Change your Attitude towards Unemployment

1. Introduction
In Nigeria today, securing jobs especially paid jobs have become highly competitive. The reason is not farfetched. The Federal Bureau of Statistics recently reported that over 77 million Nigerians are unemployed/under employed. This is so because available jobs are very few compared to the number of job seekers.

The obvious gap has created high rate of unemployment which has been the thorniest issue to successive Governments including the current Administration.

However, the problem of unemployment in Nigeria is worsened by attitudinal problem. This protracted problem can be overcome through attitudinal change and a thorough understanding of the secret of securing a job.

2. Understand What Gave Rise To Unemployment
Although unemployment has assumed a global dimension owing to world economic down turn, the genesis of unemployment in Nigeria has the following derivatives.

Prior to the late seventies and eighties, unemployment was not very significant especially in the tertiary graduate categories. This was as a result of low rate of tertiary graduates production. However the growing demand for tertiary education, made the Federal Government to expand the educational sector without doing same to the industrial sector thereby creating a dangerous gap between supply and demand for tertiary education graduates. This lopsided expansion between the educational sector and the Industrial Sector is one of the causes of unemployment. Whereas if as the educational sector has been expanded, the Government goes beyond lip service to creating enabling environment (i.e. solve power problem, do good network of roads, provide water and good communication and transportation
System) for small and medium scale enterprises especially in the area of value chain production as it is being emphasized now, the situation would have been different. Regrettably, most of the existing industries have folded up. The few available ones are operating below capacity.

The second cause of unemployment is that most of Nigeria tertiary educational Institutions do not interface with the industries. They are living in a world of their own thereby producing what the industries do not want. In a normal economic setting, producers produce product needed in the market. Any producer that produces what he feels like producing will end up having his product unsold or un demanded for. The inability of most tertiary institutions inability to produce graduates with skills and character, has led to low demand for them by employers. The lack of skills and good character may not be unconnected with poor and hostile learning environment. Inadequate learning equipment: The usual axiom which says “having being found worthy in learning and character… is nothing but mere rhetoric.

Thirdly, most of the graduates being produced today are white collar graduates, who were only prepared for paid employment rather than self employment. An attempt to remedy this anomaly through introduction of Entrepreneurship as a compulsory course for all disciplines has again ended up as “fulfillment of all righteousness”. This is because Entrepreneurship being taught is mere theories without practical.

Most of the graduates being produced today are of low quality because learning and research have been sacrificed for money/patronage. The consequence of this is that many of our graduates cannot write a simple letter let alone proposals/projects.

On the part of the graduates themselves, they no longer have motivation to learn. Rat race has plagued the once cherished Ivory tower. The craze for inordinate wealth has driven many of our graduates off track. Nobody cares; not even the lecturers who themselves are beneficiaries of a bastardized system.

The curricula of many tertiary schools have not been reviewed for a long time except for cosmetic renaming/re-framing of course titles rather than doing so to reflect the changing time.
   
These entrenched reasons are responsible for the social malaise called “unemployment” that has become worrisome in Nigeria today. This assertion can be buttressed by the statement of the Minister of labour under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) Professor Okojie, who both said at different times that Nigeria graduates are not employable because of skills gap. 

3. Ask Yourself What Do I Need In A Job?
Especially for first time job seekers, it is important to know what you need in a job before seeking it or jumping into it.
A wise job seeker will seek:
 Jobs that will add value to himself/herself
 Job that will grow you experimentally.
 Job you have passion or interest for.
 Job that will lead to fulfillment of your dream and   
    happiness.

Job that offers future opportunity for growth and improved incentives.

Job that will enable you improve your knowledge and your   professional/management skills.
 Job that will eventually make self employed

4. What To Do In Absence of Job
 While waiting for a job, place your hands on something to do. Idleness is bad and is the devils workshop. Avoid it. Do something no matter how little.

 Come to think of it. What is the essence of knowledge if it cannot be used to overcome hunger and idleness. The Maxim which says “Knowledge is power” is very instructive here.

 For instance, why can’t a graduate of Food Technology improve and attractively package our traditional Ogiri (Akamu) or produce improved bottled groundnut with good packaging for supplies to various sales point within and outside his/her state of residence.

 Mechanical engineers can establish motor mechanic workshop on joint or co-operative basis while gradually acquiring modern digital equipments.

 Graduates can operate a mobile car wash which later could transform into something more stationery equipped: Do freelance job such as gathering authentic information for sale to those who need it, do par-time teaching; engage in volunteer work to attract stipend and experience.

 Graduates of Agriculture can do cat fish farming at the comfort of their homes or engage in ugu leave (vegetables) farming amongst others.

 Caterers can establish barbecue for cat fish, morning breakfast such as tea/bread, bean ball (akara) pap, fried egg, as breakfast etc.

There are a lot of things to do. The land is green and begging to be tapped. There is no reason why someone could really say he has no work to do. Think think and think, you cannot be idle; idleness is an attitudinal problem which requires change

5. Conclusion
Unemployment is a social problem which requires attitudinal change. For instance, if the Government will play her role, the tertiary Institutions come alive to their duty of producing graduates that have skills and the right character, and the job applicants themselves have a new orientation about life, then we would have overcome this social malice.
The cure to unemployment therefore is tripartite responsibility and unless everyone plays his role the problem may subsist.

Written by J. I. Nikori (Business and Management Consultant)