THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 THE CONCEPT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Like others in the fields of human endeavour unemployment has received various definitions and descriptions. This is because human beings view things from different perspectives. Therefore, this sub-section is meant to review some of the definitions of unemployment given by scholars and then, try to agree on working definition the same

Every economy is characterized by both active and inactive populations. The economically active ones are referred to as the population willing and able to work, and include those actively engaged in the production of goods and services and those who are unemployed. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines the unemployed as numbers of the economically active population who are without work but available for and seeking work, including people who have lost their jobs and those who have voluntarily left work (World Bank, 1998).

Similarly, the National Bureau of statistics (NBS) defines unemployment as the proportion of labour force that is available for work but did not work for at least 39 hours in the week preceding the survey period (Central Bank of Nigeria Annual Report, 2008).

Jhingan (2009) stipulated that unemployment is involuntary idleness of a person willing to work at the prevailing rate of pay but unable to find it. It implies that only those persons are to be regarded as unemployed who are prepared to work at the prevailing rate of pay but cannot find work.

According to Ogboru (2010), unemployment exists where persons capable of and willing to work at the prevailing rate of pay are unable to find work. Stipulating that unemployment must be involuntary, as it excludes the idle, the rich and those on strike who are voluntarily unemployed. Excluding, also those incapable of work as a result of mental or physical disability.

Nevertheless, unemployment is a situation whereby able men and women, willing and capable of work cannot find any due to reasons outside their control as it excludes individuals who are not in search of work. It is one of the macro-economic problems which every responsible government is expected to monitor and regulate. The higher the unemployment rate in an economy the higher would be the poverty level and associated welfare challenges.

2.2 TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Economists, in order to establish and distinguish between the various types of unemployment that exists in any economy, have classified unemployment as including; structural, seasonal, frictional, cyclical, Residual, and disguised unemployment.

Structural Unemployment

Structural unemployment occurs when there is a change in the structure of an industry or the economic activities of the country. This may be because people's tastes have changed or it may be because technology has outmoded and the product or service is no longer in demand. It is mostly to be found in the developing countries of Asia and Africa. This type of unemployment is due to the deficiency of capital resources in relation to their demand. In other words, structural unemployment results from a mismatch between the demand for labour, and the ability of the workers (Fajana, 2000).

Seasonal Unemployment

This is due to seasonal variations in the activities of particular industries caused by climatic changes, changes in fashions or by the inherent nature of such industries. In the tropical region, ice factories are less active in rainy season because demand for ice is low. Seasonal oriented industries are bound to give rise to seasonal unemployment (Fajana, 2000).

Frictional Unemployment

According to Jhingan (2009), frictional unemployment exists when there is lack of adjustment between demand for and supply for labour. This may be due to lack o knowledge n the part of employers about the availability of workers or on the part of workers that employment is available.

This is caused by industrial friction in which jobs may exist, yet the workers may be unable to fill them either because they do not possess the necessary skill, or because they are not aware of the existence of such jobs. The employable may remain unemployed on account of shortage of raw materials, or mechanical defects in the working of plants. Therefore, the better the economy is doing, the lower this type of unemployment is likely to occur (Alao, 2005).

Cyclical Unemployment

Cyclical Unemployment also known as Keynesian unemployment or the demand deficient unemployment is due to the operation of the business cycle. This arises at a time when the aggregate effective community demand becomes deficient in relation to the productive capacity of the country. In other words, when the aggregate demand falls below the full employment level, it is not sufficient to purchase the full employment level of output (Alao, 2005).

Residual Unemployment

This is caused by personal factors such as old age, physical or mental disability, poor work attitudes and inadequate training.

Technological Unemployment

Technological Unemployment is caused by changes in the techniques of production. Technological changes are taking place constantly, leading to the increased mechanization of the production process. This naturally results in the displacement of labour and finally causing unemployment (Oladele, 2011).

Disguised Unemployment

This is the same as under-unemployment (Anyanwuocha, 1998). According to Ogboru (2010), disguised unemployment is caused by over population. Unemployment can be disguised because it is not immediately obvious to the casual observer that the under-employed individual is partially unemployed.

