The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has described the high rate of unemployment, one of the most critical challenges facing Nigeria as a keg of gunpowder, which is bound to implode with dire consequences.
Chairman of the association, Apapa branch, Frank Onyebu, who made the remark said with reported unemployment rate of over 33 per cent, Nigeria stands as the second highest in the world, which is indeed, a ticking time bomb and a disaster waiting to happen.
He said it’s rather unfortunate that most Nigerians have not considered the implication of the sad reality, saying everyone should be worried, not just the government. “Yes, every Nigerian needs to be worried.
“Do you know the implication of having a third of your workforce jobless? We are talking about tens of millions of able-bodied men and women sitting around, doing nothing! You know what they say about idle minds being the devil’s workshop.”
Analysing the state of unemployment, he said: “We are truly sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
Of course we’ve always known that the unemployment situation in Nigeria is bad. All you need to do is move around the streets. Whether in the day or at night, you would see people roaming about aimlessly.
“You would find hawkers all over the place. And if you look closely, you will realise that the total value of what these individuals are hawking is not nearly enough to sustain a human being, which implies that majority of these hawkers are just passing the time.
“Many transform into petty thieves and robbers at night. You can see why I stated earlier that we should all be concerned.
He emphasised that no society can survive for long with the level of unemployment, which is bound to implode.
“These jobless people are bound to fight back because the government has failed. The unfortunate thing is that, when the crisis starts, there’s not going to be a distinction between people in government and ordinary hardworking individuals. Everybody becomes a target.
To avert this disaster, he proffered economic revolution and a total economic transformation.