CBN Governor, Emefiele
Job Creation is the notion that jobs are created in response to some sort of
event or situation, for example; great depression - an economic slump
(a period of poor performance or inactivity in an economy, market or
industry, a recession, signaling a slowdown of business activity) or
high level of mass unemployment. Conceptually, job creation is the
proactive opposite of mass unemployment. In a practical sense,
organization or industry only hires more workers when necessary to
satisfy demand for its products or services. Therefore, industrial or
manufacturing based organizations (even poverty industry or poverty
businesses, which constitute the National economy) are very crucial in
the Nation to achieve meaningful and sustainable job creation. In the
developing world, improved jobs and livelihoods are an indispensable
means to eradicate poverty and establish a virtuous circle of expanding
and inclusive economic growth. Inclusive economic growth, if sustained
over time, is the only way to tackle poverty across the Nation.
Destitution or absolute poverty is obvious in the Nation and it is
caused by the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes
money, food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter and healthcare among
others, and it can be reduced through meaningful and sustainable job
creation. Good governance and enabling environment for social and
economic developments are critical in promoting and sustaining
meaningful job creation in the Nation. In other words, poor governance
and unenabled environment create and promote unemployment, insecurity,
retard social and economic developments.
Good governance, as mentioned describes
how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public
resources. Governance is the process of decision-making and the process
by which decisions are implemented. The term governance can apply to
corporate governance, international governance, national governance,
local governance or to the interactions between other sectors of
society. The concept of good governance often emerges as a model to
compare ineffective economies or political bodies with viable economies
and political bodies, especially; those in Europe and the Americas. The
concept centers on the responsibility of governments and governing
bodies to meet the needs of the masses as opposed to selected groups in
society. Most countries often described as successful are Western
liberal democratic states that are concentrated in Europe and the
Americas, so good governance standards often measure other state
institutions against these countries in Europe and the Americas. Aid
organizations and the authorities of developed countries often will
focus the meaning of good governance to a set of requirements that
conform to the organization's agenda, making good governance imply many
different things in many different contexts. For example, in Nigeria,
our goals through good governance are to develop our infrastructure and
the economy including safe environment, which will protect and promote
Nigerians welfare thereby creating employment for millions without job.
In order to promote good governance,
Government and people across the Nation should give adequate attention
to proper use of public funds because poor management of resources has
adverse effects on the socio-economic developments of any Nation
including job creation. Mismanagement of public funds and corruption
are major obstacles to technology and industrial development, which
lowers investment and retards economic growth, and promote unemployment
and insecurity in our society. Corruption had permeated in our Nation’s
life making the majority to suffer physical and material deprivation.
I attribute Nation’s obvious stagnation in several priority sectors
(energy, roads, potable water, education, agriculture, healthcare,
transportation, etc.) to corruption and poor service delivery, which
characterize the Nation’s public service. Therefore, fiscal discipline
in the management of resources is a critical factor in any economy in
order to provide meaningful and sustainable jobs.
As mentioned above, poverty industry or
poverty business refers to a wide range of money-making activities that
attract a large portion of their business from the poor. Businesses in
the poverty industry often include daily pay or money lending
businesses, rent-to-own centers or hire purchase businesses, hawking
businesses, petty trading businesses, gambling or pool businesses,
liquor stores and varieties of other low income stores or low income
activities among others. Illegal ventures such as prostitution or
drug-dealing are poverty industry. In the USA for example, poverty
industry makes roughly US$33 billion a year. Nigeria needs to do better
to reduce poverty industries or poverty businesses in the Nation and
shift to other hi-tech industrial businesses. On the other hand,
Nigerian economy needs thriving retail businesses because every thriving
economy must have functional Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
However, the obstacles that are being faced by Nigeria SMEs are: (1)
inadequate access to credit particularly on moderate terms; this has
negatively affected the growth of SMEs and their development in the
Nation, (2) decision-making skills, sound management and accounting
practices are very low among the Nigeria SMEs operators and (3)
Commercial banks find it uneasy to assess risk premiums properly, this
lead to differences in the perceived versus real risk profiles of SMEs
in the Nation.
The Nation needs a shift of the emphasis
from oil to non-oil export, in agriculture, manufacturing based economy
in which stable energy supply is a must, infrastructural development
and solid materials, and all the things that will help Nigeria to
diversify.