2.3 UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Unemployment has been a reality in Nigeria even before the current global alarm was sounded. Nigeria, has been labouring under a recession for a very long time both in the formal and informal sectors. The country has struggled with declining economic activities since the oil doom of the 1980s. Nigeria’s labour force is estimated to be about 58 million people with the percentage unemployment at 13%.

Fapohunda (1994), reports that, on a national basis, open unemployment (which refers to a situation where a person who is willing and is able to work does not get work therefore, remaining unemployed for the full time. For example, a person unable to find a job on account of migration from rural to urban areas) was over 10% in 1984. By 1987, urban unemployment was over 20 percent in some states. The unemployment was not only of unskilled workers; it included highly skilled individuals including graduates of universities and other institutions of higher learning. Most situations of open unemployment are concentrated in the urban areas. Apart from open unemployment, Nigeria has a lot of disguised unemployment. The actual amount of underemployment is unknown but unemployment is evidenced by able-bodied persons who line up the streets and major roads selling different sorts of things.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (2003), the national unemployment rate, rose from 4.3 percent in 1970 to 6.4 percent in 1980. The high rate of unemployment observed in the 1980s was attributed largely to depression in the Nigerian economy during the late 1970s. Specifically, the economic downturn led to the implementation of stabilization measures including restriction on exports, which caused import dependency of most Nigerian manufacturing enterprises, and resulted in the operation of many companies below their installed capacity. This development led to the closure of many industries and the few that survived retrenched a large proportion of their workforce. The Nigerian Government also placed embargo on employment.

Odusola (2001), indicated that total disengagement from the Federal Civil Service rose from 2,724 in 1990 to 6,294 in 1999. The national unemployment rate fluctuated around 6.0percent until 1997 when it rose to 7.1 percent. Douglason and Gbosi (2006), asserted that the SAP adopted in 1986, had serious implications on employment in Nigeria. Unemployment rate declined from 7.1 percent in 1987 to 1.8 percent in 1995, rose to 5.6 percent in 1996, and hovered between 5.6 and 8.4 percent between 1996 and 2000. The analysis by educational status also suggests that people who have been mostly affected by unemployment are those without basic education. For instance, persons with and without primary school education accounted for 76.8 And 80.6 percent of unemployment in 1998 and 2000 respectively.

In recent times however, the situation has been compounded by the increasing unemployment of the highly skilled and even professionals. Olowookere (2010), contends that graduate unemployment accounted for less than 3 percent of the unemployed in 1994, by 2004, the proportion rose to 8% for urban areas and 4.2% in the rural areas while it accounted for about 32 percent of the unemployed labour force between 2002 and 2007.Oni (2005), notes that in 2003, Nigerian’s unemployment rate declined substantially to 5.6 percent due to various government efforts aimed at addressing the problem through poverty alleviation programmes.

In 2011, a Performance Monitoring Report on Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies by the National Planning Commission (NPC), indicated that the rate of unemployment among Nigerians had worsened. The report indicates that the unemployment rate in Nigeria in 2010 was 19.7 percent, a figure that increased to 21.1 per cent in 2011and 23.9 percent in 2012 confirming fears that unemployment had been on the rise in the country with unofficial estimates putting it at above 30 percent. It is one of many other reports by national, regional, and global bodies indicating that the efforts being put in place by government may not be yielding the required results.

In June 2012, the World Bank released the Nigerian Economic Report, stating that unemployment rate worsened from 12 percent of the working population in 2006 to 24 percent in 2011. The report adds that preliminary indications are that this upward trend continued in 2012.

