CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nigerian youngsters have been denied opportunity to advance in various fields of human endeavor. Incompetence, mediocrity, and a lack of intellectual curiosity have become the three defining characteristics of Nigerian youth. In a national survey conducted in 2004 by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Education Trust Fund (ETF), 61 percent of 20 organizations rated Nigerian science graduates as lacking in skills such as literacy, oral communication, information technology, entrepreneurship, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making (Okafor, 2011). Despite the fact that Sections 17 and 18 of the constitution state that the government must provide free and compulsory education in order to promote science and technology and eradicate literacy (so that) opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment.
Youth are the future of all societies since their energy and skills contribute to their development. However, important development stakeholders such as the government, foreign organizations, and individuals have different perspectives on who constitutes a true youngster.
The term “youth” refers to the time span between childhood and adulthood. Adulthood is formally recognized in most countries at the age of twenty-one. However, this may differ from one society to the next, especially in some African contexts and cultures. The concepts of youth employment and empowerment are rapidly gaining importance in the development agendas of various governments, regional entities, and international development organizations, according to the World Bank Youth Report (2005), which states that governments, donor agencies, and civil societies must be guided by a youth employment and empowerment strategy. Nigeria, like the majority of developing countries throughout the world, is plagued by a slew of issues, including poverty, terrorism, political unrest, and, most crucially, unemployment. Many young school leavers who are of working age but have been refused job possibilities have been harmed by the rising unemployment rate in recent years. Between 1992 and 1997, graduate unemployment accounted for around 32 percent of the unemployed labor force, according to Dabalen et al (2000). This pushed the Nigerian government to begin adopting programs targeted at addressing the country’s unemployment problem as early as the 1960s. One of the cardinal aims of the first developmental plan was to provide employment; an objective that aimed not only at producing jobs but also at training people in new skills.
The above served as a catalyst for the establishment of a number of employment programs, including the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the Family Economic and Advancement Programme (FEAP), the Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP), the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), the National Economic Empowerment and Development Scheme (NEEDS), and many other similar programs funded by various stakeholders, including state governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector.
Unemployment is one of the developmental issues that every emerging economy in the twenty-first century is dealing with. According to Agu (2008), the country’s youth unemployment rate has risen at an exponential rate.
According to him, the country’s youth unemployment has produced major challenges for which previous and subsequent administrations have been unable to find a long-term solution. Although successive Nigerian administrations have established multiple programs to address the problem of youth unemployment and poverty since independence, evaluations of the various contributions of such programs are limited in comparison to the vast sums of money invested to them (Egware, 1997). According to Yakubu (2010), most youth employment and poverty reduction programs launched in the last few decades have failed to address the multidimensionality of poverty because they are unable to respond to the precise requirements of the poor. NDE, FEAP, Better Life Programme, NAPEP, and NEEDS are only few of the programs that have been implemented. The development of the Oyo State Youth Development Centre was one of the programs conducted at the state level to address the state’s unemployment problem. The centre was established in accordance with the National Youth Policy, which was established in 1968 with the goal of training out-of-school youth graduates who are unemployed in various vocational trades such as carpentry, fashion designing, hair dressing, shoe-making, and so on, in order to instill an entrepreneurial culture that would enable them to become self-sufficient. In his study of the Oyo State Youth Development Centre, Wale-Saka (2005) highlighted that numerous issues hampered the scheme’s success.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Despite the fact that much has been written about the evolution of youth empowerment in Nigeria (particularly among youths in the Niger Delta), little is known about youth empowerment in Oyo State in relation to the Taraba State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy. On the basis of the foregoing, this study aims to fill a need that has yet to be filled by scholars in the field of youth empowerment studies. This clear essential skill gap obstructs youth development as well as the nation’s overall development. According to the National Population Commission (2001), more than half of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 30.
As a result, the Nigerian economy might be described as a youth economy. Today’s youth, as expected,
Public transportation is a type of shared passenger transportation that is open to the general public, as opposed to modes like taxis, carpooling, or hired buses, which are not shared by strangers without prior arrangement.
Sustainable transportation ensures that people’s basic requirements for access and development are satisfied in a safe manner, while also promoting equity within and across generations.
Policymakers are those who are involved in the creation of guidelines and instructions for people to follow.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The following are the study’s goals:
1. Examine the state’s youth employment programs and how they might be improved.
2. Improved the skills and economic well-being of young people in the state.
3. To examine how well-formulated the policies of the various employment programs in the State are in terms of allowing for innovation in order to obtain better results.
4. Evaluate the operation, issues, and future prospects of youth employment programs in Oyo State.
5. Make recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of the state’s employment programs in tackling young unemployment.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following questions have been created to help guide the study’s conduct.
1. Have the State’s youth employment programs enhanced adolescents’ skills and economic well-being to date?
2. Are the policies governing the state’s numerous employment programs well-crafted, and do they allow for innovation in order to achieve greater results?
3. To what extent is it possible to carry out the operation, issues, and prospects of youth employment programs in Oyo State?
4. What suggestions do you have for improving the effectiveness of the state’s employment programs in tackling youth unemployment?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The importance of this research is immense. First, the study touches on areas that affect the conduct of democratic principles in the Nigerian polity, namely the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). As a result, students of international relations, politics, development studies, history, and even those in the social sciences will benefit from the study. Second, because it examines the topic from a distinct perspective, this study will add to the increasing body of information in the field of adolescent empowerment. Finally, this work will benefit other scholars who wish to conduct research in relevant fields.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The focus of this study will be on skill acquisition programs and youth empowerment in Ibadan, Nigeria, both descriptively and empirically.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
“Youth” refers to the period of life that occurs between childhood and adulthood (maturity). Individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 are also considered youth.
Individuals and groups can be empowered by strengthening their political, social, economic, and spiritual strength. It frequently entails the empowered gaining confidence in their own abilities.
Youth Empowerment is an attitudinal, structural, and cultural process through which young people obtain the ability, authority, and agency to make decisions and effect change in their own lives.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO): A non-profit organization is one that is not run by the government (NGO)
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