As noted, sustainable development leads
to sustainable job creation and it is a process for meeting human
development goals while sustaining the ability of natural systems to
continue to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon
which the economy and society depend. It is the organizing principal
for sustaining finite resources necessary to provide for the needs of
future generations of life on any society. Sustainable development is a
process that envisions a desirable future state for human societies in
which living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs
without undermining the integrity, stability and beauty of natural
biotic.
Poverty eradication, productive
employment and decent work for all, social integration and protection
are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The enabling environment to
promote this need to be created at all levels of Government in the
Nation. There are widespread deficits of available decent work
opportunities and lack of labor market conditions and especially for
young women and men in the Nation. I urge the Federal Government (FG)
to address the challenges of youth employment by developing and
implementing strategies and policies that provide young people in the
Nation decent and productive work, as over the coming decades decent
jobs will need to be created to be able to ensure sustainable and
inclusive development and reduce poverty. Gender gap in meaningful and
sustainable job creation needs to be revisited. This subject is in line
with the eight internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals, and
the Federal Government should endeavor to work towards these goals.
Persistent poverty, increasing income
inequality and slow job growth – further exacerbated by financial and
economic crises and climate change – are critical constraints on
economic and social progress. Promoting inclusive job-rich growth is a
central challenge for all countries today. With global unemployment at
historically high levels due to population increase and the use of
modern technology, there has never been a greater need to put employment
at the center of economic and social policies. Even among those who
work, the extent of poverty underscores the need for a far greater
number of productive and decent jobs. The effect of high rate of
illiteracy, poverty, mass unemployment and underdevelopment has been
linked to armed robbery, Boko Haram insurgence, the Niger Delta
militancy, kidnapping, pirating, vandalizing pipelines and other social
vices in the Nation. Youths have to shun these illegal activities,
which create instability. Instability in any society has always been
very dangerous to the economy and to the peace, stability and
development of the society and Nigeria will not be an exception.
The insufficient pace in creating decent
and meaningful work worldwide points to the need for greater
international coordination of macro-economic policies, as well as active
labor market policies at the National and State levels. The strategy
for promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment includes but
is not limited to the following: skills development policies to
increase the employability of workers, the competitiveness of
enterprises and the inclusiveness of growth, coordinated and coherent
policies to generate inclusive job-rich growth, and policies and
programs to promote sustainable enterprises and entrepreneurship. There
is need to enhance employment and income opportunities for all,
especially for women and men living in poverty and, in this regard, I
support the Nation’s efforts to provide new job opportunities to the
poor in both rural and urban areas, including support to small and
medium-sized enterprises.
Tackling poverty through meaningful and
sustainable job creation can be achieved in the Nation through the
following; (1) individual efforts, (2) capacity building, (3)
infrastructural development in which quality education and stable energy
supply is a must (it should be noted that no stable electricity supply
no meaningful job creation, there is no hide and seek game about it),
(4) infrastructural maintenance program, (5) provision of quality
technical and vocational education, (6) provision of quality information
and communication technology (ICT) education, (7) effective use of
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), (8) manufacturing based economy in
which stable energy supply is a must, (9) tourism business, (10)
adequate funding (capital including microcredit schemes) and (11)
efficient agricultural development system among others. In addition,
meaningful and sustainable job creation is affected by political
stability, safety and security, good governance as mentioned above, rule
of law that is based on universal principles, government incentives,
private enterprise, land reform, youth empowerment programs and quality
of labor force among others. Furthermore, to create meaningful jobs in
the Nation, Nigerians should invest their resources in Nigeria in order
to accelerate sustainable social and economic developments of the
Nation. As the saying goes: we should put our money where our mouths
are! Nigerians should emulate the likes of Alhaji Dangote, Mr. Jim Ovia
and Mr. Tony Elumelu among others by investing their resources in the
Nation.
(1) Individual efforts
(entrepreneurship) are very crucial to meaningful job creation. It is a
process of starting a business. In this day and age, finding a job is
increasingly difficult. If you can't find a job for yourself, why not
create it, and create jobs for others. Planning is very necessary in
order to create a job for yourself; you need to think about how exactly
you will go about it and what you will do among other things. Make a
list of all your work experience, skills, and achievements. Then, using
these suggestions, think about what you want to do in the way of a self
made job. Will you be working for someone else as an agent or
contractor or really be self-employed? Next, decide what area or field
you want to work in. Will this be a full-time or part-time job that you
will create?
