Innovative Consultative Approach To Unemployment And Development.
By Sir Don Ubani; KSC, JP.
Tuesday (Orie)11-02-2025.
Unemployment is a major factor that militates against development. Of course, unemployment refers to a situation where willing able-bodied skilled or unskilled Youths are unable to find a legitimate means of sustaining their lives in the Labour Market, either by working in the Public Service, Private Sector, or by being their own employers.
Unemployment has a chain of negative multiplier effects on any society that experiences it. In the first instance, it badly affects the psyche of the Youths in that society, and that, in most cases, could lead to youth restiveness. The consequences of youth restiveness are better imagined than experienced.
Insecurity that has become a major challenge to Nigeria today would not have been if there had not been Youth Unemployment. In Nigeria’s First Republic, it was reported that in Kano, for instance, that residents could leave their bicycles outside in their compounds and slept without the least fear that any person would attempt to steal them because every adult resident of the town was engaged in a legitimate gainful employment.
There is every evidence that unemployment is a parameter through which the economy of any given society could be measured. A society that has a teeming Youth Unemployment can not boast of having a strong and healthy economy.
Between 1960 and 1980, Governments and the Organized Private Sector provided the bulk of employment to Nigerian Youths.
Currently, white-collar jobs in Nigeria have almost become extinct. Unfortunately, poor infrastructure, unstable electricity supply and high cost of production have combined to force many Companies to shut down. Hence, there is an astronomical increase in the number of unemployed Youths in Nigeria. Unemployment in Nigeria affects even University graduates, especially those that have no skill they can fall back to.
It will be necessary to note that even in the midst of unemployment in Nigeria, Youths that have skills are never out of lucrative engagements. They are always sought for by individuals or corporate bodies that require their services.
In his vivid determination to address, holistically, the challenges of Unemployment and Development in his Constituency, the Member representing Ukwa-East and Ukwa-West Federal Constituency in the 10th House of Representatives, Hon Chris Nkwonta, strongly thinks that the best thing to do is to establish a comprehensive Skill Acquisition Centre in the Constituency, which will be capable of providing skills in different sectors for the unemployed Youths in the area.
According to Hon Nkwonta, the Centre will train interested Ukwa Youths in such areas as; (1) Masonry, (2) Carpentry, (3) Plaster of Paris (PoP), (4) Tiling, (5) Painting, (6) Electricals, (7) Plumbing, (8) Welding, (9) Fishery, (10) Piggery, (11) Poultry, (12) Information and Communication Technology and (13) Footballing.
To make sure his vision would be in consonance with those of his Constituents, Hon Nkwonta summoned a meeting of Traditional Rulers and some key Stakeholders in Ukwa-East and Ukwa-West Federal Constituency on Monday (Eke) 10th February, 2025, at his Akwete Country-home to discourse his proposal. He told the People that the Comprehensive Skill Acquisition Centre is a major thing he wants to be captured in 2025 Budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria. He said he threw it open to his People for them to make their input on the proposal.
He stated that the Comprehensive Skill Acquisition Centre will require about fifty plots of land, that will, among other things, have a Stadium in which talented Footballers from Ukwa will be trained and given both National and International exposure. He also informed his audience that structures will be built in the Centre, including dormitories that will accommodate the trainees.
Hon Nkwonta, while appealing to Traditional Rulers to help get a location where the Centre will be, however, emphasized that it must be sited in a place central to Ukwa-East and Ukwa-West, so that potential trainees will not be incumbered by distance. To this request, the Chairman of Traditional Rulers of Ukwa-West Local Government, HRH Eze Chinyere Dike, assured Hon Chris Nkwonta that fifty plots of land was available, closely behind the Stadium at the Council Headquarters of Ukwa-West Local Government Council, Okeikpe.
In a motion moved by a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Abia State, Sir Don Ubani, seconded by a former Deputy Leader in Abia State House of Assembly, Chief Paul Taribo, and adopted by the House, the meeting resolved thus,
(1) That Hon Chris Nkwonta should be commended for inviting Traditional Rulers and Stakeholders to discuss issue(s) of development of Ukwa People,
(2) That Hon Chris Nkwonta should go ahead and make sure that the Comprehensive Skill Acquisition Centre becomes a reality, and
(3) That Traditional Rulers in Ukwa-East and Ukwa-West need to go home and consult with their People in order to prioritise their needs and send them across to Representative Nkwonta for inclusion in the budget.
Among those that attended the non-partisan meeting were; (1) the Member representing Ukwa-West State Constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Hon Godwin Adiele, (2) the Member representing Ukwa-East State Constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Hon Lewis Obianyi, (3) a former Deputy Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Honourable Emeka Stanley, and a former Chief Whip of Abia State House of Assembly, Hon Tony Mezie Nwubani.
