CHAPTER ONE

                                     INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background to the Study

Nigeria the most populous nation in Africa and the second-largest economy in the continent is endowed with both human and material resources but years of unbridled corruption, mismanagement and sheer waste have hindered economic growth in the country. Consequently, the nation’s resources have been left under-utilized leading to unemployment and abject poverty (Bakare, 2013). The importation of foreign policies that were workable in developed economy failed to improve the economic system with soaring rate of unemployment of our able-bodied youths.

Nigeria with a population of over 160 million and 250 ethnic groups with diverse background of equally diverse individuals with youth demographic approximately 75% (Business Day, (2013) continue to witness more than 150,000 graduates churn-out annually and available jobs remain inadequate to keep pace with the ever expanding army of jobseekers (Bakare 2013). At such, the unemployment rate continues to increase, an unhealthy situation for a developing nation. Nigeria as a nation has been witnessing drastic and frantic security challenges for some years now and the insecurity situation has been partly attributed to unemployment in the country. The position was confirmed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi (2013) in his speech at the 1st Ochendu Youth Empowerment Lecture Series held in Umuahia, Abia State. He affirmed that insecurity can be triggered and fuelled by factors such as unemployment among others. He gave the statistical rate of unemployment to be 20% in 2009 – 2011 as against 15% in 2002 – 2008 and Bakare (2013) but the recent World Bank statistics, revealed youth unemployment rate at 38 per cent. Realistically, she opined, 80 per cent of Nigerian youths are unemployed, with secondary school graduates mostly found among unemployed rural population accounting for about half of this figure.

Though, the crisis surfaced in forms of communal, religious, political and social economic resulted in loss of lives and properties. Judging from the happenings it is seen as phantom sectarian violence that is responsible as it started in the regions. Today in Nigeria, we live in fears, a position corroborated by Clark & Ausukuya (2013) that we live in absolute suspicion and constant presentiment of an impending disaster as most economic activities have been grounded and crippled resulting the inability of employers to pay their employees thereby exacerbating the already tensed atmosphere of joblessness. It is against this backdrop that BusinessDay in collaboration with the ministry of industry, Trade and Investment, as well as small and medium enterprise development agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) chose the maiden edition of university entrepreneurship development programme (UNEDEP) initiative as a platform to promote entrepreneurship across Nigerian universities and to create in students the hope about the opportunities within the country.

The then Minister, Mr. Olusegun Agagu stated that his ministry stretched the mandate on entrepreneurship to the university level with UNEDEP because of the need to cultivate the culture amongst Nigerian youths. The minister revealed further that there is a global focus on MSMEs adding that more countries are making the development of this sector a priority because it is the only sector that continues to employ while larger corporations are making staff redundant. He enjoined the students to take advantage of the various discussions as it will give them the necessary guidance in developing their business ideas. The aim of this initiative is to empower undergraduates for job and wealth creation as well as poverty alleviation (BusinessDay, 2013).

In another training programme organized for unemployed graduates by the Centre for Human Security, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in collaboration with Kwara State University in Ilorin, the former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola said that Nigerian Universities have been asked to make entrepreneurship compulsory for all graduates of tertiary institutions in order to help in reducing graduate unemployment in Nigeria, in the nearest future, the measure would have prepared graduates for entrepreneurship towards moving Nigerian forward (Nigerian Tribune, 2013).

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