Get training as necessary, if you lack
the proper training required for an interesting job. Do you need lots
of training or classes to be qualified for the job? If so, how will you
get that? Maybe you can work and get free training of the job and
valuable experience at the same time.
Find and fulfill a need for this
particular product, skill or job you are planning to create. Look into
up-and-coming fields or check out businesses in the area to see what is
missing and fill that void. Gather your resources. Once you have a
fairly clear idea of what you want in the way of a job, you need to
prepare. Do you have an up-to-date resume? Do you have friends,
relatives or associates that may be able to help you?
Do not be aggressive but assertive - a
learnable skill and mode of communication and seek out opportunities.
Be kind to everyone you meet so you can gain an excellent reputation in
your community. Networking is a key at this stage. Maintain ongoing
professional relationships by contacting them with specific but brief
thank you notes, and congratulations to your business
contacts/colleagues, and be sure to meet or exceed all expectations and
deadlines. Be sure to sell your services nicely and effectively, by not
being pushy or rude to anyone. Be flexible. If you can't make a go of
it in one area, don't beat yourself up. There are many reasons the job
you are attempting to create may not work out. For example, if the job
is too specific or niche for most people/businesses, you are likely not
going to succeed. A narrow idea may not work. However, there is also
the danger of overextending yourself, losing focusing by too broad a
target, instead. Do some researches to promote your business venture.
If you are looking to create a job for yourself within an existing
business, don't be too disappointed, if you are turned down. Don't take
a rejection personally.
As observed, for example, successful
entrepreneurs keep focus on the customer that is paying their bills.
They do not forget that everything that they do is for the customer,
since the customer is the one that is allowing them to do anything in
the first place. A good business owner will always have time for a
customer, whether they have a complaint or praise. Having good customer
focus will mean that you see every customer as an opportunity to do
better and grow, versus an annoyance or a difficulty.
Finally, success in individual efforts
(entrepreneurship) in creating job require business knowledge, good
planning, hard work, smart ideas, funding or capital, self discipline,
patience and luck among others. Be persistent.
(2) Capacity Building: Capacity building
is a process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts,
abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities
need to survive, adapt, and thrive in the fast-changing world. It is an
organization’s ability to achieve its mission effectively and to
sustain itself over the long term. Also, it refers to the skills and
capabilities of individuals. It is person’s ability to define and
realize his/her goals or to do his/her job more effectively. For
organizations, capacity building may relate to almost any aspect of its
work: improved governance, leadership, mission and strategy,
administration (including human resources, financial management, and
legal matters), program development and implementation, fundraising and
income generation, diversity, partnerships and collaboration,
evaluation, advocacy and policy change, marketing, positioning and
planning among others. For individuals, capacity building relates to
leadership development, advocacy skills, training/speaking abilities,
technical skills, organizing skills, and other areas of personal and
professional development. In short, capacity building is an assistance
which is provided to entities, usually developing country societies,
which have a need to develop a certain skill or competence, or for
general upgrading of performance ability. Most capacity is built by
societies themselves, sometimes in the public, sometimes in the
non-governmental and sometimes in the private sector. Capacity building
is, however, not limited to international aid work. More recently,
capacity building is being used by government to transform community and
industry approach to economic, social and environmental problems. The
Nation should encourage capacity building initiatives across
organizations in the Nation for meaningful and sustainable job creation.
(3) Infrastructural Development in which
stable energy supply and quality education is provided is very crucial
in creating sustainable and meaningful job. As noted, local and foreign
investment options abound everywhere in the Nation to create employment
for the youths: in agriculture, manufacturing, culture and tourism,
education, healthcare, petrochemical and fertilizer industries, road
construction, housing, energy, information and communication technology,
insurance, banking, raw materials and mining among others. The lack of
sustainable industrial and technology developments in the Nation is a
serious matter that requires stronger commitments in the form of
practical approach to priority issues (infrastructural developments)
from the Local Governments to the States Government to FG. As noted,
ones degree of commitment determines ones degree of success! Therefore,
I believe that in all human endeavors, the different between success
and failure is time, determination and genuine commitments, and Nigeria
should be committed in perusing these developmental goals for
sustainable and meaningful job creation.
