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EL-RUFAI ON FRIDAY
“YOUNG VOICES” introduced by NASIR EL-RUFAI ON FRIDAY
Zainab Usman is a brilliant and articulate young lady
that is currently a Doctor of Philosophy student at the prestigious
Oxford University, UK. She attended Therbow School and Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria earning an Upper Second Class degree in
International Relations. She then proceeded to the University of
Birmingham where she earned an M.Sc in International Political
Economy and Development with Distinction, along with scholarships
and laurels for leadership and academic excellence. Zainab is fluent
in French and Portuguese, and proficient in writing software. She
has chalked up work and internship experiences with ECOWAS,
International Crisis Group, and Sigma Pensions among others.
My attention was first drawn to Zainab by no less a
personality than General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau who had read her
seminal article – ‘Northern Nigeria: A people in Terminal Decline’ (http://zainabusman.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/a-people-in-terminal-decline/)
and recommended that I read it. I did and we ruminated over Zainab’s
frank and objective article for weeks. I then proceeded to make
contact with her. Her blog “Zainab’s Musings” is a fountain of
youthful wisdom and intellectual discourse. Zainab is a regular
contributor to
AllAfrica.com, Think Africa Press, People’s Daily and Daily
Trust. Undoubtedly, she represents the best and the brightest of our
younger generation. Today, she writes on managing the youth bulge in
Nigeria. It is my honour and privilege to introduce Zainab Usman as
our fifth Young Voice. - Nasir El-Rufai
MANAGING THE "YOUTH BULGE" IN NIGERIA
By: Zainab Usman
It was with utter astonishment that the audience at
Kofar Sauri Sharia court in Katsina on that hot July afternoon,
listened to 12 year old Sani Musa, charged with theft, tell the
court that he had to steal some metal scrap, in order to get money
to enable him continue with his studies. He shocked the court
further by producing the school materials which he bought with the
money obtained from disposing of the scrap metal. Family members
testified to the court that Sani had been complaining over a lack of
school materials and acknowledged him to be “hardworking,
intelligent and… the best student of his school”. The court
subsequently acquitted Sani Musa and resolved to shoulder his needs
in school henceforth.
Now this promising pupil, keen and eager to learn but
left in want of necessary school materials could easily be one of
the millions of young people in Nigeria, a youth demographic, fast
becoming a “youth bulge”. According to the World Bank, nearly 70% of
Africa’s over 1 billion people is under 30 years. Nigeria leads the
pack with two-thirds of the 164 million Nigerians under the age of
30.
Countries like Nigeria, have the opportunity to turn
this youth bulge into a “demographic dividend" which can power
economic growth and development otherwise, this bulge is a ticking
time bomb waiting to explode into a youth “disaster”, disillusioned
and frustrated, a threat to the already fragile socio-political
stability.
According to the conventional wisdom, the dividends
of this youthful demographic can be reaped with adequate education,
employment and economic opportunities. Despite Nigeria’s
well-documented challenges in providing these opportunities to the
youth demographic, our predominant focus on government’s glaring
shortcomings has made us overlook the role non-government actors
such can and should play in complementing government efforts to
transform our youth bulge in Nigeria into a demographic dividend.
Education is a key building block of skills of a
labor force, yet in Nigeria, literacy rates of the 15-24 age group
range from 65% to 75% with stark variations between the northern and
southern states. Though enrolment and completion rates have improved
for primary education, enrolment remains low for secondary
education, at 25.8% according to World Bank figures.
Importantly, few have access to quality education.
Decaying equipment and facilities, poorly qualified teachers, poorly
equipped tertiary institutions have all resulted in consecutive mass
national failure in secondary school certificate exams of up to 98%
in 2009, and half-baked graduates from tertiary institutions,
at best unable to write formal application letters and at worst
lacking transferable skills. Inadequate funding, mismanagement and
corruption have contributed to the persistent systemic decay of the
education sector resulting in a poorly educated and largely
unskilled youth demographic.
The challenges of providing adequate employment and
economic opportunities in order to engage the youth productively are
glaring, with the over 20 million unemployed people and about 2
million new entrants into the dispirited realm of the unemployed
each year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Unemployment among the under-30 age group is much higher at around
50% according to estimates by civil society groups.
Employment generation is a function of adroit
economic policies, government job creation schemes, and private
sector initiatives, flourishing within an enabling environment to
create job opportunities. A skilled populace, given the right
incentives interacts favorably with this business-friendly
environment to be productive citizens. Though Nigeria is endowed
with a vibrant population, a large market, and an even greater
potential of harnessing all these for economic prosperity, the full
transition from “potential” to “actuality” is yet to materialize.
