The latest figure by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which says 7.53 million out of Nigeria’s labor force of 85.08 million are unemployed (“absolutely doing nothing”) once again confirms the crisis of governance and underdevelopment in Nigeria,Comrade Issa Aremu has said.
Aremu, who is the General Secretary Textile Workers’ Union said in a statement Monday: “If we had the army of underemployed, the crisis of unemployment has assumed tragic proportions in forms of various mass crimes as restless youths swell the ranks of kidnappers and insurgent. All tiers of government must rise to promote development through re-Industrialization, uninterrupted electricity supply and war against smuggling which had made the products of local industries uncompetitive.
“It is worrisome that the few employed are in subsistence farming and informal sector.
Proffering solutions, he said “There is an urgent need for a bipartisan employment drive in the country. Sustainable jobs can only come from industry and massive public infrastructural development such as railways, roads construction, reinvention of public schools and hospitals. Mass unemployment means value-subtraction for Nigeria at a time when there is much work to be done and the nation is begging for growth and development. All the issues in unemployment crisis are governance issues which task the responsibilities and sensitivities of the Federal as well as State Governments of the Federation.”
