The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to set up an “Unemployment Fund” from where to pay unemployed graduates and youths stipends until they secure employment. It also charged the Ministry of National Planning to “put up mechanisms and programmes that would provide employment for the country’s teeming unemployed graduates/youths at all tiers of government. ”Adopting a motion titled “Escalating Rate of Unemployment in the Country” and sponsored by Ike Ekweremadu, the upper legislative chamber equally called on government at all levels to declare emergency on job creation for the youths nationwide.
The former deputy senate president, who raised the alarm at the disturbing unemployment statistics in the country during plenary, said the red chamber should be “concerned that the large numbers of graduates that our high institutions are turning out yearly, but cannot be absorbed by the labour market, are a time bomb waiting to explode.”
He added: “The most pressing demand on the hand of every legislator and public officer is the rising number of curriculum vitae and applications for employments from constituents and Nigerians.”The lawmaker submitted that “a situation where every graduate has to queue for job only in government offices is an indication of the breakdown of the private sector, which is the major driver of world economies.”He expressed worry that “these energies and potential talents that are lying idle and wasting away are usually misdirected towards many unprofitable and harmful ventures and lifestyles.”
Ekweremadu observed that a situation where “most active percentage of the nation’s population is forcefully caged by unemployment from participating in the economic development of their fatherland and contributing towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)” was dangerous.He further held: “High level of crimes in any society is most times related to high rate of unemployment.
“Unemployment is one of the major causes of the upsurge in
rural-urban migration which puts pressure on facilities at the urban
centres.
“Unemployment is one of the major reasons insurgency, kidnapping, armed
robbery, cyber crimes and other vices are on the increase.”Consequently,
the Senate enjoined the federal, state and local governments to revive
moribund industries, build new ones and provide an enabling environment
for the private sector to thrive.
