Nnadozie: High Youth Unemployment, aTime-Bomb
Professor Emmanuel Nnadozie is an educator, economist, professor of economics and author. His scholarly works are in the area of economics and development in Africa. This includes African Economic Development. He has also contributed to research journals such as the “Journal of African Finance and Economic Development ”, Journal of College Student Development. He has been a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and a visiting professor at the University of Carolina - Charlotte. He is currently Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) based in Zimbabwe, Harare - with a mandate to bring sustainable human and social capacity to Africa. He spoke with Iyobosa Uwugiaren and Sum a in aK a simon social, economic and political challenges affecting Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
The African Capacity Building Foundation was established in 1991, to bring sustainable human and social capacity to Africa. Could you share with us what you have done in the last few years in line with your mandate? Yes, in the last 26 years, we have accomplished a lot of things. First of all, we have strengthened the institutions that are important for economic policies management - that is policy design, policy implementation and monitoring of economic policies. For example, we have created over 50 Think tanks for the continent and these Think tanks as you know are doing research and analysis, and providing evidence based mechanisms for the policy makers in the country where they exist. As a matter of fact, next April, we are going to be having the African ThinkTank Summit in Abidjan, because ACBF is the coordinator of African Think-Tank Network. We have really done well in creating those institutions and we have also trained thousands of mid-level policy makers who are working in the different ministries of finance and Central Banks, and thanks for the capacity development that they received from us; many African countries are in the position to weather economic crises and managed their economy better than they were doing before. I know some ministers who benefited from our capacity building programmes. We have also supported parliaments and example of what we do is the Nigerian National Assembly, where we have a project at the National Institute of Legislative Studies, and we have similar projects in Southern African and elsewhere. Also, we have supported the regional organizations for the African Union, the regional Economic Communities of West African, as well as NEPAD and the African Peer Review Mechanisms - both institutionally in building the capacity that they need to be able to promote regional integration and trade in the continent. So, we have achieved a lot in that area - supporting ECOWAS, supporting SADEC, supporting EAC, and many others. We have also supported non-state actors. For example, we have supported women empowerment through women organizations; we have supported the media through media organizations to strengthen their capacity to be able to perform their very important role in the society - in information and providing mechanism for accountability and monitoring what is happening in the society. So, I can go on and on in this capacity thing. We have invested over $700 million US Dollars in about 45 African countries where we have been operating at various levels.
Tell us what the knowledge and learning activities of the foundation is all about?
We are actually worthy to be considered as a broker of knowledge in the area of capacity, development and even more; and what we do is that we produce several types of knowledge products and the principal one being what we call the African Capacity Report and that is the report that deals with what we focus on each year in aspect of capacity. Last year for example, the report that we had was the capacity for accelerating regional integration in Africa. What sorts of capacity you need to help and to help those capacities and if not how do we create them and how do we make sure that they are there to be able to push Africa integration forward. Now, the new one that we would be launching next month, the African Capacity Report, 2017, will be focusing on the capacity for science and technology and innovation in the continent because, everybody knows now that the neglect of science, technology, engineering, mathematics in African countries is preventing them from being able to really make progress in their structural transformation programmes through industrialization and through value additions; because, you need some critical skills that are seriously lacking. Our estimate is that up to 4.3 million engineers are needed in Africa and we want to achieve the first 10 years plan of the Agenda 2063. And if you look at different areas in what we called the critical skills in science, technology and engineering, mathematics, the numbers are quite staggering. So, this report sorts of does these analyses and serious recommendations, and those case studies - of where things are working and where things are not working, so that they can be shared by those who are practitioners and those who are policy makers. But, within these reports, we also have the African Capacity Index; which measures the capacity that each African country has; whether they have a very high capacity, medium capacity or they have low capacity. So, each year we measure that. But, then, we
produce other kinds of knowledge products on some reports and how the lesson we can learn from countries that are doing well; what make Rwanda to be one of the cleanest cities in the world and the most orderly city in the world, whereas their seas are the opposite. So, those kinds of comparisons highlight what should be done and what shouldn’t be done and many more… what have we learned over these 26 years in building capacities so that others can benefit from them?
Coming back home to Nigeria, I know Nigeria is one of your partners in this project. And looking at the socio-political and economic challenges that we’ve had in the last few years, would you say that Nigeria has capacity challenges, dearth of human resources?
