This Day
4 May 2011
editorial
The federal government set up last year a high-profile committee on job-creation. It is a good coincidence that the committee headed by industrialist Aliko Dangote has come up with its report at a time of rising expectations. As President Goodluck Jonathan takes oath of office for another tenure on May 29, it would not be out of place for the jobless to hope that they would be employed in the economy before the tenure ends.
It would be strange if the President's speech on that day does not have some lines on poverty alleviation. At least 50% of the population is believed to be languishing below the poverty line. Now, you cannot be talking seriously about poverty reduction without confronting the menacing scourge of joblessness. Worse still, the socio-economic plague is ravaging mostly the youths.
Officially, unemployment rate is put at 19.7%. However, to the victims of unemployment, such figures from the National Bureau of Statistics would appear to be a gross understatement. In fact, if you put the unemployment rate at 90% to a young man who has been jobless for five years after graduation; he would not perceive it as an exaggeration. The poor and jobless have no patience for technical finesse in discussing this serious problem.
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