UN envoy reveals Nigeria needs 11 million jobs per year to solve youth unemployment crisis
The Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly of the United Nation has revealed through its Africa Regional Coordinator, Mr Richard Munang that Nigeria needs to create 11 million jobs every year if it must overcome unemployment facing the country.
He made the statement at the concluded Economic Recovery Growth and climate Action meeting held at Abuja between the UNEP-EBAFOSA on Nigeria Policy Harmonization.
While observing that Nigeria is experiencing a growing number of youth population that are unemployed, Mr Munang stressed that the government should look into the possibility of creating employment opportunities through agriculture.
He gave an instance with Nigeria’s continuous importation of tomato paste which costs up to the tune of $360million per year. He argued that if this food item is produced locally, it could create much needed employment opportunity by engaging hundreds of youths in the production value chain.
Recent report by Nigeria Bureau of Statistics indicates that only 85.08 million people are involved in active labour force in Nigeria. When you contrast this figure with a population of more than 186 million, it then become obvious that crisis is looming in the country if something is not done to tackle the problem.