The cornerstone for sustainable
development in the Nation that could bring about meaningful job creation
is through a practical approach in infrastructural development:
development in education to create efficient human resources - the
greatest resources of any society. It also requires the development in
energy as energy is one of the prime factors for industrial and
technology developments including manufacturing industries, development
in transportation, and development in roads as our roads are death trap.
Furthermore, it requires the development of waterways, housing,
healthcare as our healthcare system is in shambles, and development in
information technology - one of the fastest growing technologies is
poorly operated in the Nation due to network problems. Development in
potable water supply is critical as the masses are suffering from
typhoid and diarrhea related diseases due to bad water, development of
urban and rural sanitation, and development in agriculture as our food
is about 80% carbohydrate, which could lead to diabetic related diseases
(there is need to diversify food production). Effective Research and
Development (R&D) and effective use of Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) among others should be considered in order to promote meaningful
job creation.
(4) Infrastructural Maintenance Program:
as a way forward to actualize social and economic developments in the
Nation, I suggest that Nigeria initiate National Public Works Program
(NPWP), an infrastructural maintenance program to create sustainable and
meaningful employment for millions of Nigerians that are without job.
The NPWP should cover renovation/rehabilitation of the old
infrastructure: hospitals, schools, recreation centers and parks,
highways, urban and rural roads, streets, waterways, irrigation,
dredging, reclamation, erosion and oil degraded sites, environment and
sanitation control in rural and urban cities among others. The above
program should be given high priority with regard to economic and social
development, job creation and crime reduction. In other words, the
Federal Government should give immediate priority to medium term
projects that are critical to National development. The execution of
this program will promote and provide favorable environment for
investors (local and international) including the promotion of safety
and security in the Nation. The above program should also accommodate
short-term and long-term projects. Public Works Program worked in many
Nations including the USA created many jobs, and laid the foundation for
development in these Nations. I believed it will work (promote job
creation, social and economic developments) in Nigeria if properly
managed. As noted, the above programs or projects have been neglected
or abandoned for many years; and will require a long period of time to
fix. Also, the NPWP is capital intensive programs or projects; hence the
Nation’s indebtedness poses a red flag. I believe that excellent
governance and good economic policies can help the growth process. I
acknowledge that the Government cannot in four years, or even in ten
years, correct the mistakes of the past years of errors. As noted, the
President is positioning the Nation to find opportunities to excel
despite the economic turmoil. I am convinced that what the Nation needs
first and foremost is authentic economic development plan, which I
believe the current National leadership is capable of achieving.
The NPWP should be in collaboration with
the 774 Local Governments, the States Government, FG including the
Federal Capital Territory and private sectors in the Nation,
specifically, the big corporations through their respective Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) department. The big corporations in the
Nation are required to actively participate in this program so that
their businesses embrace responsibility for the impact of their
activities on the environment, consumers, employees and communities.
Furthermore, the big corporations should proactively promote the
Nation’s public interest by encouraging community growth and
development. A case in point, a corporation such as Dangote Group has
to be more responsible in order to reduce the employees reckless driving
in the Nation. The organization’s truck drivers constitute public
nuisance on the roads and to the general public properties and safety.
In addition, the organization’s heavy trucks destroy public roads. The
Federal Government has to address this issue including the menace of
accidents involving Dangote Group trailers in the country through the
corporation’s CSR department.
Continued inaction or slow pace in
infrastructural maintenance program poses serious costs for everyone.
These costs are unemployment, human and financial, felt by millions of
people at home, and those abroad who endure years of separation or
deferred dreams. Also, it affect millions more hardworking families
whose wages are depressed due to lack of efficient infrastructural
maintenance program in the Nation. That’s why infrastructural
maintenance program is an economic imperative and an essential step
needed to strengthen our middle class, maintain the existing industries,
create new industries and new jobs, and make Nigeria remains
competitive in the global economy. Finally, the Federal Government
should focus on road construction and rehabilitation in the rural areas,
in the belief that infrastructural transformation is critical to
economic development. In a nutshell, the overall goal of NPWP is social
and economic development, job creation and creating Nigeria economic
development beyond oil.
