TETFUND Boss Links Nigeria’s High Unemployment Rate To Import Dependency, Others

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Sonny Echono, has attributed the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria to dependency on imported goods and services in the country.

He asserted that youth unemployment particularly is at an all-time high and as such, it is necessary to improve education delivery to foster entrepreneurship and combat unemployment.

Echono said this while delivering his goodwill message at the Second Edition of Baze University’s Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship week which was held at the University’s campus in Abuja.

The theme of the program was ‘Building Inclusive and Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Research and Innovation Ecosystems through Education and Policy’.

He said, “Nigeria being a developing economy is faced with the challenges of high unemployment, particularly youth unemployment which is at an all-time high in the country. The structure of the economy which is largely import-dependent, has further limited the ability of the country to create decent jobs due to relative low level of industrialization, thereby aggravating the unemployment situation in Nigeria.

“Hence, strengthening our education delivery and designing policies that foster an entrepreneurship culture is one of the best ways for unleashing the enormous youth potential, address unemployment and grow the economy. It also offers a route to ensure that tertiary institutions become catalyst for regional and national economic development.”

The ES said TETFUND has renewed its commitment to the promotion of impactful research and innovation to foster entrepreneurship development in line with its mandate.

“Specifically, the Fund is strengthening its Entrepreneurship Intervention in Tertiary Institutions to support employability and innovation for national development.

“The Fund has leveraged on the Triple Helix Concept -the Academia (the Universities), Industry, and governments- to bring academia, government and industry together to promote a knowledge-based economy that is propelled by the dynamic connectivity between the triad with a view to accelerate the nation’s industrialization drive and enhance human capital development,” he said.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the global unemployment rate is currently projected at 207 million in 2022, surpassing 2019 where the rate was 21 million.

Of this number, 494 million are Africans who are either unemployed or underemployed.

THE WHISTLER also reported earlier this month when new data revealed that 133 million Nigerians are now living in poverty. The data revealed that the nation’s poverty level rose by 63 per cent.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the six states with the highest poverty rate are all in Northern Nigeria. The states -Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Bauchi- account for 42.75 million Nigerians living in poverty.