In the same vein, the National Population Commission reports that 51.18 million Nigerians were employed in the economy in 2011 clearly illustrating the deep challenges in Nigeria’s labour market. The National Bureau of Statistics (2012), estimates that Nigeria’s population grew by 3.2 percent in 2011 from 159.3 million people in 2010 to 164.4 million in 2011, reflecting rapid population growth adding that unemployment was higher in rural areas at 25.6 percent than in urban areas, where it was 17 percent on average. It said the labour force swelled by 2.1 million to 67,256,090 people, with just 51,224,115 persons employed, leaving 16,074,205 people without work. The NPC said the lack of sufficient jobs resulted in additional 2.1 million unemployed persons in 2011, up from 1.5 million unemployed people produced in 2010. The report urged that efforts to create an environment conducive for job creation must be redoubled. It stated that the number of jobs created in 2011 was reported as 209,239 by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.

2.3.1 Rate of Unemployment in Nigeria

According to Anyanwuocha (1998), rate of unemployment refers to a percentage figure which expresses the number of unemployed persons in the economy as a percentage of the potential labour force.

The unemployment rate in Nigeria is presented in Table 1 below. Based on the figures in the table, Nigeria had a population of 164.38 million in 2011. Out of this figure the labour force stood at 67.25 million out of which 51.18 million were employed and 16.07 million unemployed.

Table 1: Rising Unemployment in Nigeria (2006 - 2011)

Source: National Bureau of Statistics (2011)

Unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 23.9% in 2011 from 21.10% in 2010. It averaged 24.3% in 2012 and increased to 28.5% in 2013 with an estimated 30.0% in 2014 (Eme, 2013).

Fig 1: Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate (2006 – 2014)

Fig 1: A bar chart showing the rising rate of unemployment In Nigeria from 2006 - 2011

2.4 YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT: The Nigerian Situation

Youths occupy a prominent place in any society. They are one of the greatest assets any nation can have. Apart from being the leaders of tomorrow, they out-number the middle-aged and the aged (Onyekpe, 2007). The National Youth Development Policy (2001) asserts that the youth are the foundation of a society; their energies, inventiveness, character and orientation define the pattern of development and security of a nation. Through their creative talents and labour power, a nation makes giant strides. The youth are a particular segment of the national population that is sensitive, energetic, active and the most productive phase of life as citizens. The youth are also most volatile and yet the most vulnerable segment of the population in terms of social-economic, emotion and other aspects (Anasi, 2010).

Youth unemployment, therefore, could be described as the conglomerate of youths with diverse backgrounds, willing and able to work, but cannot find any. When the supply of labor outstrips the demand for labor, it causes joblessness and unemployment. Given the lack of sufficient employment opportunities in the formal sector, young people may be compelled to engage in casual work and other unorthodox livelihood sources, thus leading to underemployment (Echebiri, 2005; Gibb & George, 1990; Onah, 2001).

In Nigeria, accurate unemployment rates are difficult to access. However, according to Oyebade (2003), Nigeria’s unemployment can be grouped into two categories; first, the older unemployed who lost their jobs through retrenchment, redundancy, or bankruptcy; and second, the younger unemployed, most of whom have never been employed.

For Awogbenle and Iwuamadi (2010), the statistics from the Manpower Board and the Federal Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria has a youth population of 80 million, representing 60% of the total population of the country. Also, 64 million of them are unemployed, while 1.6 million are under-employed. The 1990 to 2000 data on youth unemployment showed that the largest group of the unemployed is the secondary school graduates. Also, 40 percent of the unemployment rate is among urban youth aged 20 - 24 and 31percent of the rate is among those aged 15-19. Also, two-third of the urban unemployed are ranged from 15-24 years old. Moreover, the educated unemployed tended to be young males with few being dependent. The authors, however, admitted that there is no consistent trend of unemployment rates in Nigeria. An increase in one or two years is sometimes followed by a decline in the subsequent years.

According to National Bureau of Statistics (2010), the national unemployment rates for Nigeria between 2000 and 2009 showed that the number of unemployed persons constituted 31.1 percent in 2000; 13.6 percent in 2001; 12.6 percent in 2002; 14.8 percent in 2003; 13.4 percent in 2004; 11.9 percent in 2005; 13.7 percent in 2006; 14.6 percent in 2007; 14.9 percent in 2008 and 19.7 percent in 2009.

