low budget,” he said, “you can start even in your kitchen and rake in tons of cash”.

    Onyia, a chemical business consultant and skills trainer for firms and governments, said there is a huge market for industrial soaps because “over 80 per cent of these simple-to-make products are still being imported”.

    If unemployed youths can tap into simple businesses like this, the jobs challenges in the country will be remarkably tackled, he submitted.

    Onyia, chief executive of Cifan Industrial Chemical Company based in Kwale, Ndokwa-West Local Government Area, Delta State, said the scope of industrial soap usage is so wide that the business is almost a virgin area in Nigeria.

    He listed industrial soap clients to include makers of gums of different kinds including those deployed in offices, shoemaking, tiling, among others. Other consumers of industrial soaps are beverage and food producers, cosmetic makers, paint and printing ink manufacturers as well as lubricant producers, textile workers, brewers and bottlers.

    “There is no one company that can produce all the industrial soaps needed in this country,” Onyia said. “It is a big opportunity for micro, small, medium and even large organisations especially those who already have facilities for soap-making. But even if you don’t have facilities yet, there are types that can be made at cottage level using simple operations.”

    Onyia has trained for Abia, Enugu and Ogun states, as well as local governments, non-governmental organisations and churches.

     

  • Fed Govt to tackle unemployment through MSMEs

    Fed Govt to tackle unemployment through MSMEs

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, said the Federal Government is committed to addressing the challenges of unemployment in the country through the development of a robust sustainable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sub sector.

    He disclosed this at a workshop on the revised policy of the MSMEs and the launch of National Enterprises Development Programme (NEDEP) and the Ogun State Council on MSMEs in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    He said the Federal Government created 32million indirect jobs through the 17.2 MSMEs in 2012 alone, adding that government has concluded plans to create five million jobs by 2015 through the expansion of MSMEs.

    The minister promised to forward a proposal to the Federal Executive Council on the need to ensure production of school uniforms from made-in-Nigeria fabrics in order to encourage enterprise development.

    “There is no reason why school uniforms cannot be made even from adire textiles,’’ he said.

    Director-General, SMEDAN, Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, pointed out that the National Policy on MSMEs, which outlined the general parameters and directions within which MSMEs programmes, interventions and initiatives would be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated, would serve Nigeria from 2013-2015 and would be reviewed every four years.

    Masari said the policy’s success was hinged on five critical prerequisites which include the need to streamline and decentralise MDAs at the federal, state and local governments, engage in MSME development, improve the capacity of the streamlined organisations to deliver high quality services, institutionalise public-private dialogue and partnerships in MSME policy implementation.

    It also include provision of funding from the public, private and non-profit sectors at the federal, state and local government levels, measurement and evaluation of MSME survey on an annual basis to ensure impact assessment and additional policy and programme modifications.

    According to him, some of the special target enterprises under the policy include cottage agro and agro-allied enterprises, cottage arts and crafts, textiles and clothing, wood processing and furniture, leather and leather products, basic metal, metal fabrication and engineering enterprises, solid mineral enterprises, electronic and information technology enterprises , building and construction enterprises.

  • ‘Unemployment cause of industrial crisis’

    The Chairman, FBN Capital, an investment firm, Mrs IbukunAwosika, has attributed the high unemployment rate in the country to challenges in the manufacturing sector.

    She said in Lagos that the manufacturing sector has always provided high numbers of employment in any economy.

    She said the crisis in the manufacturing sector has also impacted negatively on the insurance industry.

    According to her, the country has not given adequate support to the manufacturing sector.

    “Many factors are destroying the manufacturing sector in Nigeria and this has affected the insurance industry.

    “This is the time to create a sinking fund to enable the sector apply resources to compete with the Chinese.

    “Even in the agricultural sector, the agro-allied industry has a value chain,” she said.

    She said attention should be focused on the development of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially where the nation has comparative advantage.

    Awosika said Nigeria must invest in the training and tools in the sector to develop its manpower.

    According to her, there cannot be industrialisation without skills acquisition.

    The FBN capital chief said there is the need to create industrial clusters and communities such as fashion village, farmers market and furniture village, among others.

    She said with the creation of clusters with common facilities like electricity, water and heavy equipment, the cost of industrial production would be lower.

    Awosika, who is the promoter of After School Graduate Development Centre, said it is only after skills were acquired that they could be exported.

    She said insurance industry, on its part, had to think of new policies and products that would support it.

  • Atiku decries poverty, unemployment

    Atiku decries poverty, unemployment

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has decried the abject poverty and mass unemployment in the land.