The 2012
Ease of Doing Business Index ranks
Nigeria 133 out of 183 economies in terms of starting a business
(116), getting electricity (176), and access to credit (78).
This difficult terrain not only stifles
entrepreneurial innovation but has engendered a survival-of-the-most-connected in
a fierce competition for scarce public sector jobs. Lofty poverty
alleviation programs have characterized government employment
generation initiatives, though it is too early to assess the success
(or otherwise) of President Jonathan’s You
WiN!
intervention of supporting aspiring entrepreneurial youth.
Thus if countries like Nigeria are to avert a demographic disaster already incubating a lost generation vulnerable to drug addiction, militancy and general disillusionment, then it is imperative that this youthful population is productively engaged. There are certain junctures where non-government actors could complement government efforts in providing education, employment and economic opportunities.
In the realm of education, since a major problem is
that those enrolled are faced with low standards and poor quality,
with those graduating from these institutions possessing little
relevant skills, how could the quality of accessible education be
improved? With the dearth of qualified primary and secondary school
teachers who sometimes are barely able to communicate effectively in
English on the one hand and on the other hand, an army of unemployed
graduates, what incentives could be employed in luring unemployed
graduates to fill the skills gap (generally not regarded by young
people as a “cool” profession), albeit on a temporary basis, rather
than staying idle at home?
Could successful young professionals and the numerous
silent achievers (in Nigeria and in the diaspora) in various fields
- academia, the corporate world, public service or entertainment –
mentor teenagers and young adults at their various former schools,
hometowns and communities, by sharing their success stories and
useful tips, in order to inspire, motivate and encourage them? This
is especially as many young adults are in dire need of a new breed
of role models who would remind them that hard work still pays
ultimately, that being a kleptocratic bureaucrat or an
unconscionably thieving politician is not the only sure way to
“success” and “prosperity”.
With employment generation and creation of economic
opportunities, the primary issues are limited job opportunities in a
labour market saturated with millions of jobseekers, the unemployability of
many job seekers according to employers, and the treacherous
hurdles those with entrepreneurial ambitions have to
scale through. Thus, a possible area
of intervention for
non-government actors could be in providing training in work-place
skills to students and job seekers to prepare them for the labour
market.
This is especially as many Nigerian graduate job seekers lack necessary skills and core competencies even for entry-level jobs, costing employers a small fortune on training new staff in basic office skills. In many developed and emerging economies, young job seekers are typically equipped with competencies, at the barest minimum, familiarity with an office environment, all developed from a range of volunteer jobs and internships while at the University, sometimes right from secondary school.
There is need to inculcate such practice of volunteerism via internships, work-experience schemes and Industrial Training (already included in many science-based courses in Nigeria) especially during the long periods of school breaks and ASUU strikes. Not-for-profit organizations could also design short courses affiliated to tertiary institutions, for a small fee, to impart transferable skills such as IT skills; leadership and project management; communication, negotiation and mediation; and administrative skills, all very relevant in the work place.
Families also have a crucial role to play in
supporting young people with innovative yet unconventional ideas to
allow these ideas mature to fruition. Parents and guardians ought to
realize that not everyone is cut out for “secure” white-collar
employment that pays a healthy pension. The world today is markedly
different from that of the 1960s and 1970s in which the older
generation grew up in, where lucrative public sector jobs awaited
anyone bold or fortunate to graduate from the University. The 21st century
is an era driven by creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship of
the Zuckerbergs, Steve Jobs and Chris Aires who dared to follow the
unconventional paths they dreamt about.
Parents ought to recognize promising talent and potential in their children and wards at an early age and nurture this with the right support and encouragement, as some would thrive exceptionally well as entrepreneurs, employing others and adding value to the society. Access to funding and credit is usually a stumbling block, and apart from the obvious sources – vis government and financial institutions – communities and well-off individuals could raise funds to be awarded as startup capital especially to less privileged but the most creative people with innovative ideas.
These self-help measures should neither seek to
replace the core responsibilities of political leaders in providing
education, employment and economic opportunities to Nigeria’s
teeming youthful population, nor absolve political leaders of their
governance failures. However, if we do acknowledge the government’s
shortcomings in meeting up its responsibilities, then the onus lies
on us also to complement government’s efforts (or lack of) in order
to reap the “dividends” of our youth bulge and to ensure Sani Musa
and millions of his peers have a bright future ahead. |