(5) Provision of technical and
vocational education for meaningful and sustainable job creation is very
crucial. Although education is more important than ever, there are
still a lot of jobs that require some technical training but not a
college degree, such as paralegals, dental hygienists, welders,
electricians, carpenters, hospitalities and a variety of medical
technicians among others. Steering more students into vocational and
technical schools at a younger age could generate more workers with
skills that employers need. According to data recently released by the
Organization for Co-operation and Development (OECD), more than half of
Russian adults held tertiary degrees in 2012, the equivalent of college
degree in the United States and more than in any other country reviewed.
Meanwhile, less than 4% of Chinese adults had tertiary qualifications
in 2012, less than in any other country. That is, China relies on
technical and vocational education than college degree and this fact
points to the high industrial output of China. In 2015, the five
largest countries by industrial output according to IMF (billions in
USD) are China: 4,922, European Union: 4,162, USA: 3,752, Japan: 1,082
and Germany: 1,051.
As observed, too many students earn
degrees in arts, literature and social sciences, while there's a
shortage of mathematics, science and engineering graduates. Parents and
educators could do a much better job of guiding kids into fields where
the jobs are, which would raise the payback for getting a college degree
and encourage more to attend.
It should be noted that technical and
vocational education is the key to sustainable and meaningful job
creation in the Nation. The Federal Government must rebuild the
moribund educational facilities, engage quality and skillful teachers,
equip the schools in the rural and urban areas with educational
infrastructure including comprehensive sporting facilities to catch
talented sports persons in their prime because sports have become big
business and big employer of labor locally and internationally. The
Nation must leverage on the enormous talents that abound among our
youths, develop these sporting talents. In this direction, the
educational sector has a strategic role to play in creating the
necessary skills that would enable the youths to become creators of jobs
and not just job seekers. Quality technical and vocational education
will make youths obtain job easier in technology and industrial based
organizations instead of organizations seeking foreign technicians. As
noted, a child with quality education (not how far but how well) has a
better chance to succeed because knowledge is power. The best gift to
any child is good education.
(6) Development of quality Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) education is the provision of
e-learning spaces and training for teachers and students across the
Nation. It is the applications of computers and telecommunications
equipment to store, retrieves, transmit and manipulate data. ICT
education includes software applications but is not limited to, word
processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers and e-mail clients,
digital media playback, games and myriad personal productivity and
special-purpose software applications.
The state of the Information Technology
System in the Nation needs to be addressed in line with the trend of the
21st century computer technology, and it calls for urgent steps to be
taken to promote computer education, which will create meaningful jobs
across the Nation.
I strongly suggest that the Nation
include ICT in schools’ curriculums. ICT education has advantages that
images can easily be used in teaching and improving the retentive memory
of students, teachers can easily explain complex instructions and
ensure students' comprehension and teachers are able to create
interactive classes and make the lessons more enjoyable, which could
improve student attendance and concentration. However, ICT has
disadvantages because setting up the devices can be very troublesome,
too expensive to afford and hard for teachers to use with a lack of
experience using ICT tools.
The current trend in ICT shows that
South Korea, United States and China are promoting strategy for "Smart
Education", focusing on customized learning and teaching; as the digital
technology in the classroom might help to engage pupils and students in
their learning and could save schools money. It is believed that the
new learning strategy will deliver the best results for pupils,
students, parents, and teachers. Smart Education will change how we
perceive textbooks; that is, the transfer from the traditional paper
textbooks to digital textbooks that will allow students to explore the
world beyond the classroom. Therefore, it is imperative that the
Federal Government prioritized information and Communication technology
for Public primary, secondary, technical and vocational schools, and
higher institutions in order to create meaningful job opportunities for
our youths.
The Federal Government cannot only rely
on ICT infrastructure development to become competitive. Rather, the
benefits of ICT can only be fully derived when the Nation implements a
holistic strategy aimed at creating conditions for skills, innovation
and entrepreneurship to flourish alongside modern infrastructure.
For the Nation to close the digital
divide or digital gap; the Federal Government require adequate
educational infrastructures; especially, up-to-date computers, stable
power supply, funds and large scale capacity building in ICT sector for
the teachers, students and the pupils. As observed, tertiary
institutions in the Nation are not producing competent and enough ICT
graduates to meet National demand. The lack of young ICT professionals
is not limited to Nigeria but globally. Increasing connectivity, the
internet of everything, rising digitization of all business activities,
globalization of trade and travel, and global economic growth has
created the same problem in many Nations. Promoting quality ICT
education will translate to quality labor force and could promote
outsourcing industry for the Nation. Stable power supply and quality
education are crucial to the success of ICT education.
