20m youths unemployed in Nigeria, says Expert

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Over twenty million youths in Nigeria are unemployed and lack requisite skills that will enable them assimilated in the labour market.
Dr. Durotoluwa John of the Wholesome Words Ministry disclosed this during a book launch titled “What Certaificate Cannot do for you” Mr. Sampson Patrick in Kaduna yesterday.
According to him, as at June 2015, the unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent of a labour force of 74 million, meaning that about 6 million Nigerians majorly youths were unemployed.
He added that despite efforts like N-Power and a range of policies aimed at improving enterprise development and facilitating job creation, the unemployment rate had risen to 18.8 per cent of a labour force of 85.1 million, indicating that between 2015 and 2017, the number of unemployed Nigerians rose from about 6 million to almost 16 million.
On the way forward, Dr. John said that there is need to embrace entrepreneurship concept, saying the concept is a process, a discipline, an attitude of mind, a creative activity which requires applications of energy and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and solutions from practically nothing through risk taking processes.
Speaking in the same vein, Honourable Ekene Adams said Nigerian youths should be encouraged to learn skills acquisitions than looking for white collar jobs that is not available.
Ekene who said he is just a secondary school certificate holder but now employs over 10,000 Nigerians and some of them have masters degree.
Similarly, Chairman Kajuru Local Government Council, Honourable Cafra Caino, said the council is organizing programmes that will get youths in the area employed to reduce militancy and other crimes that has bedeviling the area.
The author of the book Mr. Sampson Patrick said he wants to challenge Nigerian youths to acquire entrepreneurial skills that will secure their future.
He explained that he did not put the book together to make money rather a revolutionary material that will change the mindsets of Nigerian youths towards entrepreneurship.