Specifically as regards the age group, educational group and sex, data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (2011), further showed that as at 2011 in Nigeria, for persons between ages 15 and 24 years, 37.7 percent were unemployed. For persons between 25 and 44 years, 22.4 percent were unemployed. Also, those with primary education,

21.5 percent were unemployed and for those with only secondary education which are Junior secondary and Senior Secondary, having 33.4 and 20.1 percent respectively, unemployed. Furthermore, those who never attended school had 22.4 percent unemployed. As regards sex, data showed that males constituted 23.5 percent while females constituted 24.3 percent as represented by table 2 below.

Table 2: Unemployment Rate by Educational Level, Age and Sex (2011)

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, General Household Survey (2011)

It is important to note that the figures above may not have captured in totality the youth unemployment situation in Nigeria, however, they are pointing to the fact that the issue is a very critical one with far-reaching implications for stability in governance and the achievement of socio-economic and political growth.

2.5 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

In the study of youth unemployment in Nigeria, Adebayo (1999), Alanana (2003), Echebiri (2005), Ayinde (2008), Morphy (2008) and Awobgenle and Iwuamadi (2010), identified the main causes of youth unemployment in Nigeria as follows:

Rural-Urban Migration

The rapidly growing urban labour force arising from rural urban migration has been identified as a cause of unemployment. Rural-urban migration is usually explained in terms of push-pull factors. The push factors include the pressure resulting from man-land ratio in the rural areas and the existence of serious underemployment arising from the seasonal cycle of climate (Okafor, 2011). The factors are further exacerbated in Nigeria by the lack of infrastructural facilities, which makes the rural life unattractive. Youths move to urban areas with the probability of securing lucrative employment in the industries. In addition to this, there is the concentration of social amenities in the urban centres. This meant that the rural areas are neglected in the allocation of social and economic opportunities.

Rapid Population Growth

The 2006 census in Nigeria puts Nigeria’s population at 140,431,790 and projections for the future indicate that the population could be over 180 million by the year 2020, given the annual growth rate of 3.2 percent (National Population Commission & and ICF Macro, 2009:3). Also, according to the National Bureau Statistics (2011), the population of the country has risen to 164,385,656 in 2011. It is argued that the high population growth rate has resulted in the rapid growth of the labour force, which is far outstripping the supply of jobs. The accelerated growth of population on Nigeria’s unemployment problem is multifaceted. It affects the supply side through a high and rapid increase in the labour force relative to the absorptive capacity of the economy (Okafor, 2011).

Low Educational Standard and Poor Education System

The outdated school curricula and lack of employable skills of many school leavers have also been adduced for the high level of unemployment in the country. It has been argued that the average Nigerian graduate does not possess the skills needed by the employers of labour for a formal employment and could therefore be said to be unemployable. According to Dabalen, Oni and Adekola (2000), Employers complain that graduates are poorly prepared for work. They believe that academic standards have fallen considerably over the past decade and that a university degree is no longer a guarantee of communication skills or technical competence. As a result, university graduates are commonly viewed as “half baked.”

Often, this problem is attributed to the country’s education system, with its liberal bias (Gbosi, 2005). Every year, the country’s higher educational institutions turn out thousands of liberal graduates who are not in higher demand in the labour market. Additionally, the course contents of most tertiary education in Nigeria lack entrepreneurial contents that would have enabled graduates to become job creators rather than job seekers.

It could also be mentioned that even after entrepreneurial trainings, when youths are constraint by access to capital for the establishment of their own ventures, be it tailoring, computer accessories e. t. c. They become idle which is a function of low opportunities, creating a violent youth who plays no useful role in the society.

Rapid Expansion of the Education System

There is a rapid expansion of the educational system which leads to increase in the supply of educated manpower above the corresponding demand for them. This contributes to the problem of the youth unemployment in Nigeria. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2011), over 1.37 million students were enrolled in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in 2006 and another 1.98 million in 2007. Given that most courses are completed in four or five years, many of these 3.2 million students that enrolled in 2006 and 2007 entered the labour force in 2010/2011. These do not include the number of Nigerians of working age that dropped out at secondary school level for various reasons and entered the labour market in the rural and urban areas out of the 21 million that were enrolled in 2006 and 2007.

