Labour leader and Vice-President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Issa Aremu, has called on all governments to tackle the scourge of unemployment to avoid imminent danger in the nation. Aremu, who was the keynote speaker at the 2012 Summit of HR Guide – an indigenous magazine, in Lagos recently, described Nigeria’s level of unemployment as very worrisome.
According to him, “There is nowhere in the world where you have this kind of abysmal economic indicator. From statistics, close to 60 million people are not properly engaged in terms of employment in Nigeria and I doubt if there is anywhere in the world where you have this kind of statistics.
“The level of unemployment in Tunisia in 2010 when the Arab Spring started was just 12 per cent but the revolt started with an unemployed guy. So, if 12 per cent unemployment could trigger revolution in Tunisia down to Egypt, then about 50 per cent unemployment in Nigeria which hasn’t caused any trouble means that Nigeria is peaceful.”
He continues: “But time is running out and we are now seeing the level of desperation, because in the past, you can mention the number of armed robbers, where one or two persons are involved. But now it is a whole group or a whole army. The youths have agreed now that robbery is a way of life and that tells you that we are really in danger in the country. So I think we need to do something about this, although I strongly believe that there is hope.”
