Humans are irrational beings. Governed by their hearts and ruled by their minds. Industrialization and evolution have birthed many loopholes and leakages in every society. Nigeria as an institution under the care of wolves and doves isn't an exception. She has successfully planted more dry woods in every sector that have with their influence squeezed and burnt millions of promising green stems. However before dancing through her fallen walls for preference it is vital to expose the mask faces of the beauty and the beast.
Corruption is an anti-social attitude awarding improper privileges contrary to legal and moral norms and impairs the authorities' capacity to secure the welfare of all citizens. Corruption in Nigeria is a constant phenomenon. In 2012, Nigeria was estimated to have lost over $400 billion to corruption since its independence. In 2021, the country ranked 154th in the 180 countries listed in Transparency International's Corruption Index (with South Sudan, at 180th, being the most corrupt, and Denmark the least).
Corruption runs through every level of Nigerian government. From Nigeria politicians who find themselves in a strong position of power and wealth due to their connections with the oil and gas industries in Nigeria, to civil servants who are breeding on considerable contract fraud at the top, through petty bribery, money laundering schemes, embezzlement and seizing salaries from fake workers. It is estimated that corruption within the state apparatus costs the country billions of dollars every year.
The country's employment vacuum is suffering a hit from two hefty hands; political and civil service. Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gains. While corruption in civil service encompasses government officials (civil servant) behaviors and actions that involves lack of accountability, unethical behavior and corrupt behavior.
Corruption has remained a priority concerns to the Nigerian Government and People. It has affected all aspects of public life, continues to undermine the social, economic and political development of the country and is a major obstacle to the achievement of the sustainable developmental goals.
Education has remained a vital tool in human existence. It is regarded as the act of acquiring knowledge and skill in different spheres of life. An educated person is believed to have acquired the skill of being logical and rational, knowledgeable and sceptical in his or her dealings. Education does not only give us the privilege of acquiring knowledge, it also helps us develop our sense of morality, ethics and the dexterity of presenting facts when necessary.
The great philosopher, Plato once said “a man who lacks education is the most savage of all beasts". In other words, education gives us the chance of broadening our horizon. It cultivates us and also civilizes us in every aspect of our life and also makes us think in a scholarly way.
It is expected that the desired goal of any meaningful youth in the society is to go to school, graduate, gain the nourishment of education, then finally secure a promising job so as to cater for the needs of his immediate family. A good job gives a sense of direction, purpose, order, and dignity to man.
Joblessness on the other hand, undermines one’s dignity and sense of belonging. It constitutes a source of unwarranted thoughts, and negative tendencies in the mind. To educate a youth, and not provide a job with which they can practice the learned skills, is like arming a soldier with a gun and expecting that he does not shoot even for self defense when attacked.
According to statistics drafted on 1st of August 2022 by Clare Aririahu in www.afterschoolafrica.com, claimed that Nigeria has about 25 million unemployed graduates dangling on her streets. He further stated that In 2019, it was recorded that Nigeria has about 134 recognized polytechnic, 174 Universities including federal, private and state owned. Each universities admit 2 million and graduate over 600,000 each year.
Mass unemployment is surely a ticking time bomb. This situation is driving trained youths into crimes, violence and political vandalism as an alternative solution to their fruitless scramble over scarce job opportunities. Unemployment has alone increased the rate of fraud, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, bribery, terrorism, and among others which are the harvested fruits sowed by corruption.
The high rate of unemployment in the country can be attributed to the wild engulfment of corruption. Corruption have being given a good chance in the places of authority which has now created a worrisome situation that demand urgent and deliberate involvement of both the government and every private sector to solve. Corruption is a serious issue that have gained stamina and impacts on many industries, sectors, establishment and office in Nigeria. The face of corruption has led to mistrust, economic downturn, high rate of insurgency, raging storms of commotion and instability.
There are so many young graduates who still roam the streets jobless, not because there are no jobs but because of the different conditions attached to getting the jobs. Let's look at some levels at which the worm has even us deeper through the two governmental parameters. For the faster we know, the better we move.
Firstly, It has become a norm in Nigeria today that before an unemployed graduate secure a better job, whether in a governmental or private establishment, or civil service, he or she must be connected to a top government appointee, a politician, a staunch or even coincidentally a relative within the circle of influence. The employment level in Nigeria is considered to be locally slogan as "who know who, or man know man". It is so pathetic to come to term that even if a job seeker who is angling for a job is eminently qualified, he/ she will never have it if there's no link an "intercessors" in top government places.
