FG’s Unviable 774,000 Jobs
I find the planned creation of 774,000 jobs for youths, with 1000 drawn from each of the 774 local government areas across the country preposterous. They are evidently not jobs in the real sense of it, if critically analysed. These unemployed youths will get N20,000 monthly for doing public works. Then, everything ends within three months. No more jobs and pay again. This is what this government is planning to do with its Special Public Works programme. N52 billion has already been set aside for the project in this year’s budget. For me, government should either create sustainable jobs with this kind of money or use it to create enabling environment for the private sector to generate jobs. We should be creating real jobs not cash gifts to partisan youths. Government should be helping these youths to acquire skills in diverse areas and thereafter, providing them tools/grants for self-employment.
The views of the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Trade, Ukpong Akpabio, on this issue are germane. He said: “The plan to dish out N52 billion to 774,000 youths will not grow the economy.
Just ‘dashing’ money to the youths will make them lazy. It will not achieve the desired result of developing and expanding individual economies. The federal government ought to use the fund to boost small and medium enterprises because of the multiplier effect on the economy.
“For instance, if you use that amount to boost 100 small businesses in one local government, the 100 SMEs will empower another set of people. Some of the SMEs will not only employ some people, they will also train some other people and purchase machineries and raw materials from others. Their finished products will also be distributed by another set of people.”
This is the way forward for our country instead of wasting N52 billion on bogus jobs. I sincerely hope that this project will be restructured along these lines.