Page 1 of 9
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 02
February 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 186
Youth Unemployment, Deprivation and Educational
Planning Intervention in Nigeria.
Ogundale, Michael Olarewaju (Ph.D) ;
2Bawa, John; Sambo, 3Maria Anpe
1Department of Educational Foundations University of Jos, Nigeria
E-mail:michogu63@gmail.com
2Department of Educational Foundations Federal University Kashere, Gombe State
E-mail: jbawa891@gmail.com
3Department of Educational Foundations University of Jos, Nigeria
E-mail: msambo1965@gmail.com
Abstract
Youth unemployment poses grave
economic and social problems for Nigeria
and requires urgent attention. Youth are
the engine room that propels any society to
greater heights. This paper looks at the
youths’ unemployment situation,
deprivation and policy interventions.
These youths have become a “generation
at risk” because of the lack of sufficient or
sustainable decent work making them
extremely vulnerable. The paper also
examines the theoretical theory to
underpin it as well as consequences of
youth unemployment and
recommendations. The paper concludes
that youth unemployment in Nigeria is
endemic. Combating the challenges of the
rising unemployment level is a major task
for the Nigerian educational planners in
their planning processes.
Keywords: Youth, unemployment,
intervention, deprivation
Introduction
Globally, unemployment is a crisis
with most developing countries with the
high rate of unemployment. It remains a
major challenge of modern economics
around the world today, Nigeria is
no exception. The unemployment situation
in Nigeria has assumed a multi- dimensional phenomenon cutting across
all facets of age groups, educational strata
and geographical entities (Dandago &
Muhammad, 2014). Unemployment is
unevenly distributed across the age groups
with youth between the ages of 15-24
carrying the greatest burden. More
disturbing today, is ever rising trend of
youth unemployment in the country.
Education is a compulsory and a right of
every Nigerian irrespective of gender,
Social status, religion or ethnic
background Federal Republic of Nigeria
(FRN, 2013). As unemployment looms
large, youths are the worst hit.
Unemployment in Nigeria has affected
youths from a broad spectrum of socio- economic groups, both the well and less
well educated, although it has particularly
stricken a substantial fraction of youth
from low income backgrounds and limited
education. It is obvious that
unemployment, especially the
unemployment of graduates impedes
Nigeria‟s progress in many ways. Apart
from economic waste, it also constitutes
Page 2 of 9
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 02
February 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 187
danger for political stability (Ezie, 2012).
International Labour Organization ILO
(2012) added its voice when it averred that
unemployment of the youth is the biggest
threats to social stability in many countries
of the world. Countries vary considerably
in their definition of youth. The United
Nations (UN) consider individuals under
the age group of 15-24 years as youth
(Awogbenle Iwuamadi; 2010). Nigeria
however, a youth is defined by the
National Policy on Youth Development as
any individual who is a citizen of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, between the
ages of 18 and 35 years (Youth Policy,
2007). Nigeria‟s unemployment crisis is
more serious. Subair (2013) documented
that the unemployment rate of the youth is
38 percent and the bracket age of 15-35
years olds account for close to 60 percent
of the Nigeria‟s population and
approximately 4 million youth entered into
the labour market every year. While the
developed countries are taking the threat
seriously and restructuring their education
and social security system to abate its
growth and escape the eminent
catastrophic retrenchments, Nigeria seem
not to be doing enough (Alabi, 2014)”
The International Labour
Organization (ILO) defines the
unemployed as numbers of the
economically active population who are
without work but available for and seeking
work, including people who have lost their
jobs and those who have voluntarily left
work (World Bank, 1998) Dictionary.
Com defines an “Unemployed” persons as
one “without a paid job but available to
work”. The same site defines an
“Unemployable” person as someone who
is “not able to get paid employment
because of a lack of skills or qualifications.
Unemployment refers to a situation in
which people who are capable of working
and who are qualified by age to work but
cannot find employment (AASSER, 2012).
Unemployment is a situation in
which people who are capable of working
on wage employment or self-employment,
and who are qualified by age to work
legally but cannot secure employment.
Such employment can be of permanent,
contractual or part-time nature. The most
frequently cited measures of
unemployment is the unemployment rate.
In Nigeria, the unemployment rate
measures the number of people actively
looking for jobs as a percentage of the
labour force.
According to Fajana (2000),
unemployment refers to a situation where
people who are willing and capable of
working are unable to find suitable paid
employment. It is one of the macro- economic problem which every
responsible government is expected to
monitor and regulate. The higher the
unemployment rate in an economy the
higher would be the poverty level and
associated welfare challenges.
Unemployment in Nigeria today
has become every youth‟s nightmare. Six
out of every ten unemployed persons are
young women or young men (Vremudia,
2010). The general observation from
researchers on youth unemployment, there
is also a decline in the quality of
employment available to youth as well as
challenge of social and crime control
become a serious issues as the rate of
Page 3 of 9
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 02
February 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 188
unemployment becomes increasing
unchecked.
Education should be planned in
such a way that beneficiaries should be
able to make use of skills and knowledge
acquire in order to contribute meaningfully
to the development of the society. It is
against this backdrop that Coombs in
Udoh and Akpa (2010) asserted that in
planning education, the focus is making
education more effective and efficient in
responding to the needs and goals of the
youth and society.
The age categories used to define
youth‟ are often fluid or elastic. According
to ILO (2012) for employment statistics
purposes however, youth are classified as
individuals between the age of 15 and 24
years. There seem to be a consensus on the
definition and usage of the concept,
unemployment. According to Udu and
Agu (2005), unemployment is a situation
in which persons capable and willing to
work are unable to find suitable paid
employment. As define by International
Labour Organization (2007), unemployed
workers are those who are currently not
working but are willing and able to work
for pay, currently available to work and
have actively search for work. Hornby
(2010) defines unemployment as the facts
of a number of people not having a job; the
number of people without a job; the state
of not having a job. In the same vein, an
operational definition of unemployment
will mean people who are able and willing
to work are without jobs or cannot find
work that is effective and productive to do.
The unemployment situation in Nigeria is
pathetic considering the fact that the
country that is blessed with a lot of human
and natural resources is not capable of
providing employment for its teeming
youth. As noted by Asaju, Arome and
Anijio (2014), the youth holds the key to
achieving the vision 20:20:20. The
questions that arise from this facts is that
why is the rate of youth unemployment.
The System theory will be used to
underpinned this paper.
The systems approach requires that
when public administrators plan, they have
no choice but to take into account,
environmental factors (political, social,
economic, technological, ethnical etc). In
other words, it requires interrelated
elements with daily interaction between
environments external and internal
(Ezeani, 2006).
This means that to solve the
problem of youth unemployment in
Nigeria, a consideration of the political,
economic, social, ethical and even
educational environments is important.
This is because, for a problem like youth
unemployment, its solutions are not
sacrosanct with the governmental
provision of jobs but others sources which
can emanate from the environment. For
instance, individuals who are well placed
financially usually build companies,
schools, banks etc for the purpose of
employment and thus help in reducing
unemployment in the country. Their
decision to build and employ workers is
influenced the environment and also
influences the environment.
The issue of youth development is
not of the government alone but for all,
especially the individual youths. After all,
