Graduate Unemployment in Nigeria: Implications for National Development

Abstract

It is common knowledge that the level of unemployment in Nigeria has continued to rise over the years. It is therefore worrisome that even graduates of tertiary institutions considered as skilled manpower have been bitten by this unemployment bug. However, studies on the subject matter have remained historic in their approaches. They have concentrated on such internal factors as failed government policies, economic recession and faulty planning to explicate the widespread incidence and prolonged manifestation of unemployment in Nigeria. These studies have failed to locate the sources. and by extension, the cause(s) of unemployment in Nigeria. This paper is a departure from the above stated trend. Noting that graduate unemployment is a recent phenomenon in Nigeria, this paper undertakes a historic examination of its occurrence by employing the political economy paradigm, which critically examines the role of the international financial institutions in determining to a large extent, the poor productive capacity of Nigeria. This study posits that it is this poor productive capacity that breeds unemployment even at the graduate level in Nigeria. It is therefore advocated that local raw materials be put into intensive use to increase production in Nigeria in line with the guidelines and measures enunciated by the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA). This, it is believed, will resuscitate the Nigerian economy and create employment.

Key Words: Unemployment, underdevelopment, Dependent Economy, Productivity.