Absolutely. Nigeria doesn’t really suffer from sorts of capacity challenges that some countries that are emerging from conflicts or that are starting from low base are suffering. The problem Nigeria has is managing its human capital effectively and utilizing them fully. So, you find a country where you have top notch engineers, medical practitioners and scientists everywhere in the world but, except in Nigeria. And so, this becomes an issue of capacity retention and capacity utilizations. It is no longer a capacity building issue and that becomes a problem for the country and part of it is that, we are not managing our diversity properly; we allowed our personal interest, sectional interest and egocentric interest to override the objective that one needs to be able to fully tap into this intellectual capital and financial capital of the Nigerians in Diaspora or even trying to bring them back. But, that is as far as the human capacity is concerned. On the other hand, the institutional capacity is quite weak in the country. So, it’s either you need to create new ones so that they can function or strengthen the ones that are there so that they can play their role. This is why we thought that an institution such as the parliament, the National Assembly could benefit from our support and they were willing to request our support and that is how the National Institute for Legislative Studies was created by the ACBF and supported over these years and it’s playing a critical role on the capacity of the legislators to be able to engage effectively in the governance of the country by doing their oversight role and perform their representative duties effectively. The greatest challenge Nigeria has as far as capacity is concerned, is in the area we called the ‘soft capacity’. The word soft should not make anybody think that they are not important. In fact, they are most important and they are composite capacity, number one being leadership. Leadership capacity is also very weak in Nigeria at various levels, not just the president, whether it’s at the government level, state level or local government level or even in the non-state department. So, when you look at it, where are the countries that have done very well in Africa? What is the defining issue there? You rarely see a visionary leader who is accountable to his people, who is always acting in the interest of his country and not in the interest of their family or the interest of his ethnic groups. They bring unifying forces and they also manage through an exemplary behaviour, setting the right time at the top. So, leadership is a critical one. So, there is also an issue that related to our mind-set. The way Nigerians view things these days, or the way they think that things should be done; you will realize that we need a change of mind-set. I don’t need to explain to you what I mean here. I think you can understand. In fact, I lived in Ethiopia for quite some time, Ethiopians don’t joke of being Ethiopian. They believe in Ethiopia; they think it is bigger than anything else you can think about. Nigerians just talk about Nigeria; they don’t really believe in Nigeria. You see what I mean. I go everywhere in the world and if I told them that I am a Nigerian, you know what the next question is: which tribe are you from? I have never seen any other country where people introduce themselves, not satisfied with his her country. So, I get in trouble because, I asked them if they are not satisfied with me being a Nigerian? They will tell you: Oh no! I just want to know: are you Igbo, are you Hausa or are you Yoruba? I say, I’m Nigerian and maybe they think I’m trying to be smart but, actually, the perpetrators of this are Nigerians because, they don’t stop at introducing themselves as Nigerians. They will go ahead and say, I am not from this side but from this side. So, we need to change our mind-set; our believing in ourselves, thinking of sacrificing for the country or being nationalistic and being patriotic. And so, those kinds of things are far more important than anything else. Otherwise, when you see public resources, you don’t see it as belonging to everyone and you just think that you can grab it and feel it’s for nobody.
Will you say corruption has also helped in weakening Nigeria’s institution capacity building?
Of course, everybody knows that the pernicious impact of corruption is weakening institutions; weakening the state apparatus and ultimately lead to state failure. So, there is no question about that. That is really what corruption does because, if you have law enforcement and security agencies and they become corrupt, obviously, they will never be able to dispense justice the way they should be and criminals will be allowed to do whatever they want. And you don’t see anybody enforcing the rules the way it is. Sometimes, it’s a chicken and the egg situation - is it corruption that is weakening the institutions or the institutions that are making corruption to be rampant? You see what I mean. Those are two things that one need to know; you can never fight corruption without strengthening your institutions especially those that are at the frontline of fighting corruption in the country.
Do you think Nigeria is on the right path in fighting corruption at present?
