SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION

Unemployment which is a major economic problem confronting both developed

and developing countries of the world has been seen to take an increasing turn in
form of graduate unemployment.

An examination of the unemployment profile in Africa shows that unemployment

rates are alarming for some African countries, part of which are Botswana 22%
(1995), Algeria 24% (1995), Tanzania 22% (1999), South Africa 25% (1999) and
Nigeria 17% (1995), 19.7% (2009) (Umo, 2014).

The acquisition of a University degree was once considered as a sure guarantee for
securing a paid employment either in the public or the private sector (Idowu,
1987). The reverse has been the case in Nigeria. For several decades, the issue of
graduate unemployment has remained intractable.

The issue of graduate unemployment in Nigeria has become a national concern as

the unemployed youths tend to be more anxious, depressed and unhappy with their
attendant sleeplessness than those with jobs. This situation has not only posed a
great challenge to the economy but has also led to the retarded state of the
country’s economic growth.

Yet individual investment expenditure on tertiary education continues to increase

despite the inadequate demand for it, thereby adding to the looming unemployment
rate already in existence in the country. This problem can be seen to have
emanated as a result of a mismatch between supply of labour (graduates) and
demand for labour (graduates) following the assumption of the renowned sail’s law

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which says “supply equals demand”; meaning that the supply of labour should
equal the demand for labour so equilibrium can exist in the labour market.

This has prompted various research works and studies to investigate the economic
killer disease, “Graduate unemployment” and to create policy frameworks that will
help minimize or totally eliminate the problem of graduate unemployment.

Evident is the fact that government policies have failed to adequately curb the
problem of graduate unemployment. A worrisome situation is the increasing trend
of graduate turnout each year and the declining labour absorption capacity of the
country. This worrisome situation can be said to have evolved after oil boom of
1970’s and mid 1980’s during the world economic blow “global recession” and
still remains till date. Prior to the 1970’s, Nigeria was basically an agrarian society
with the agricultural sector absorbing the largest proportion of the work force; 70%
of the working population engaged in agricultural activities. But due to the poor
linkage structure of the country, the demand by the sector’s product has reduced
drastically, therefore leaving it to the peasants, small and medium scale operators
in the sector. All these issues give rise to questions to which unambiguous answers
must be sought out:

i. What are the causes of graduate unemployment in Nigeria?

ii. What are the consequences of graduate unemployment in Nigeria?
iii. What are the possible solutions of graduate unemployment in Nigeria?

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 SECTION TWO

2.1 Concept of Unemployment

Unemployment is a situation where those who are able and available for work
don’t get jobs. The intensity of unemployment is often measured by
“Unemployment rate” (U). This is the ratio of the number of unemployed people to
the total labour force, made up of those who are either employed (E) or
unemployed (U) e.g. U^= U/ET +UT
Unemployment results to a lower standard of living, anxiety about the future and
reduced self esteem.
Unemployment is one of the development problems that face every developing
economy in the 21st century. International statistics portray that industrial and
service workers living in developing regions account for about two-thirds of the
unemployed (Patterson et al., 2012).
Concern about graduate unemployment is growing daily and at an accelerated rate
in Nigeria, yet the strength of student enrolment and graduate output of the
institutions of higher learning are growing rapidly. There is serious suspicion that
the cause of high crime wave in Nigeria is due to high youth unemployment
especially among the educated youths (Anyanwu, 2010).

Unemployment according to Lipsey (2013) brings about economic waste and

causes human suffering. The contribution and attitude of this economic waste were
emphasized by the fact that the factor services are the least durable economic
commodity.
Unemployment is as a result of the inability to develop and utilize the nation’s
manpower resources effectively especially in the rural sector (Fadayomi, 2012;
Osinubi, 2012).The negative consequences include poverty, psychological

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problems of frustration, depression, hostility, suspiciousness of people, food
insecurity, all manner of criminal behaviour and general insecurity of life and
property (Adebayo, 2009; Egbuna, 2011; Alanana, 2013; Okonkwo, 2015).
Although Nigeria is known to be rich in manpower; however, all these problems
are not left out in the country.
2.2 Historical background of graduate unemployment in Nigeria

The Nigerian economy during the first two decades of independence exhibited
unemployment rate similar or less than those of the industrialised economies, but
in the 1960’s the country suffered a large increase in unemployment rate. Despite
all the fundamental and domestic structural changes since independence in 1960,
the country has failed at achieving any significant and sustainable economic
growth or development. With the wasteful expenditure in the public sector that
accompanied the oil boom of 1970 dislocating the employment factor and also
distorting the revenue bases for policy planning. This led to the introduction of the
structural adjustment programme (SAP) in 1986 and other current economic
reforms; all of which were aimed at restructuring the Nigerian economy in the face
of the existing population explosion.
However, these economic and financial structural reforms put in place have not
yielded significant results. In the light of this, Akintoye (2012) examined how a
major macroeconomic variable, unemployment could be reduced through the
informal sector by empowering people towards being self productive and
independent.