Wrong Impression about Technical and Vocational Studies

The wrong impression of students about the place of technical and vocational education also accounts for the deteriorating state of unemployment in Nigeria. There is an enduring societal bias attitude against technical and vocational education. A large number of job seekers lack practical skills that could enhance self - employment. This is why rather than providing jobs for others, the graduate unemployed persons keep depending on the government and the non-vibrant private sector for job offers (Bello, 2003).

Poor Enabling Environment

The poor economic enabling environment that characterizes the economy over the years has continued to pose serious challenges to employment generation in Nigeria. This, coupled with poor security environment has continued to hamper investment drives and thereby reducing the prospects of employment generation. Many job seekers who would have embarked on self - employment programs are unable to do so because of the hostile production environment. Others who make attempt are forced to wind up due to absence of infrastructures and the overall heat of the investment environment.

Lack of Steady and Sustainable Power Supply

The fact is that Nigeria’s becoming hostile to investment due especially to lack of steady and sustainable power supply/energy crises in spite of the various attempts of reviving this sector leading to firms depending on generators for their operation whose cost of buying, fueling and maintenance are high, thereby increasing the cost of operation in Nigeria besides, high and multiple levies and taxations being paid by these companies, energy crises have combined to make the cost of doing business in Nigeria to be very exorbitant. When the industries and factories closed shops or relocated to a friendlier economic environment, workers were laid off and prospect of recruiting new ones were dashed. All these exacerbated the crisis of youth unemployment in the labor market (Adeloye, 2010; Onifade, 2011).

Gradual Collapse of Manufacturing Sector

There is no vibrant manufacturing sector which has the capacity to absorb unemployed youths in Nigeria. There are over 800 collapsed industries in Nigeria and over 37 factories closed shops in 2009. About half of the remaining operating firms have been classified as “ailing,” a situation that poses a great threat to the survival of manufacturing in the country in the next few years. According to a survey carried out as part of its membership operational audit in January 2010 by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the 834 figure represents the cumulative aggregate of firms that have shut down their operations in 2009 across the country. The MAN survey usually covers five manufacturing enclaves, into which the country is divided, in terms of manufacturing activities. These include the Lagos, northern, southeast, south-south and southwest areas. The report of the survey showed that in 2009, a total number of 176 firms became terminally sick and collapsed in the northern area. In the southeast area, a total number of 178 companies were shut down during the period. While in the south-south area, 46 companies shut down operations before December 2009. According to the survey, the southwest area lost 225 companies during the year. It said that the Lagos area followed closely with 214 manufacturing firms closing shop before the end of 2009 (Okafor, 2011).

In a nutshell, the fact is that the Nigerian investment climate is not investor friendly. Besides, high and multiple levies and taxations being paid by these companies, energy crises have combined to make the cost of doing business in Nigeria exorbitant. Therefore, accounting for the increase in youth unemployment and unemployment at all levels

Corruption

Corruption which has permeated the entire social structure of Nigeria, has robbed the country of developing a vibrant economic base. Where Funds meant for development projects have been misappropriated, diverted, or embezzled and stashed away in foreign banks, while some incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats and administrators in the public enterprise and parastatal have liquidated these organizations (Okafor, 2010). The point being made here is that the collaboration of the political elites, local and foreign contractors in the inflation of contract fees have robbed Nigeria of the chances of using more than $500 billion estimated revenue from the oil sale in the last 50 years to develop a vibrant economy that would have created jobs for the youths in various sectors of the economy. The ruling (political) class failed because they replaced the vision, policy and strategy, which should be the thrust of every leadership with transactions (contract award and other mundane money-related activities), as each successive government took turns to prey on the nation’s wealth, by using public power, resources, good will, utilities, instrument of abuse, and personal gains (Okafor, 2005). Thus, crippling the economy and engendering and exacerbating unemployment which creates abject poverty, hunger and frustration.