(7) Effective use of Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) to create meaningful jobs in the Nation is highly
suggested. FDI is a controlling ownership in a business enterprise in
one country by an entity based in another country. A foreign direct
investment includes but is not limited to mergers and acquisitions,
building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas
operations and intra company loans. In a nut shell, foreign direct
investment refers to building new facilities.
FDI is increasingly being recognized as
an important factor in the economic development of countries. Besides
bringing capital, it facilitates the transfer of technology,
organizational and managerial practices and skills as well as access to
international markets. More and more countries are striving to create a
favorable and enabling climate to attract FDI as a policy priority. In
addition to reducing the restrictions on the entry of FDI, they are
actively liberalizing their FDI regimes. In terms of the types of
fiscal incentives granted, there is clearly an increasing trend towards
offering full or partial tax holidays or tax rate reductions for
specific types of activities. Typically, export incentives apply to
almost all taxes, whereas with other kinds of incentives, the trend is
towards a more selective exemption or partial exemption. Attracting
beneficial FDI and local direct investment (LDI) is critical for
National economic diversification and development, which could promote
employment. More incentive opportunities for FDI will translate to more
meaningful and sustainable job creation for Nigerians. As noted,
besides infrastructural development, the issue of frustrating the
investors (local and international) is one of the factors retarding the
social and economic development of the Nation.
The Federal Government should encourage
Foreign Direct Investment program and incentives to accelerate the net
inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in
enterprises operating in the economy of the Nation. Increasing foreign
investment can be used by the Nation as one measure of growing economic
globalization. Effective management of FDI will promote wealth for the
Nation, accelerate industrial and technology developments and enhance
employment for Nigerians.
(8) Manufacturing based economy is
required for meaningful and sustainable job creation in the State.
Providing enabling environment for growth of local and international
industries is a must and the power sector must and should be revived.
Without stable electricity supply local manufacturing becomes very
expensive. That is, without stable electricity supply it becomes
cheaper to import goods from abroad than to produce them locally. In
other words, without stable electricity supply, there will be no
meaningful and sustainable job creation.
We must promote made-in-Nigeria goods by
buying made-in-Nigeria products. Nigerian consumers also have a role
to play to encourage local manufacturing of items that can easily be
made here rather than rely so much on imports from China. We should
halt the inordinate desire for foreign products for which substitutes
are available in Nigeria. This will expand the market and create more
jobs. Nigerian producers or manufacturers must abide by the
international standard of products. For example, most medication in the
Nation is not effective due to the fact that the active ingredient or
ingredients are not present or are present in minute quantity, and not
as specified by the manufacturers. Sometimes, these medications are
sold to customers when they are expired. It is a serious issue and
requires the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
(PMGMAN) to address these shortcomings. In addition, the Federal
Government can create credible jobs through the value chain in mineral
exploitation, small and medium enterprises, by creating local demand and
empowering local producers.
Furthermore, promotion of cottage
industries is crucial to meaningful and sustainable job creation for
Nigerians. As noted, a cottage industry is an industry where the
creation of products and services is home-based, rather than
factory-based. While products and services created by cottage industry
are often unique and distinctive given the fact that they are usually
not mass-produced, producers in this sector often face numerous
disadvantages when trying to compete with much larger factory-based
companies. As observed, the National system is fraught with systemic
failure of the previous Federal Government to fix the largely
dilapidated and grossly non-functional infrastructure so as to create
the enabling environment for willing entrepreneurs with the capital to
set up cottage industries that would create meaningful and sustainable
job opportunities for the jobless youths.
(9) The Federal Government should note
that adequate funding and financing are key to business success. One of
the causes of business failure in the Nation is lack of capital for the
indigenes. The Federal Government should assist local investors by
creating an affordable loan system; (loans with low interest rate and
long-term pay back). Financial assistance should come as
micro-financing from local banks, from Federal, State and Local
Governments, the World Bank, small business development agencies and the
use of soft loan among others. Micro-finance is a general term to
describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do
not have access to typical banking services. Micro-finance is also the
idea that low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out
of poverty if given access to financial services.
