By Richard dirim odu 08033374378
When former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, came up with his 10,000 jobs offer to wearied unemployed youths of the state, one did not need a pair of binoculars to see the tinge of politics in the project.
Smart as he was, the former governor had seen the frustration in the younger generation who appear to have lost faith in the country, seeing it as one that holds no future for them. He cashed in on the situation to bolster his waning popularity as he frenetically pursued his botched second term bid in the 2011 general elections.
Ohakim gave the jobs at the dying hours of his first and only term in office as governor. He lost his reelection nonetheless. His successor, Governor Rochas Anayo Okorocha, on assumption of office, packed the jobs into one trash can and flung them away audaciously.
The legality of the actions and reactions is left for the courts to unravel, but a pertinent question that begs for an urgent answer, given the trend of events in the country, is, what truly constitutes job creation?
In rationalizing this, we must be drawn to the fact that the capitalist system appears to govern the world economy since the demise of communism in the 1980s. In capitalism, private individuals and business firms carry on the production and exchange of goods and services through a complex network of prices and markets. We may, therefore, reason that the bulk of sustainable employment in an economy lies in the private sector.
The beauty of capitalism is the free enterprise and competition it allows, which ultimately elevates productivity and brings out the best in individuals. It has its bad sides as it breeds crime and corruption, coming from the part of those who cannot stand the fair competition and would want to cut corners.
Excessive capitalism has been discovered as unhealthy for the society as some of the naturally weak, such as the aged and the sick, would be trampled upon in the rat race. And so, some measure of welfarism is introduced in the system to make the world go round. It is preferred, in this scenario, that government acts as a catalyst rather than an actor, providing the necessary infrastructure and regulatory statutes that promote trade and production.
The key word in job creation, as it were, is productivity. If the individual has something to offer, in terms of skill for service or production of needed goods, then he has potentials. In this case, the role of the government remains putting in place an enabling environment to motivate this latent population into producing these needed goods and services. And the process of job creation is complete.
In today’s world, energy, especially in the form of electric power, remains an essential component of job creation. No government can successfully claim to have created sustainable jobs if its electricity supply is in the state such as the power holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has kept it in this country today. The level of degeneration has been abysmal enough for citizens to cry themselves hoarse.
It is not enough to continue to blame the Federal Government over this malaise as there are provisions for state governments to institute independent power plants (IPP) to service their localities.
In the 1970s and ’80s generators were seen as mere standbys rather than the main supply they are made to be these days. Then, large scale and small scale industries existed and they begged for manpower. This prompted the government to deploy all means possible, including sending many Nigerian youths, outside the country on scholarship to acquire technological and managerial skills to fill the yawning vacancies in the industries. Then, polytechnic education was made tuition-free and various companies paid annual visits to the institutions to recruit manpower just as the students were dropping their pens after their final examinations.
A flashback to those days evokes sadness as the booming factories of the 70s and 80s have moved to neighbouring countries where they get adequate electricity supply while still exploiting the huge market potentials Nigeria offers them. All they need to do is transport their finished products into the country through our porous borders. Need we ask why the level of unemployment and under-employment in the country rose to dizzying heights?
Besides electricity, we all know that good roads and functional water schemes are components of the job creation tools. In the area of education, there ought to be a concerted effort to direct the youth aright with regard to their career goals and aspirations.
Again, on the financial aspect, government, on paper, has robust plans to make funds available to those who show entrepreneurial skills. But in practice, the same officials who should disburse the funds fraudulently distribute it among themselves and use it for other purposes.
It is unfortunate that the Ohakim concept of using fiat to fix people into government appointments is, ostensibly, the general view of job creation held by many of Nigeria’s so-called leaders. That is why we have job racketeering in most ministries and government departments.
To merely allocate personnel to the bureaucratic setting of government, state or federal, does not constitute creation of jobs because little or no productivity is realized after all. Salaries come from the coffers of government which is fed mainly with crude oil proceeds.
Nigeria’s high unemployment situation has become a global concern as former US President, Bill Clinton, who visited the country recently, among other world leaders, stressed on it as the main source of the nation’s woes. Indeed, it is an emergency which demands an immediate reformation of the electricity situation in the country as well as rapid improvement of other infrastructure.
To compound the problem, youths have taken to various unwholesome trades such as internet scam (Yahoo! Yahoo!), and other tricks (419). The more daring ones engage in armed robbery and kidnapping while the imprudent turn to terrorism, the likes of Boko Haram in the north and militants in the Niger Delta.
Another worrisome development is that some state governments appear to stifle enterprises that are already grappling with inclement business weather, using taxes. Inasmuch as taxes are necessary, the era calls for the pampering and nurturing of enterprises, especially the upcoming ones, so that they grow strong enough to provide the badly needed jobs. More pathetic is the daily maiming of street traders in some cities by taskforce men, even when they do not constitute any menace. Besides, government appears to have lost control of “area boys” illegally impose their own taxes on businesses, harassing them at will.
Employment rate, from economic principles, is sometimes dependent on how much international trade favours a country. Nigeria, perhaps, remains a paradox as figures emanating from the Central Bank recently posted an all time high foreign reserves which appear not to reflect on the employment situation or the standard of living of the people.
The country, from all indications, need overly altruistic leaders rather than those who believe governance or leadership is to preside over the nation’s oil wealth and show the rest of us how powerful they can be by misusing the common wealth with impunity.
Right now, the government should consider declaring a state of emergency over the job situation in this country. The youth can be saved if the political will is still left in our leaders. Besides, availability of employment opportunities is the best security for the nation as much of the crime committed by the youth is traceable to financial frustration.