The most recent rating of Nigeria, by the Transparency International (TI), on corruption computed a scale of 0-10 that showed that corruption has yet to abate. Nigeria was ranked 134 out of 178 countries that were assessed. They were viewed against previous ratings for the year 2008 and 2009, in which Nigeria was ranked 121st out of 180 countries and 130th out of 180, respectively. The country has declined alarmingly on the corruption scale. This is despite the fact that Nigeria has streams of institutional mechanisms for combating corruption, namely, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) (The Guardian, 2010; Ijioma, 2010).

The foregoing indicates that youth unemployment in Nigeria is aggravated by: Weak socio-economic state of the country, adoption of foreign economic models without regard to implementation on foundational structures of the economy, the lack of visionary leadership, Poor private sector participation, poor or non-existent Research and Development (R&D) facilities, quality and curriculum of training and education that is insufficient for employment particularly in the global environment, aversion to risk-taking, a non-diversified economy, unrealistic requirements in available job offers, low demand for labour, an import dependent economy, reluctance to relocate to remote areas of the country, restricted mobility in employment, urban bias in infrastructure and government spending and corruption.

2.6 EFFECT OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT ON THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY

Youth unemployment poses a risk to the Nigerian society. The consequence of this problem, if no major corrective initiatives are taken, could be disastrous to the nation’s economy.

Unemployment accounts for most of the social crimes perpetrated by graduates in the Nigerian society today. The accelerating level of prostitution (whereby the woman, while struggling to provide for the household without job, become depressed and resort to ugly trading in prostitution), armed robbery, oil bunkering, internet rats, drug addiction, trafficking, rape, kidnapping and all facets of violence can be largely attributed to the incidence of unemployment. An examination of most of the apprehended criminals shows that a large number of Nigerian graduates that engage in criminal activities are those without gainful employment (Ibrahim, 2006).

In addition to the effect of youth unemployment is the resurgence of urban urchins popularly called “area boys” in Nigeria. These sets of unemployed youths are mostly found in urban towns and cities across Nigeria. They are a threat to democracy as they are idle hands and minds often recruited by the politicians to harass and intimidate political opponents. These youths could be manipulated by the politicians for a mere token. And besides being used for political thuggery, they can also be used for action, behavior and activities that could undermine electoral process such as ballot box stuffing, ballot box snatching, killing and maiming of political opponents. All these actions are all part of clandestine political activities which are inimical to the growth, of both the unemployed and the economy.

Some of these criminals are people who have the potentials for gainful employment but have been deprived such opportunities. Unemployment then can be seen as one of the core causes of the rising level of social disorder and insecurity permeating the entire country. There is undisputable evidence that unemployment leads to youth crisis; i.e. the 2010 jos crisis as a result of the ban on bikes (Achaba riders in Jos).

Under conditions of economic crisis, and subsequently structural adjustment, there has been a shift decline in the ability of the state during crisis. Thus, under mass unemployment youths have tended to rely on violence to struggle for access to the state and the resources that it controls, in order to protest exclusion and oppression, as well as to demand basic rights and socio-economic provisioning (Ibrahim, 2006).

Unemployment leads to brain drain, as many of the human resource have to either leave to Europe, America or Asia to survive economic hardship in the country. Today, many of our best scientist, surgeons, and engineers have left the country as a result of lack of job security (Lawanson, 2007). By implication, unemployment especially among university graduates results in emigration of youths to other countries such as advanced nations of Europe and America leading to loss of highly educated and skilled manpower in the country.

The effects of youth unemployment also include the threat to peace and stability and an increase in insurgency. The activities of terrorist groups such as the Boko Haram have led to the disruption of peace and tourism in the country, as has even led to making citizens flee from their homes to become refugees in their own nation. All acts perpetrated by unemployed youths that seemingly have nothing to lose.

Furthermore, youth unemployment has a negative effect on economic growth and productivity. There is a risk of loss of talent and skills since a great amount of university graduates are unable to find a job and to put their knowledge and capabilities into producing innovation and contributing to economic growth. Moreover having a large share of the youth workforce unemployed, not only leads to reduced productivity and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also increases but also increases the economic cost for the state since there are more money to be paid on social benefits and less money coming in from taxes.