(10) Tourism is big business, and there
is need to revisit the sector in line with peace, environmental
sanitation, safety and security of our communities. The Federal
Government could boost tourism here by streamlining the visa process for
foreigners and aggressively promoting travel to Nigeria, which will
promote tourism business in the Nation and create jobs.
(11) Agriculture: once agricultural
sector is prioritized again by the Federal Government as being stressed,
there will be credible jobs, financial institutions to provide soft
agricultural loans and credit facilities for farmers especially in the
rural areas. There is also the need to reform the land laws to
collateralized local lands and make them collaterals for bank loans.
For agriculture to create meaningful jobs, agricultural development
should be addressed in line with scarcity of variety of foods, promotion
of processing methods for agricultural products and promotion of food
preservation, promotion of commercial mechanized and commercial
non-mechanized agriculture among others.
The decline in agricultural sector in
the past years is due to lack of investment and inadequate research and
development in the sector. Over the past years, agricultural
productivity in the Nation has been stagnant or declining because of
years of under investment. Lack of investment in this sector leads to
poverty, hunger in the Nation, and the resulting waste in human lives.
There should be a focus on the smallholder farmers because they produce
about 80 to 90 per cent of the food we consume in this Nation; they are
part of the solution to food sufficiency and security in Nigeria. The
Stakeholders should support farmers with fertilizers and adequate
capital base through micro-finance. However, farmers should be trained
to have a sound knowledge on the use of chemical fertilizers on
agricultural food production including the use of synthetic pesticides.
This will promote healthy conventional food production and food export
while driving towards organic food production, which will reduce the
dangers of consuming foods containing unacceptable levels of chemicals.
In conclusion, meaningful and
sustainable job creation as outlined is in line with Mr. President’s
agenda for job creation by his administration. I’m convinced that the
President promised to pursue it vigorously despite the financial crunch
and sued for a change of attitude to work especially by public
officials. With an enabling environment and sustainable peace,
government should place emphasis on skills related vocational and
technical trainings so that youths will be entrepreneurs and not job
seekers. We should emphasize the acquisition of skills (in order to
produce quality labor force) rather than certificates and the
educational system should be configured and supported to achieve this
goal.
As state above, Federal Government can
tackle poverty through meaningful and sustainable job creation through
the value chain in mineral exploitation, small and medium enterprises,
by creating local demand and empowering local producers. Also, as
noted, the Nation will gain a lot if youths are empowered to acquire
modern skills. Quality education is the key to sustainable job
creation. The Federal Government must rebuild the moribund educational
facilities, engage quality and skillful teachers, equip the schools in
the rural and urban areas with comprehensive educational infrastructure
including sporting facilities to catch talented sports persons in their
prime. Educational sector has a strategic role to play in creating the
necessary skills that would enable the youths to become creators of jobs
and not just job seekers. The Nation should minimize Brain Drain to
maximize Brain Gain through the provision of incentives that will
attract Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora.
The Federal Government should recognize
the importance of job creation by investing in and developing sound,
effective and efficient economic and social infrastructure and
productive capacities for sustainable development and sustained,
inclusive and equitable economic growth. Also the Nation should
recognize the importance of job creation by adopting forward-looking
macroeconomic policies that promote sustainable development and lead to
sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, increase productive
employment opportunities and promote agricultural and industrial
development. The Nation’s workers should have access to quality
education, skills, health care, social security, fundamental rights at
work, social and legal protections, including occupational safety and
health, and decent work opportunities. Government, trade unions,
workers and employers all have a role to play in promoting decent work
for all, and all should help young people to gain access to needed
skills and employment opportunities, including in new and emerging
sectors. Women and men should have equal access to opportunities to
acquire job skills as well as to worker protections. As observed,
Government exists to cater for the well-being of the populace.
Therefore, it is its duties to provide social amenities for the good of
all, be it electricity, water, road, among other infrastructure. It is
more important when it comes to education, as it is an avenue where the
leaders of tomorrow are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. These
challenges call for transcendental governance or a transformational
leadership. I believe that the Federal Government is doing a good job
towards providing the enabling environment for meaningful and
sustainable job creation - good luck.
Elder (Dr.) Chukwuma O. Nwaonicha
Elder (Dr.) Chukwuma O. Nwaonicha writes from Agbor, Delta State