After the 1967-1970 civil war in Nigeria, the incidence of graduate unemployment
was suspected, rumoured and feared (Fajana, 2010). Graduate unemployment
between 1965 and 1972 was not as serious as dreaded. The level of graduate
unemployment within the period was attributed to slow bureaucratic machinery for

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the processing of application for jobs and the influence system which left some
graduates temporarily unemployed for the first few months after graduation.

2.3 Causes of Graduate Unemployment

From the context analysis perceptions of job seekers on the issue of graduate
unemployment in a study conducted by Fajana (2010), the following factors were
identified as the major causes of unemployment in Nigeria:

-The long period of initial unemployment among university graduates in Nigeria.

- Faulty manpower planning and expansion of educational facilities that have

unduly raised the expectations of Nigerian youths.

-The economic recession, continued proportionality of expatriates in employment.

-The institution of NYSC.

-The collective bargaining process, graduate attitude to some type of jobs, jobs in
certain location as well as search behaviour of employers and job seekers.

-Use of capital intensive technology.

-Wide rural-urban migration.

-Formal-informal sectors differentials.

The identified developmental problem by the Nigerian developmental plans of

1962-85 includes shortages of skilled manpower, uneven distribution of available
manpower among regions and between urban and rural areas, unemployment in the
informal sector as well as widespread under-employment particularly in the
informal sector, inadequate or underdeveloped organizations and institutions for

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mobilizing human effort, lack of incentives for people to engage in particular
activities which are important for national development, and a rapidly growing
population.

According to Aiyelari and Oyefemi (2009) the following factors are responsible for
the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria:

1) The Backward State of the Nigerian Economy: To say the least, the
Nigerian economy is still primitive one. It is an artisan economy in which
the fundamental production tools remain hoe, cutlass, axe, etc. and
production depends on the energy stored in small and its ability to absorb
highly educated people has traditionally been low. But as an artisan
economy is transformed into an industrialized one, the production base
expands and the manpower absorptive power increases as well as the total
employment. In general, pre-industrial societies experienced mass
unemployment and low productivity but industrialization solves these
problems. This simply means that rapid industrialization must be stimulated
to solve the mass unemployment and low productivity problems confronting
Nigeria. One realistic and pragmatic way of achieving rapid industrialization
in Nigeria is for both the government and the organized private sector (OPS)
to invest heavily on education of citizens and with special emphasis on
science, engineering and technology at all levels of our education.
2) Dependence on White Collar Jobs by Graduates: In the period after
political independence and up to early eighties majority of Nigerians
graduates tend to seek employment with the government. This idea is
however changing due to the acute level of retrenchment in the public sector.
3) Perception Of The Relationship Between Employment And The Health
Of Economy: Since Nigeria attained independence and up till the present

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 moment, top government functionaries and policy makers who have been
and are still in charge of the country’s governance used to believe that
retrenchment of employees (labour force) is the best method to correct bad
economy (economic recession). But in actual fact, unemployment is a social
problem which governments should be able to solve. According to (Keynes,
1936), persistent (mass) unemployment is caused by sufficient demand for
goods. Therefore, governments, even through deficit financing should
stimulate demand and the use of underutilized resources and reduce
unemployment.
4) Faulty Planning Theory And Framework: Okigbo (1989) analysed the
Nigerian planning process from 1900-1992 and noted that the theory that
guided the Nigerian First National Plan 1962-1968, was the (Harrod, 1939)-
(Domer, 1946) model and it is very clear that the model remains the
Nigeria’s planning theory even till today. This model in its simplest form
states that the growth in income achievable by a nation depends on the rate
of savings and capital invested. That is, the more the capital invested, the
higher would be the growth of output in a society. In short HDM assumes
that labour is not needed in the production process or that there is only one
important input in the production process, which is capital (Glahe, 1977).
The important point here is that those who have been planning for Nigeria
since 1960 to date do not believe that manpower development, but capital, is
essential to achieving sustainable economic growth and industrialization and
this is the reason why government at various time emphasize and encourage
foreign investments. This is the major and principal reason why the country
is facing mass unemployment and low productivity problems.