Nigerians are desperate for work, and because of this quest, many innocent and well meaning individuals have lost their lives. If official statistics putting the unemployed at 24 percent of the 170 million people, analytically nearly 41 million are unemployed. Unemployment among young people aged under 24 is even higher — 38 percent according to official statistics and nearer 80 percent according to the World Bank.
Turning back the hand of time, we could vividly recall in the first week of May, the nation dissolved into tears when details emerged that Iniubong Umoren, a job seeker, was murdered in Akwa Ibom. She was one of hundreds of job seekers that have been swindled by fake recruitment agencies. The 26-year-old graduate of Philosophy from the University of Uyo was buried in Nung Ita Ikot Essien, Oruk Anam Local Government Area of the state. In the wake of Iniubong’s death, many Nigerians opined that the unemployment crisis endangers millions of young Nigerians, while pushing others towards the edges of desperation and death.
Secondly, according to a local media reported. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde (NIGERIA - Tags: EMPLOYMENT)on March 16, 2014, 8:47 PM WAT. He reported that at least 16 Nigerians were killed in stampedes over jobs. Hundreds of thousands were invited to apply for fewer than 5,000 positions, officials and activists said Sunday. And all the applicants struggle to submit copies of their acknowledgement forms to an immigration officer during a recruitment drive for the Nigeria Immigration Service at the National Stadium in Abuja, and it led to a stampede which occurred during the drive when 20,000 applicants were forcing their way into the stadium resulting in injuries for several candidates.
In another report, about 500,000 applicants were invited to apply for 4,556 vacancies at the Nigeria Immigration Service, according to Education Rights.
All applicants said they each paid 1,000 naira (about $6) apparently for the right to write tests on Saturday at the application centers. How can the government whose sole duty is to provide they masses with basic amenities and employment opportunities collect from them to provide these things?.
In a 2009 report by Transparency International (TI), it was estimated that the amount of $40 billion is paid in bribes by multinational corporations to Nigerian politicians for their operations within the country.
In the civil service, some unscrupulous civil servants put in names of non-existing workers (ghost-names) in the pay roll of government for pecuniary gains. This has over the years accounted for loss of billions of naira due to over bloated recurrent expenditure at the expense of capital expenditure and significantly weakened the State’s capacity to function optimally. Yet many qualified youths roam the streets in desperate search for white-collar jobs.
They create loopholes for monies to leave the treasury and sometimes devise dubious means to earn above their monthly income. Incorporating effort to secure wealth or power at public expenses which foster poor pay incentive, lack of openness and transparency. Not forgetting, the act of massive embezzlement and misappropriation of public properties such as investments and projects. It is essentially the combination of betrayal and theft.
A clear reference is the recent scandal of an embezzlement of a staggering forty billion (40,000,000,000) Naira by Cecilia Ibru, then General Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank PLC, which almost led to a collapse of the bank. This discovery is just a tip of the iceberg when compared to other cases of looted funds amounting to hundreds of billions of dollar by some directors and politicians uncovered by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which has since its creation in 2004, recovered over billions of dollars of looted government funds. If this amount of looted funds are divided into ten, and put into judicious use, one tenth of it will build well equipped modern standard hospitals, Companies, and even refinery. If a hospital or a company is built in each of the seven hundred and fifty five (755) local government council areas in Nigeria. Imagine how many millions of doctors, nurses, midwives, lab technicians/microbiologist, pharmacists, administrators, security guards, cleaners, accountants, drivers and clerks these hospitals will employ. If another one tenth of that sum will construct and equip modern universities in each of the thirty six states of Nigeria. And lastly, maybe a well modernized refinery in one of the oil producing state, wouldn't this projections create more jobs in the country? Without doubt, it will employ millions of both skilled and unskilled job seekers. Imagine the unemployment crises that will have resulted from the collapse of a bank that employs thousands of youth. Thousands of youths would have paid with their jobs for the act of a single corrupt bank leader.
In conclusion
If the scale of justice is not perverted. If only the rule of law that stated equality before the law is observed and necessary measures are made available to place perpetrators where they belong, if only proper check and balancing is carried out in every sectors of the country, if only Nigerians who are in high positions will seek after the affairs and wellbeing of the country rather than enlarging the capacity of their pockets, if only the green stems provided coverage and planted on a green soil, it will germinate and also bear fruits for others to benefit from and Nigeria will be a better place.
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