    He described both as the greatest challenges facing the nation’s democracy.

    Appealing to political leaders at all levels to tackle the problems, the former Vice President also advised Nigerians to always hold their leaders accountable to halt their seeming indifference to good governance.

    In a message yesterday by his media office in Abuja, Atiku urged elected leaders to stop giving excuses for their failure and focus on how to transform the lives of the people in line with their mandates.

    He noted that the worsening state of poverty, unemployment and uncertainty are factors that feed the cauldron of pervasive insecurity in the country.

    Atiku said he felt embarrassed each time he was confronted by the pathetic level of poverty, unemployment, hunger and disease in the land, despite the huge resources available to the leaders to improve the living standards of the people.

    He said: “The success of democracy cannot be measured in terms of how well the leaders live but by how well the voters are doing economically, socially and materially.

    “There is a limit to which leaders can convince the people to remain patient, especially at a time the lifestyles of leaders create an island of opulence surrounded by a sea of alarming poverty.”

     

  • Senator tackles unemployment with skills

    Senator tackles unemployment with skills

    The senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, has taken a practical approach towards surmounting the jobs challenges facing the country.

    He maintains that youths ought to acquire adequate skills if the country must scale back its unemployment profile and bring down the high rate of crime and insecurity in the land.

    But the lawmaker does not stop at mounting a verbal campaign; he has practical inputs towards resolving the jobs issue.

    He has embarked on a series of skills programmes for youths in his constituency.

    One such effort which has become a household name in Lagos State is the Youth Energy Career Programme (YECP), which was executed in collaboration with Lagos State Electricity Board and Siemens.

    Back in April 2012, when the YECP was flagged off as the first of its kind in Nigeria for the first 15 participants in the district, the lawmaker stressed the rationale behind the programme.

    “It is a known fact that one of the major challenges facing our country in its journey towards sustainable development and meaningful growth, is inadequate power supply,” he said.

    “This challenge has become a hydra-headed monster drawing us many steps backward on every attempt to make a step forward. We have, for a long time been indecisive on this issue that other nations almost consider us unserious as a people.

    “Should we then continue to fold our arms and look on while events in the global village run by? I think not! Critical among factors often pointed to, as the bane of efficiency in our electricity generation phase, is the dearth of expertise. With this, the “local content policy” of the Federal Government has not been allowed to take its full fledge in the power sector.”

    Ashafa, an apostle of youth empowerment, stated further “in recognition of this all important factor, the Lagos State government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and its implementation agency- Lagos State Electricity Board, in partnership with my humble self and Siemens Power Academy, have developed the Youth Energy Career Programme.”

    “It is pertinent therefore to state here that the first phase which ended last year in October was a success, and it will be interesting to also state here that all the 15 graduates have been engaged in one way or the other, among them are Miss Dolapo Popoola, now a staff of Lagos State Electricity Board, Mr Adekolapo Adeside, working with Ecosolar International company, Mrs Funmilayo Richard, working with Estymol Oil (OANDO), Mr Gbolagade Kazeem, now with Lagos State Electricity Board, Mr Adetola Adeniyi, now with Estymol Oil (OANDO) and Mr Adenuga Moshood who has been employed by the General Electric (GE), an international Power Company in the United States of America, among others.”

    The lawmaker also added that the second batch of the programme will soon commence due to its wide acceptance.

    Besides the YECP, Senator Ashafa has also initiated another laudable youth empowerment programme for graduates that are interested in professional technical and vocational training tagged: “Youth Technical and Vocational Training”.

    This was borne out of the promise to deepen capacity building and encourage skill acquisition in Lagos East Senatorial District.

    The six-month training programme which is in collaboration with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) is aimed at preparing participants for a life-long learning and participation in the skilled work force.

    This in turn facilitates poverty alleviation and integrates the youth into the labour market with competitive technical skills to be their own boss and not to rely on the white-collar job that is visibly absent.

    While speaking on the initiative recently at his constituency office in Ikosi-Ketu, the lawmaker stated that it is high time the country focused on technical and vocational skills in order to curb the menace of unemployment in the country.

    “One of the best way to do this is to encourage skill acquisition programmes for our youths, the level of unemployment in the country is really frightening, the amount of CVs of graduates submitted on a daily basis at my constituency office for the purpose of employment is really alarming, I believe if most youths can engage themselves in skill acquisition programmes, it will really serve as a better option for curbing the problem of unemployment in the country, that is why I am partnering with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) to encourage our youths in building their skills in their area of interest”. He said

    According to the lawmaker, the programme is aimed at instilling in the youths the necessary skills needed to compete with their counterparts across the globe, he mentioned for example that “there are several buildings built today in Nigeria that most of the workers there are expatriates, many builders do not believe in Nigerian engineers any more; this and more are the impressions we are meant to correct in order to make Nigeria a better place”.

