By Dele Sobowale
“In Nigeria today, there are millions of young people who are economically dislocated, either through unemployment or a lack of engagement with any meaningful economic activities. In effect, 24 percent of our economic agents are disaffected and disenfranchised through unemployment and that figure rises to almost 70 percent when we consider those between the ages of 18 and 30”.
Governor of Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi, Calabar, September 2, 2013.
Coming from the arm of government charged with developing and maintaining, as much as possible, monetary policies aimed at achieving full employment, defined as not more than four percent structural unemployment, that statement was as much a self-indictment as condemnation of the Jonathan administration.
Every central banker in the world, faced with the global phenomenon of intractable high unemployment had lowered interest rates to encourage investments and job creation. The Central Bank of Nigeria has, for reasons difficult to understand, had opted for one of the highest interest rates in the world. The Nigerian economy continues to streak along at 6.5-7.00%. but, the credit for that goes not to the CBN and the governor. Instead, the high price of crude as well as high level of foreign direct investment, arising from countries enjoying low interest rates are responsible for that single positive index in an otherwise bleak economic landscape.
Lamido is only the second official of this government, in two weeks, to voice concern about the manner the government of Nigeria had consigned a whole generation of Nigerian youths to life time unemployment and the loss of self-esteem, as well as the social maladies associated with a life without hope and without anything to lose.
Dr Christopher Kolade, the “suffering and smiling” Chairman of SURE-P, Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s self-delusive cure for high chronic unemployment, had made the same point a week earlier but with more diplomatic language. Men for all seasons don’t ruffle the feathers of government. Lamido, on the other hand “does not give a damn”. He says it as it is and in unmistakable language. Yet, there is ample historical and social evidence to support the view that the most dangerous people in any society are those with nothing to lose.
In real numbers, we are talking about 40 million idle hands which now constitute Nigeria’s devil’s workshop. More than any other time in our history, we are experiencing some absolutely bizarre types of criminal activities demonstrating the level of desperation into which our people, especially young ones, have descended.
Master Daniel, who risked everything he has, which is only his life and the shirt on his back,, to stowaway on a plane, was drawing attention, not so much to himself as most conventional thinkers have argued, but more to the destitution he find surrounding him at home. Understandably, the mother and some other relatives had tried to evade the searchlight beamed by the kid on their wretchedness. Even some people living in crushing poverty still cling to some vestiges of self-pride and dignity. But, certainly, the boy did not flee a home brimming with milk and honey.
Yet, there is one inescapable truth which cannot be evaded. Only governments, Federal, States and Local Governments, in collaboration with the private sector can reduce the menace of unemployment. But, the Federal government must take the lead. And that means President Jonathan. Unfortunately for our dear country, we have leading us a man fighting for his political life.
It is one of the strongest verdicts of history that a man fighting for his life has no time or energy to spare fighting for anything else. With the PDP in disarray, the APC and PDM threatening to send him back to Otuoke in 2015, unemployment, however monumental, is the farthest thing from the President’s mind. That assignment has been handed to Okonjo-Iweala – whose World Bank advised all the countries of Europe to tow the conservative lines which led to their own high rates of joblessness. Okonjo-Iweala is simply incapable of thinking outside the conservative box.
Just before Jonathan’s defenders cry “foul” about that accusation, namely, that he is totally absorbed in bad politics and has no time for economics, let them collect six leading Nigerian papers for the last four or six months. They should read only the front page news and the continuation of the lead stories. They will discover to their astonishment that 70 to 85 per cent of the lead stories involving the President have all been about Jonathan and PDP.