The most important thing about corruption is to put it at the centre of your challenges, and I think that is very important. The president has made that a priority and that is a very big step because, once you do that, you begin to let everybody know that this is something that is damaging the country and that it’s unacceptable. So, that is a very big step. Then what follows is where the issue is, the details of how you actually begin to address the problems. As I have said, there are some basic principles to successfully fighting corruption. The tone at the top is extremely important. The example at the top is extremely important. You cannot say I am fighting corruption with zero tolerance but, people still are doing hanky-panky games or people around you are doing that or some other people at leadership levels are doing it. And number two is that, you cannot be selective, you cannot be favouring anybody. People must see it as a passion in fighting corruption. Otherwise, mobilizing them and making them believe is going to be impossible.
In one of your vocational papers, you talked about the challenge of African youth development; let’s situate it in Nigeria here. What do you think is the challenge?
You know, I was asked this morning by somebody what I considered to be Nigeria biggest challenge, and I said it was youth unemployment. That is deliberate, because I have analysed the challenges of development for over 30 years and I have come to the conclusion that this is the greatest threat because, the population growth rate is too high and everybody puts their heads in the sand as if this is not an issue. They politicise it or they bring religion into it. It’s very simple. Just look at a family, somebody who has no job will have about 10 kids. Now, you asked yourself what do you derive by bringing children into the world so they can suffer? And you say, God gave me the children. So they can suffer? No! We need to be realistic. Nobody says you shouldn’t have children but you should have the number of kids that you can raise appropriately without them suffering unnecessarily or without them being abandoned and not properly prepared for life. Then of course, when you have this kind of growth, that is the number of people coming into the workforce is far higher than the amount of opportunities that are created every year. Of course you will have massive unemployment and what happened when you have massive unemployment; you have restless youths; you have the kind of people you don’t want to employ; employ them and they cause havoc in the society. And so, if we don’t manage youth’s population, instead of having demographic dividends, we would have a time bomb, and that can blow away everybody and destroy the society entirely. So, paying attention to the issues, I mentioned job creation, structural transformation and industrialization, where the jobs are going to come from; strengthening the private sector because that is where the things will come from, SMEs and the big corporations, and ensuring that we provide the sort of education, especially vocational education that will enable people to become employable or self-employable. That is to say that if they don’t get a job, they are skilled and can still do something and earn a living. The rate of growth is too fast for our good.
Would you say that the act of terrorism we have today in the Northeast, the crisis we have in Niger Delta and the seemingly growing kidnapping activities in Southeast and Southwest, are as a result of youth unemployment?
Of course, it’s at the centre of it. If people are employed, why would they be doing things that are harmful? For them, that’s a job. Boko Haram is paying their people. If they don’t have any money, they pay them to go and carry a gun and help them. I mean, a lot of time, the leadership feel that they don’t know what it is not having a job. I spent just a few months after my graduation without a job. Just a few months and I knew that if this continues for one year, there is no way I won’t be something else in the society. I mean will be destructive. So, what am I trying to say is some people have no stake in anything and they are willing to do whatever it is to survive or to live. So, it is one of the major contributors, and it’s not the only one. When you have people like that, they are more easily manipulated or indoctrinated. They engage in risky behaviour. So, that is why I am saying that this is something that must be addressed in a very, very urgent and very strong manner.
Let’s look at the economic recession enveloping Nigeria today. How did we get there and how can we get out of it?
Well, recession can be caused by a number of things. When you looked at the economy, there is always a demand side and the supply side. And so, you could have what it’s called a supplied shock or the demand shock. The demand shock could come from maybe probably something happening that is beyond your control or people are no longer feeling confident of themselves and they stopped spending money or buying things. Therefore, the things that have been produced by the producers are not being bought. So, suddenly, they have to lay people off because, they are not selling their things. And people laid off are on high income and that create some kind of economy downturn or a supply side, which is the one happening to Nigeria.
In the sense that Nigeria supplies oil and there was shock in the price of oil and therefore, these caused the income that Nigeria would receive, and for that to go down it means therefore the ability of government to really do government spending and investment and pay salaries becomes weakened. And therefore, this has a ripple effect on the rest of the economy and suddenly you find yourself in recession.
Sometimes, it’s a chicken and the egg situation - is it corruption that is weakening the institutions or the institutions that are making corruption to be rampant? You see what I mean. Those are two things that one need to know; you can never fight corruption without strengthening your institutions especially those that are at the frontline of fighting corruption in the country