    Among the several courses that are meant to be taught during the six-month training are: Plumbing and Pipe fitting, Block laying and concreting, Electrical Installation works and maintenance, painting and Decorating, Carpentry, among others.

     

  • Unemployment hits pilots, engineers

    There  is high unemployment among indigenous aviation professionals, especially pilots and aircraft engineers, the Quality Assurance and Safety Manager of the International Aviation College, Ilorin, Captain Adamu Mshelia, has said.

    He said the new Civil Aviation Policy should address employment of qualified Nigerians before extending similar opportunities to foreigners, adding that figures from the pilots union showed that more than 80 Nigerian pilots were unemployed.

    Mshelia, a former Safety Inspector, and retired acting Director of Licensing, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), told The Nation that pilots are being trained by the Federal and states governments through the amnesty programme.

    “There is growing unemployment among Nigerian aviation professionals, especially pilots and aircraft engineers,’’ he said.

    He said unless the pilots are engaged, there is no way they would garner the requisite experience, adding that getting the flying licence is one thing, and getting the experience which is the prerequisite for employment is another.

    “There is no legislation, which gives opportunity for employment of Nigerians with same qualification with foreigners,” he said, adding that some airlines prefer the employment of expatriates to Nigerians because wealthy Nigerians buy aircraft with foreign registration and use pilots and engineers from the country of registry.

    “Forbes Magazine gave the figure of private jets in Nigeria as 160, but the Civil Aviation Authority put the figures at 61, out of which only 10 are registered in Nigeria. The rest are registered mostly in South Africa, USA, Europe and even some third world countries.

    “The 61 or so aircraft are mostly flown by pilots from the country of registry and maintained by engineers from that country. That translates to over 150 pilots and engineers jobs that would have been filled by Nigerians.

    “The Nigerian is denied the experience that he badly needs to be considered for airline jobs,” he said.

  • Aregbesola urges Fed Govt to declare emergency on youth unemployment

    Aregbesola urges Fed Govt to declare emergency on youth unemployment

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has urged the Federal Government to declare an emergency on youth unemployment.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, at the graduation of participants in the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme Technology, popularly known as O’YES-Tech.

    He said the scheme is the flagship of his administration’s policy to rescue unemployed youths from chronic idleness.

    Aregbesola noted that by arming the youths with necessary skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), his administration has opened their eyes to an area of limitless possibilities with the wherewithal to explore and exploit the possibilities.

    He said: “By the same token, we are also preparing our state with the human infrastructure to launch itself into an ICT centre of excellence in Nigeria and with the probability of an ICT reputation that will spread well beyond the shores of this country.

    “In the largest public sector employment programme in the history of Nigeria, the O’YES took Osun youths out of the unemployment market in their thousands, and put them firmly on a path to economic and financial liberation. But we refused to relent.

    “The O’YES-Tech is a key branch-out from its O’YES mother into another area of gainful possibilities – the Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

    “This is an area that holds the promise of consolidating our vision of youth employment and empowerment; with the added advantage that it will give Osun youths the enablement to function in what has become the centre of international commerce.”

    According to him, the programme was designed with a focus on the empowerment of other members of the Osun public, who may also want to acquire skills in this highly valued area.

    Aregbesola said the programme has been packaged to equip participants with an interpreted set of skills that will allow them to develop their professional careers in ICT and help them acquire the latest skills to build future capabilities by using world-class technology.

    He said: “Within days from now, 150 of the employed technicians are bound to leave for a three-month on-the-job experience at the company’s headquarters in Ghana.

    “I am also happy to announce that 750 of the successful trainees have been employed by another company, Chams Plc, for its operations in the State of Osun, while some others have also been taken up on full-time employment by the technical team working on the Opon-Imo.”

    The spokesperson of the RLG Communication, the company that partners the state in training the youths, Mr. Tosin Ilesanmin, promised that the company will train 20,000 but cannot absorb all of them.

    He said the training has equipped the trainees with skills that will make them self-employed and self-subsisting.

    One of the trainees, Adeniyi Waheed Adegoke, from Technical College Centre in Osogbo, said the programme exposed him and his colleagues to a lot of computer programmes and mobile phone assembly, maintenance as well as dissemble.

