The World Bank has predicted that about 80 million working-age Nigerians will not have full-time job by 2030 if the Federal Government fails to increase its rate of creating more jobs. This was contained in the global bank’s December 2022 Nigeria Development Update report. It also says that 23 million more Nigerians will live in extreme poverty by 2030 if there is no drastic reduction of the nation’s poverty rate.
The report further states that about 3.5 million Nigerians enter the labour market every year, a number that cannot be absorbed by a public sector-led economy. This, according to the bank, represents 41 per cent of the total new entrants in the labour market in West Africa.
Although the prediction by the World Bank is frightening, it is a reflection of the Nigerian reality where the number of unemployed people is rising steadily and more Nigerians are entering the extreme poverty line on a daily basis. It should worry those in government and our policy makers. It should also worry our state governors.
The rate of unemployment in the country is over 33 per cent. Already about 133 million Nigerians are said to be poor and live below $1.90 per day. According to the World Bank, extreme poverty is measured as the number of people living on less than $1.90 per day. The Nigerian scenario may even be worse than the global benchmark for measuring those in extreme poverty because of our poor exchange rate.
With the depreciating value of the naira and dwindling fortunes of the oil sector and rising insecurity across the country, the economic future of the country is bleak. The rising cost of doing business and poor power supply have affected the economy with many companies shutting down operations while some relocate to some neighbouring countries in West Africa.
The high level of unemployment can equally explain the rise in criminality and the worsening insecurity across the country. The insecurity has affected agricultural production, especially in the North Central region with high cases of framers/herders clashes, and other parts of the country. Banditry in the North West region has also affected farming in that zone. While the World Bank’s report is a signal that the economic situation in Nigeria is bound to worsen in years ahead, it is also a call for action to avert the prediction becoming true. We call on the Federal Government to accelerate its job creation drive. The states and local governments must be part of the nation’s massive job creation agenda. If more Nigerians are employed, it is going to reduce the poverty level as well as reduce the level of crime in the society. It is through massive job creation that the government can ensure that 80 million Nigerian workers do not lose their jobs by 2030.
There is need to invest in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) generally regarded as the backbone of the economy. Therefore, the government should partner with the private sector in its drive to create more jobs and diversify the economy. Nigeria should be committed to developing our Human Development Index (HDI). It is sad that Nigeria is rated as one of the least developed in the world in HDI.
Since agriculture has the potential for massive job creation, we urge the government to grow the sector and make it attractive to the youths. Making agriculture a profitable business venture will help to stimulate the economy and enhance growth. Now that emphasis is on the development of non-oil exports, agriculture remains one of our low hanging fruits to revamp the economy and avert the gloomy prediction of the World Bank.
As we move towards the 2023 election period, we urge Nigerians to vote for good and visionary leaders who can really salvage the economy and make Nigeria great again in all sectors. Except we get good leaders in 2023, the economic situation in Nigeria may not significantly improve. Before then, the outgoing government can still do something to create more jobs and reduce the growing poverty.