Of the over 70 million unemployed youths in the country, 40 million are totally unemployable and therefore susceptible to crime, a staggering figure from a government that lacks data integrity and has a disreputable culture of covering up inefficiencies in the system. However, for the sake of this literature and fair analysis, we are to adhere to the assertion of 70 million unemployed youths alleged by the Federal Government. Also, for the sake of this literature, we have capped the national population figure at 160 million citizens, going by the last census figure reported by the Federal Government.
The overwhelming revelation here is that for every one citizen employed, there is about another corresponding unemployed Nigerian youth given that the rest of the population is within the workforce. Of course not, a good segment of the rest of the population is inherently unemployable because they comprise of children, retirees, the aged, the disabled, etc. Invariably, we could be looking at well over a 100 million Nigerians, depending on the few other millions that are just a little well off and, of course, the minute elite citizens. Our overambitious Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi Lamido, had, at various points, comforted the nation that the economy is growing by as much as seven per cent. The questions deemed asking is: can any economy grow by as much as seven per cent without absorbing more labour in an economy with such mammoth unemployment figure? Can an economy grow by this margin in the face of retrenchment in the critical sectors of the economy? There are no new investments. We have the likes of Shell Petroleum discarding of their interests in OML34 (Utorogu, Ughelli East and Ughelli West fields) for less toxic and corrupting environment in the continent. Anadarko Corporation is the midsized US independent company that participated in the Nigerian 2006 bid round and considered the process so deeply corrupting that it didn’t even attempt to enter for the 2007 round. It packed its bags but today you will find Anadarko in Ghana through equity participation in Kosmos Energy, which has Mahogany-1, Ghana’s first large-sized commercial find. Foreign Direct Investments are depleting even in the face of high demands for energy which is the mainstay of our economy. The government does not have a vague idea of how many Nigerians are unemployed, yet the economy is growing by 7 percent.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report released in Geneva on January 17, 2011 slammed Nigeria with a red card albeit the claims of Sanusi: FDI into Nigeria dropped by as much as 62 per cent in 2010, from N46 billion in 2009 to N42.3 billion in 2010, the worst in many years, even worse than during the global crisis. FDIs are critical to any nation because they are a major source of job creation asides small and midsized businesses unlike portfolio investments.
In a country so religiously endowed with much wealth, there is nothing as elusive as good leadership. The complex, uncertain, uncharted waters of democracy that we all so yearn for has plunged us into a world of increased globalisation, terrorism and religious conflicts, economic uncertainty, health epidemics, social transformation and corporate compromises, moral and ethical experimentations and most importantly, mammoth unemployment that has left our seemingly in-experienced leaders in a gaping awe. Without a doubt, these conditions command the highest quality of leadership that our generation can produce but i ask myself what generation. A generation plagued by comical illiteracy, remorseless poverty and sheer lack of direction. The Leadership crisis we are experiencing in Nigeria has a knock-on effect on our attitudes, our attitude in-turn has led to a precarious and stunted economy. We hear of business magnates falling by the dozens to corruption, we see national leaders and law makers being shamefully paraded for financial misconduct and in some cases imprisoned. In Nigeria there is a scandal every week, one that comes to eradicate traces of the previous week’s scandal.
Leadership as displayed by those in power is a role one plays such as the infamous Honourable Farouk Lawan rather than a life one leads. To many, leadership is an act, not a calling. Most of our leaders act a certain way when at work but when they leave, they lead double lives. This is a contradiction of true leadership. Leadership is not a technique, a style or acquisition of skills but a manifestation of a spirit. Morality, ethics, principles, convictions, standards, faithfulness, transparency, trustworthiness and honesty are uncommon traits in contemporary leadership. Why is true leadership so elusive? True leadership is impossible unless there is purpose, conviction, vision, passion, inspiration and influence. A few of our leaders have revealed these qualities and the impact of such character traits on the citizens and the economy has being that of increased positivity. However, most of our leaders are devoid of these characters as such, the followers incessantly bask in personal and economic confusion.
Many of my people have been robbed of the opportunity and right to discover, develop and manifest their true leadership potentials due to oppressive and debilitating ideologies and systems. The supreme brunt has not been the physical limitations imposed on them but the appalling mental damage inflicted on their self-concepts, self worth, and self esteem. The result is an attitude that struggles to believe that there is hope for their dreams. There is a need to articulate what could be done to salvage the situation. We need leaders, real leaders that will steer us out of this impending economic breakdown and create an enabling legislative framework that would ensure the total emancipation of the Nigerian youths. My contribution in this regard is that attitude is everything. Attitude is the power of leadership. Nothing can stop a person from achieving success who has the right attitude to success. The future of this nation is in our hands, the future depends on our response to the need for a new breed of leaders with a new attitude. Most of my peers have started in the same path our parents (failed leaders) have threaded, i plead to your consciousness, change is inevitable yes but growth is optional, take action as the missing ingredient is leadership.
Adegoke wrote from tayo_ade@hotmail.co.uk.