    The trainee said he is now self-employed, saying Aregbesola is the first governor he has seen who made promised and fulfilled that promise.

    Another trainee, Oyelade Omowunmi Balqis, said the programme means a lot to the participants, adding that it would employ as well as empower them for life.

    The best trainee at the end of the programme, Musbau Akinola, besides his certificate, won N100,000 monetary prize form the governor.

     

  • NLC urges FG to tackle unemployment, insecurity

    NLC urges FG to tackle unemployment, insecurity

    The Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to urgently tackle the unemployment rate in the country.

    The National President of NLC, Mr Abdulwaheeed Omar, made the call at the Centenary May Day celebration in Abuja.

    He said that the country was faced with a monumental unemployment problem, adding that the official statistics put the national unemployment rate at approximately 24 per cent.

    “The unemployment rate among the youth has been put at 37.7 per cent.

    “Some estimates actually suggest that the figure is over 50 per cent but whichever way we look at it, it is obvious that we are facing an unemployment time bomb in our nation.

    “As high as this rate is, it nevertheless camouflages the enormity of the unemployment crisis in the country.

    “If underemployment and disguised unemployment were to be added to the figure, the monumental crisis will become more glaring,’’ Omar said.

    The NLC boss said the Federal Government should urgently initiate measures to revive and protect labour-intensive industries like textile, food and beverages, construction, iron and steel sectors.

    The congress commended the government for initiating the textile revival fund, stressing that the mid-term assessment of the impact of the long term fund at single digit interest rate had been positive.

    He said that the United Nigeria Textile Plc (UNTL) Kaduna, the largest textile mill that had hitherto closed down in 2007, had reopened with direct jobs of 1,500 workers with prospect of further expansion.

    Omar explained that an analysis of the dis-aggregate unemployment data showed that the youth had the greatest brunt of the unemployment problem.

    He called for a decisive intervention to rein in the unemployment problem, adding that signals of strife and insecurity today were warning banners that could not be ignored.

    “To overcome the problem of unemployment, Nigeria must promote strong industrial policies that recognise manufacturing as a key engine of growth and decent mass employment for the national economy,’’ he said.

    On insecurity, Omar said that Nigeria faced severe, comprehensive and total security challenges that threatened its survival.

    He explained that the nation had on its hands, clear and present danger that needed an urgent and well thought-out solution if it must continue to remain as a nation.

    He said that from the north to the south and from the east to the west, the nation was gripped in the throe of unprecedented violence.

    “Daily, innocent and ordinary people are slaughtered in numbers either in incidents of armed robbery, assassinations, kidnappings, arson, communal clashes or bombings, sectarian skirmishes and related acts of violence.

    “All with a telling effect in every facet of our life as a nation. The bonds that hold us together are being weakened. Our productive capacity is similarly diminishing.

    “ There is a feeling of loss of identity and we are scared and disfigured.

    “As the nation lies prostrate, we are all shell-shocked. But much more worrying than all of this, is our inexorable loss of humanity, both the murderers and their victims.

    “Violent conflicts, armed robberies, kidnappings, assassinations, arson, insurgencies and food insufficiency or insecurity or other forms of threat, do not occur by accident.

    “Usually, they are products of years of poor leadership, bad governance, weak institutions, lack of accountability, corrosive corruption, political impunity, poor planning and privatisation, socioeconomic injustices and inequities.

    “However, we at the congress have an unshakeable faith in the indivisibility and sovereignty of Nigeria.

    “We believe it has enough space and resources for the expression of our individual and collective dreams and endeavour,’’ Omar said.

    The NLC president called on the government to muster the necessary will and wisdom to tackle the challenges.

    He said that the NLC supported the on-going efforts to work out an amnesty programme with the Boko Haram sect.

    He, however, noted that for such a programme to be successful, members of the sect must first and foremost embrace dialogue and negotiations.

    “We, therefore, call on members of Boko Haram to lay down their arms and step out for reconciliation.

    “Nigeria is their country and its dismemberment or destruction in our view, offers no way forward for any of us,’’ Omar said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the May Day rally held at the Eagles Square had President Goodluck Jonathan as the special guest of honour.

    Other dignitaries at the event include diplomats, foreign labour leaders and workers.

    NAN also reports that this is the last Workers’ Day before the nation marks the centenary of the Amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates, to create what is today Nigeria.

    It is in recognition of this that labour chose the theme of the May Day as “100 years of nationhood: the challenges of national development”.

    Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, is a celebration of  international labour and left-wing movements.

    It is commonly celebrated with a march past by workers and their unions in Nigeria and most parts of the world annually on May 1.