Reviewing federal government’s blueprint on job creation

Jobs creation has been the subject of an unending debate among Nigerians as the reality on the ground suggests that the greatest challenge facing the country, as a nation after insecurity has been mass unemployment. In a recent press release on the country’s unemployment rate, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that in the first quarter of 2015, a total number of 469,070 jobs were created in the economy. This is an increase of 26.95 per cent (99,585) over the number of jobs in the preceding quarter and 94.7 per cent more than the total number of jobs recorded in the same period of 2014. In the formal sector, 130,941 new jobs were generated, representing 27.92 per cent of total jobs generated in the first quarter of 2015. This shows a decline of 5.13per cent (7,085) when compared to the fourth quarter of 2014 and an increase of 72.3percent when compared to the same period in 2014.

There was also a 30.5 per cent (1,339) increase in the number of jobs created in the public sector of the economy, making it 5,726 new jobs generated in the sector in the 1st quarter of 2015. However, this represents only 1.2 per cent of the total jobs generated within the Nigerian economy during the period under reference.

The informal sector, which typically consists of jobs generated by individuals and by businesses employing less than 10 persons and those businesses operating with little or no structure e.g. those in Agriculture and in the Wholesale and Retail Trade, created 332,403 new jobs in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the 227,072 new jobs in the 4th quarter of 2014. This signifies a 46.39 percent increased job placements between the two periods.

The National Bureau of Statistics had in 2011, estimated the number of unemployed persons in Nigeria to be around 24 per cent of the population, and the figure is likely to increase to around 70 per cent by the end of 2015. Given the large number of graduates that Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria and abroad graduate yearly, the unemployment rate in Nigeria is increasing very rapidly and could explode by year 2020, if pragmatic steps are not taken to check same.

This situation has led to many labor experts querying the NBS’s first quarter 2015 report and the solution blueprint as posed by the Federal government’s job blueprint for Nigerians.

Recently, the House of Representatives challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to unveil his government’s blueprint for unemployment as part of the country’s effort to tackle the unemployment crisis in the country. The lawmakers specifically petitioned government to declare a state of emergency in the labor industry. They charged President Buhari to unveil a blueprint for fulfilling the promise he made to Nigerians during his electioneering campaigns that if elected, he would generate three million jobs annually.

In the motion, which was passed without much debate, the House agreed to “direct the Committee on Labor and Productivity (when constituted) to request for and review the federal government’s blueprint on the generation of 3,000,000 (Three Million) jobs per annum. The committee’s mandate will be to analyze this blueprint and file their report within four (4) weeks for further legislative action”.

In the motion, which was passed without much debate, the House agreed to direct the Committee on Labour and Productivity to request a review of government’s blueprint on the generation of three million jobs per annum. The committee’s mandate will be to analyze this blueprint and file their report within four weeks for further legislative action.

In a motion entitled ‘Urgent need to check the high rate of unemployment in the country,’ Hon Kingsley Chinda, on the floor of the House, said: “very recently, we were plunged into a situation where very many of our youth lost their lives in the process of sitting for an employment examination.” He argued that if urgent steps were not taken to address the ticking time bomb called unemployment, it would be disastrous for our collective wellbeing in the country. “If urgent steps and pragmatic steps are not taken to address this problem, the country will decline into unrest, and vices which could, in the long term lead to a breakdown of the social and economic order in the country will abound. That is why I am so much elated about the President’s pledge and commitment toward creating 3,000,000 jobs annually which should go a long way to address the menace,” Chinda said.

According to the All Progressives Congress (APC) manifesto, President Buhari’s administration had earmarked agriculture, oil and gas and solid minerals as arrowhead sectors that will galvanize economic activities geared towards providing solutions to the country’s high unemployment statistics. On Agriculture, President Buhari stressed that he would modernize the sector and change Nigeria from being a country of self-subsistence farmers to that of a medium to large scale farming nation and producers. To achieve that objective, he will do as follows:

• Inject sufficient funds into the Agricultural sector by way of loans at nominal interest rates for capital investment on medium and commercial scale cash crops so as to create more agro-allied jobs;

• Guarantee a minimum price for all cash crops and facilitate storage of agricultural products to overcome seasonal shortages of selected food crops.

• Move the nation to all year round small, medium and commercial farming through a coordinated integrative irrigation of our existing dams as well as the creation of more dams to collect the over flooding waters, nationwide.

• Revive the country’s Agricultural Research Institutes that are Review and strengthen Veterinary practices nationwide.

For the oil and gas industry, President Buhari said, he would:

• Revive and reactivate the country’s minimally performing refineries to optimum capacity;

• Make the industry and Nigeria one of the world’s leading and cutting edge centers for clean oil and gas technology producing leading world oil and gas technologists, scientists, and owners of mega structure installations, drilling, processing, and production facilities will be supported with the best services and facilities.

• Fully develop the sector’s capacity to absorb more of the nation’s new graduates entering the labor market. The sector will be funded to produce more homegrown engineers, scientists and technologists with world-class expertise.

• Modernize the NNPC and make it the national energy champion. “I will consider breaking it up into more efficient, commercially driven units; and may strip it of its regulatory power, so as to enable it tap into international capital market”, he said.

It is believed that one in four Nigerians and half of the young job seekers are unable to find work in the country. Also, those whose salaries do not cover the cost of food and housing are even greater. To this end, government said it would create 20,000 jobs in each state of the federation immediately he assumes office, for those with a minimum qualification of Secondary School leaving certificate and who participate in technology and vocational training.

President Buhari said his government will encourage State governments to focus on employment creation by matching every one job created by the state government with two jobs created by the Federal Government.

The Buhari led government said it will provide a direct conditional monthly cash transfers of Five Thousand Naira to the twenty five million poorest and most vulnerable citizens upon demonstration of children’s enrolment in school and immunization, in order, it said, to help promote job empowerment.

It is better for government to establish Technology and Industrial estates, which will be fully equipped with ICT, Power and other support across the country to attract and encourage small-scale technology businesses and other entrepreneurs. Currently, the government is planning to provide allowances to the discharged unemployed Youth Corps members for 12 months while they seek jobs or acquire training and skills for job placement or entrepreneurship.

Other proposed job creation strategies by the Buhari led government as contained in its manifesto are the establishment of plants for the assembly and ultimately the manufacture of phones, tablets, computers and other devices. Government also said it will pay a guaranteed indexed-link  prices to farmers to ensure that there is always a ready-made market for their produce. The manifesto also stated that this government will provide one meal a day for all primary school students which will create jobs in Agriculture, including poultry, catering and delivery services. The second item on the manifesto is the fight against corruption.

Other major items on the APC manifesto include the review and restoration of the country’s agricultural sector, as well as the construction of one million low cost houses within the first four years as part of its Agric and Housing policies.

However, with the high unemployment rate in the country, it is left for government and its Party to convince Nigerians that they are prepared to follow through on their promise of a three million-job blueprint to Nigerians.

In spite of the government’s job blueprint especially in the light of the fact that the economic outlook in Nigeria is stagnant, and though it can be argued that the slow take off of employment opportunities in the first two quarters of 2015 was due to the general election, it is my opinion that as the first 100 days in office benchmark rapidly approaches, President Buhari needs to make known to Nigerians, the agenda, portfolio and roll out plan for his employment blueprint. As his government is leading the accountability and transparency agenda, Nigerians will be sitting on the front row expectantly waiting to see the fulfillment of his campaign promises, especially as they affect employment, entrepreneurship, economic growth and good governance.

MUNA ONUZO