Since the birds have learned to fly without perching, the hunters have also learned to shoot without missing, since the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has remained adamant on youth unemployment and other related issues, Nigerian youth have taken open themselves to do what they can to stay busy and put the food on the table as well. in order to avoid being the devil's workshop, Some of these youths have formed a group online with a view to tackling joblessness in the country.
On the Facebook page of the group known
as the National Association of Unemployed Graduates, the youths said
the initiative was set up to solve the problem of unemployment in
Nigeria.
The move, they added, was to “cleanse
the country of the virus called unemployment” by holding government at
all levels accountable.
A message on the group’s Facebook page
said their coming together became imperative as the menace of
“unemployment is eating us up like a viral disease.”
According to them, inspite of their various ethnic backgrounds, they are united in the fight against unemployment.
They lamented the situation where
applicants who were merely trying to survive were forced to part with
money to secure employment forms.
The youth, who hold regular discussions and chats on Facebook, Twitter and on an online forum, nairaland.com said they were determined to address the socio-economic imbalances for which the unemployed Nigerian graduates are victims.
Members of the association on Facebook as of Thursday are 801 in number, but as at today, the group is already over 900
One Amobi Omekwu, who is a member of the
group in a post on the Facebook page said, “I’m not into this struggle
because I want the government to employ me. No! I might never be a
direct beneficiary of the benefits. I only see a society where there is
need for education; a society that rewards hard work and education; a
society where employers do not lay ambush and pay graduates stipends.
“A society where graduates are
entrepreneurs by choice; a society where graduates are respected, where
everybody feels a measure of joy because things have taken shape. That
society is the New Nigeria. Let us all join hands in this struggle
which is a collective effort.”
A member of the group, who dropped a comment on nairaland.com
with the name Kemtol said the absence of enabling business environment
for youths to be self-employed has shot up the rate of unemployment in
the country.
Kemtol wrote, “The association was
formed as a yardstick for the unemployed voices to be heard. We see
different anti-government groups springing up. Some of them are educated
but because they have no source of livelihood, they have taken to
crime.
“Another aim of the association is to
motivate youths in the area of self-empowerments provided there is an
enabling environment. A few years back, I had a setback in my business
and I was thrown into the labour market. For three years, I roamed the
streets of Lagos without a job and I had a son depending on me.
“I learnt how to make liquid soap,
insecticides and the likes. But I have not been able to start a business
of my own due to the requirements demanded by the regulatory body. The
requirement would have cost me nothing less than a million naira. There
is no enabling environment for upcoming and small scale entrepreneurs.”
Speaking with our correspondent on the
telephone on Thursday, the coordinator of the group, Ehis Abuya, a 2010
graduate of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State,
said the social media helped greatly in mobilising his fellow jobless
youths to join the association.
He disclosed that members of the association held their inaugural offline meeting in Lagos on September 7.
He noted that while the group will be
engaging the government on the provision of employment opportunities and
enabling environment, it would also be liaising with corporate bodies
and relevant government agencies with a view to mentoring them to
becoming successful entrepreneurs.
Abuya said, “Besides the issues of
unemployment, we will be making our voices heard against underemployment
and contract staffing by various corporate bodies which is now the
order of the day.
“The association has been receiving
widespread acceptance as some Nigerian youths who left the country, due
to hardship and unemployment, have called me to laud the initiative.
That is why I appreciate the advantages, which the advent of social
media brought to our generation. This wouldn’t have been possible
without the new media.”
well it is expedient that government looks into the issue of youth unemployment if this country must have a future.
Jobless Nigerian graduates inaugurate online association
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