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2.4 Implications of Graduate Unemployment

Graduate unemployment is like a terminal disease to graduates because it literally

destroys them morally and raptures the ties and relationship they form. People who
have no jobs feel insignificant and inferior. And always having the feeling that
they are ostracized from the rest of the society, and most often they are regarded as
parasites by other people.

In most societies conventional work ethic suggests that unemployment is

unwelcome because of the special role and meaning work has. In particular, young
people in this situation feel that they must find work, no matter what. At the
beginning of the search period, they look for jobs suited to their qualifications,
training or trade but later on they look for any kind of work ( Hayes and Nutman,
2011) and any kind of pay (Kasper, 2014).

Unemployment and under- employment may cause people to flee the rural areas
move about or migrate. The later effects will tend to explain some of the current
wave of brain drain to the advanced countries from less developed world. The
unemployed produce an unsettled labour force, and in urban areas they may lead to
overcrowding and crimes.

Research findings by Hayes and Nutman (2010) indicated that in a period

characterised by a permanent stable high unemployment situation, there will be
considerable increase in deaths due to cardiovascular diseases and cirrhosis of the
liver and murder too. According to Banks and Ullah (2012) there will also be
increase in admission into psychiatric hospitals (for mental illness) and also
imprisonment arising from the criminal tendencies of idle hands.

In summary, Fajana (2010) opined that unemployment can lead to the following:
loss of status, loss of prestige and economic strength or power as a result of the
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loss of wages and benefits of jobs, inflictions of psychological injury of the
breakdown in social contacts and isolation from the world of work, loss of
responsibility, identity and respect which the position at work ensures, loss of
purchasing power, loss of union check off dues, loss of production and stunting of
gross national product, reduction in the pay-roll tax revenues of the state.

2.5 Solutions to the Problem of Graduate Unemployment in Nigeria

Apart from reliance on the highly advertised hope of employment for all by the
magic year 2020 (vision 2020), these authors believe that the following measures
should be adopted to check graduate unemployment in Nigeria, namely:

Nigerian graduates should begin to look inwards and think of how they can
cater for themselves through self-employment instead of overly relying on white
collar jobs which are scarce and difficult to come by.

Effective land tenure reform and development training in agriculture related

industries commensurate with unskilled Nigerians can possibly make agriculture a
more viable source of employment opportunities and wealth creation for citizens.

Similarly, governmental organizations and landowners should be motivated to

make land available to poor but willing Nigerians on a more equitable basis for
agricultural related industries.

Considering the enormous manpower lost to national development, unquantifiable

wealth and hope lost to parents and guardians of unemployed graduates and social
malaise which occasion graduate unemployment, as they offer ready manpower to
crime and political thuggery, university programmes should be tailored towards
functional employment and wealth creation.

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Creation and utilization of employment opportunities to the masses is a sure means
of ensuring participation of all citizens in the process of national development.
Accordingly, government should develop non-petroleum industries as a strategy
for economic development.

As alternative to dependence on the oil sector, cost conscious industries should be

developed and located in economically depressed areas in Nigeria to take
advantage of low cost labour and land as a means of national economic
development.

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 SECTION THREE

Conclusion

Over the years unemployment has received a considerable amount of attention due
to some reasons; amongst others include the ever mounting increase in graduate
unemployment which has being detrimental to economic growth. As such, the
nation cannot reasonably expect to achieve her developmental aspirations if she
cannot effectively put to productive use a large number of her trained graduates.

Recommendations

It was therefore recommended that tertiary institutions should, in collaboration

with governments and labour market, plan their curriculum in such a way that
necessary skills needed for job performance in the workplace would be inculcated
into graduates.

Government must undertake an effective reappraisal of her various public policies

and programmes designed to generate adequate economic opportunities capable of
creating jobs for the unemployed graduates.

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Anyanwu, S. (2010). Analysis of Mismatch Between Demand and Supply of Skills
and University Graduate Unemployment in Nigeria. Unpublished M.Ed
Dissertation, Lagos State University.
Boeteng, K. and Ofori-Sarpong, E. (2002): An Analytical Study of the Labour
Market for Tertiary Graduates in Ghana. World Bank / National Council for
Teriary Education/ National Accreditation Board Project, Ghana.
Central Bank of Nigeria (2008): Annual Report and Financial Statements for the
Year ended 31st December, 2000.
Fajana, S. (2010). Labour Market Prospects for University Graduates in Nigeria.
The Nigeria University system Innovation Project Study.
International Labour Organization (2009): Report on Nigerian Education. ILO,
Nigeria.
Lipsey, K. (2013). Graduate Unemployment in Nigeria. A report by National
Institute for Social Economic Resarch (NISER).
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Umo, S. (2014). Alternative Structures for Enhanced In-depth Specialized
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