In totality, youth unemployment implies increased violence, crime, drug abuse, political instability, desperation (driving youths into living outside the law in order to survive and as a means of expressing dissatisfaction at the apparent neglect of their very existence), deskilling, social exclusion, leads to poverty, psychological problems of frustration, depression, hostility, abduction, murder, armed robbery, and all manner of criminal behaviours causing general insecurity of life and property (Adebayo, 1999; Egbuna, 2001; Alanana, 2003; Okonkwo, 2005).

2.7 SOLUTIONS TO YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

First, there is a need for the provision of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country. Currently, the business climate in Nigeria is too harsh. The most debilitating is the lack of basic infrastructure. The epileptic power situation in the country has forced many companies to either shut down or move their production plants to smaller neighbouring countries where power is available and stable. If the issue of power supply is solved, there is assurance that the manufacturing sector will be resuscitated. These will lead to the flourishing of small and medium scale enterprises, translating into the creation of more jobs for youths. Hence, the government must play its constitutional role by creating this enabling socio-economic and political environment including the provision of infrastructure to make the industrial climates investment friendly. This will encourage investors to invest and there by create jobs in order to absorb the unemployed youths (Uddin, 2013).

There should also be planned job creation, in that government at all levels in the country could create more employment opportunities to address the youth unemployment problems. Although some states have some job employment projects, they are still a far cry from solving the crisis at hand. For instance, the Oyo State Government created 20,000 jobs through its YES-O Scheme launched on December 1, 2011. Though this is small, other states could take similar steps to improve on this. Also, the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin) project launched by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, which is aimed at employing about 370,000 youth, though laudable, is not enough. The private sector and non-governmental organizations should be encouraged to create more jobs to accommodate the unemployed in the country.

Besides the aforementioned, there also should be career guidance which is generally replacing the concept vocational guidance. Vocational guidance is focused upon the choice of occupation and is distinguished from educational guidance, which focuses upon choice of courses of study. Career guidance brings the two together and stresses the interaction between learning and work (Bezanson and Turcotte, 2004). Career guidance has been identified as a key focus in addressing this mismatch between the needs of labour market and the products of the educational and training system thereby dealing with youth unemployment and improving labour mobility (Balasuriya and Hughes, 2003). It also includes assisting people to reflect on their aspirations, interests, competencies, personal attributes, qualification and abilities to match these with available training and employment opportunities. Career guidance plays a key role in helping labour market work and education systems meet their goals.

According to Jarvis (2011), career guidance assists the young ones in selecting their career in line with their choice and interest thereby making them healthy, self-reliant and resilient individuals. It enables individuals to assess the following areas while choosing a career (Francis, 2011):

• Aptitude
• Skills
• Personality
• The level of responsibility that suits him/her
• Interests
• Needs
• Priorities

Also, as a solution to youth unemployment in Nigeria, the relevance of Technical and Vocational Education must be emphasised. According to Oni (2006), technical and vocational education gives individuals the skills to learn and become productive citizens and for advancement in the workplace.And Despite the contributions of technical education to national development, it still has a low public status (Moja, 2000). This mentality has, in most part, contributed to the neglect of technical education institutions and reason why the youth shy away from technical and vocational studies. As a result, most of the secondary school graduates (and some of those who managed to pass through the university) lack the skills and knowledge to compete effectively in the rather tight labour market and thus loiter around in the cities from dawn to dusk looking for jobs that are not available (Dike, 2009). The youth are struggling with the challenges of acquiring “employable” skills because the society is focused mostly on formal university education. Every facet of the economy has been affected by the scarcity of skilled technicians. The society lacks competent bricklayers, carpenters, painters and auto mechanics, laboratory and pharmacy technicians, electrical/electronic technicians and skills vocational nurses e. t. c. which the nation needs to function effectively and efficiently (Moja, 2000).

