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Youths Unemployment in Nigeria: Old Causes and New Solutions 

Youths Unemployment in Nigeria and Participation in Vandalism and Militancy

Youths unemployment in Nigeria has led them to engage in attacks against oil firms, hostage-taking and hijacking oil workers, youth militancy, vandalizing oil pipelines, and detonating bombs. Tension in the public has caused conflict among minority and majority groups which has crippled national and social development. The youth’s participation in violence is their way of expressing feelings of marginalization and that their voices are not heard in competing for resources.

Youths’ Participation in Politics

Our youth lack zeal to feature in politics, most of the politics we venture into are school politics like unionism, and religious leadership in schools such as M.S.S.N, F.C.S, and the rest. There is a need to participate in the federal, state, and local government elections. These will ease the suffering of the country from the old aged politicians since Nigerian youth have the right to vote and to be voted for in political elections at 18 years of age.

Although Nigerian youth campaign for a reduction in age qualification for a political position with the ‘NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN’ bill. Which reduced the age to run for President from 40years to 30years; Governor from 35 to 30, the Senate from 35 to 30, the House of Representatives from 30 to 25, and the State of Assembly from 30 to 25 but to date, there is a scarcity of the youth in the bicameral houses.

Nigerian Youths’ Education

When it comes to education, Nigerian youth are among the top educated youth in the world. The cause here is our youth solely rely on the government for job opportunities, despite being equipped with entrepreneurial skills. Some of our educated youth have been engaging in criminal acts such as robbery, cyber-crime, and stealing. And this has been the reason for the backwardness in the life of our youth. 

At the pinnacle of leadership, the youth encounter leadership exposure problems such as leaving them in conflict with their fellow counterparts and there was an issue of mismanagement of offices among youth.

If our youth at their age can hold a title or manage office honorably then the current generation and the next to come are safe.

Solutions to Youth Unemployment

First and foremost, the government should make collective efforts to reduce and eradicate youth unemployment through the provision of empowerment programs that will sustain the youth and be useful citizens. 

The second solution has to do with youth engagement. The youth should develop a sense of engagement through participating in many activities in the country at all levels; this would strengthen our youth and record the least unemployment rate of youth.

The third is on entrepreneurship. Youths should continue to feature and foster an entrepreneurial spirit. This will create development in the country and it will create job opportunities among their peers. It will also contribute to the standardization of the country’s economy.

The next one is on political participation. The youths should engage in politics in the country to foster unity, patriotism among them, and the development of the nation at large which will reduce unemployment among them.

The fifth solution is on the issue of political thuggery. The youths should shun political thuggery. They should foster that energy into learning a trade and focusing on making an impact in their lives and society.

The sixth solution is on God-fatherism and tribalism. They should be abolished and everything has to be awarded on merit.

 Lastly, the youths should be incorrupt and unite themselves to ensure understanding and yield good results. 

Aliyu Idris

Aliyu Idris is an entrepreneur, poet, reader, footballer, writer, aspiring linguist, and literary enthusiast from Jimeta Yola North Local Government, Adamawa State, Nigeria. He holds NCE from the Federal College of Education Yola studied Education and English Language (Double Major) and is a student of English Language at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He is the founder of “Sunshine Literary Club Yola”. He wrote articles, poems, and speeches.