Employment generation and expansion: Abstract
Creating employment is vital on many levels. Politically, employment opportunities give the population a stake in the peace process by providing young men and women with alternatives to violence. Economically, employment provides income to poor families, revives domestic demand for goods and services, and stimulates overall growth. Socially, employment promotes social healing and improves social welfare. This essay focuses on how we can create and expand employment opportunities in Nigeria in order to solve Nigeria’s security challenges. This essay starts by giving an overview of the Nigerian employment landscape since Independence, it then adapts Joachim Von Braun’s Employment generation chain to schematically explain the economic impact of employment creation, and finally it proffers solution on how Nigeria can create jobs for its population in order to live in a safer Nigeria.
The Nigerian Employment Landscape
Employment generation is a primary economic development goal of every industrializing nation. More jobs generally mean more economic activities, more tax revenues for the government, and less idle time. Job growth permits the expansion and improvement of public goods and services, leading to an improved quality of life and enhanced prospects for future employment growth. In addition, a vibrant job market provides an incentive for citizens to continue their education since the rewards for such are evident in better employment opportunities. While an expanding job market encourages workers to upgrade their skills in order to qualify for available higher wage jobs, sustained job growth stimulates improvements in the education and skills of the labour force, making the nation a more attractive location for businesses in the future. The present employment situation in Nigeria has its roots in the country’s economic