In accordance to solving youth unemployment in Nigeria, the Federal Government has over the years introduced various entrepreneurship programmes such as the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) run by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). The National Directorate for Employment (NDE) was established in 1987 to promote self-employment through training and loans to unemployed youth, but the main orientation of the programme was to reverse rural-urban migration by encouraging investment in rural agriculture. The government also launched the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme under the NDE to support the placement of apprentices in informal sector workshops, and to supplement their practical training with other forms of formal training for skills they would need in the future for their enterprises. Again, only a small percentage of unemployed youth and apprentices benefited from this initiative, which was harmed by underfunding and various forms of corruption and abuse. Unfortunately studies like Fapohunda (2003), Oni (2005) and Ofogu (2009), suggest that only about 10% of informal sector workers were aware of how to take advantage of the new facilities offered by the banks and the NDE.

Therefore, the above calls for the need for more entrepreneurship education awareness training programmes and the sensitization of the youth to these programmes so as to enable more and more youth to acquire practical skills that will help them to be rather self-employed than seekers of white-collar jobs. It also justifies the need to increase entrepreneurial activities to reduce the high rate of youth unemployment.

In addition to these solutions there is a need for the diversification of the country’s economy. Nigeria is over-dependent on oil, which is subjected to global oil price fluctuation. Apart from the fact that the country has so many other mineral resources yet to be explored, the country should venture into other sectors like agriculture, tourism and entertainment. It is noteworthy that revolutions in the ICT sector especially regarding mobile communications, created a lot of jobs in Nigeria. Other sectors of the economy can do same. It also calls for the re-prioritization of the agricultural sector by modernization of equipments, machines and infrastructural faculties to make it a lot more attractive and profitable to the youth to engage in.

Other solutions to youth unemployment in Nigeria are; the establishment of labour intensive industries in the rural areas to reduce rural-urban drift, discouragement of imported technology and an improvement in Research and Development (R&D), reduction in population growth, the keeping of up-to-date data on population information so as to enhance proper policy planning and so on. Therefore, youth should be properly integrated in the labour market, so that the consequences of youth unemployment are reduced as much as possible. It is important to understand that having so many unemployed youth does not only bring personal struggles to them but effects the society as a whole and poses not just a threat but a great one to the economic welfare of Nigeria.

2.8 SUMMARY OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter attempted to review related literature on the following:

Concept of unemployment which is defined as a situation whereby able men and women, willing and capable of work cannot find any due to reasons outside their control and it excludes individuals who are not in search of work.

The various types of unemployment of unemployment established by various economists, which include structural unemployment, seasonal unemployment, frictional unemployment, cyclical unemployment, Residual unemployment, technological unemployment and disguised unemployment.

The chapter made a detailed overview of the unemployment situation in Nigeria, explaining the trend of unemployment and the category of individuals mainly affected by it. It also described the rate of unemployment in Nigeria which is expressed as the number of unemployed persons in the economy as a percentage of the potential labour force in the economy.

The Nigerian situation of youth unemployment was discussed, explaining youth unemployment as the conglomerate of youths with diverse backgrounds, willing and able to work, but cannot find any. The section also grouped Nigeria’s unemployment into two categories which are; the older unemployed who lost their jobs through retrenchment, redundancy, or bankruptcy; and the younger unemployed, most of who have never been employed.

Furthermore, some factors of youth unemployment in Nigeria were studied to include; rural-urban migration, rapid population growth, low educational standard and poor education, rapid expansion of the education system, wrong impression about technical and vocational studies, poor enabling environment, lack of steady and sustainable power supply, gradual collapse of manufacturing sector and corruption.

The effect of youth unemployment on the Nigerian economy which involves also the accelerating level of social ills, political instability, pressures from deprivation leading to insecurity and threat to peace, increase insurgents, brain drain, it limits economic and social progress, leads to depression, frustration and psychological problems to mention a few.

However, solutions to the menace of youth unemployment were also elucidated such as; the provision of an enabling environment, planned job creation, career guidance, the inculcation of technical and vocational education in the learning process, introduction of more entrepreneurship programmes and education, the diversification of the economy, establishment of labour intensive industries in the rural areas to reduce rural-urban drift, improvement in Research and Development (R&D) and so on.