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TACKLING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA; THE LAGOS STATE
DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMMES INITIATIVES
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· January 2012
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Emeh Ikechukwu
University of Nigeria
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Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences
Volume 3, No. 3.4 Quarter IV 2012
ISSN: 2229 – 5313
1
TACKLING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA; THE LAGOS STATE
DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMMES INITIATIVES
Emeh, Ikechukwu Eke Jeffry
Department of Public Administration and Local Government, University Of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
Unemployment in Nigeria looms large and its concomitant consequences are alarmingly daring,
especially as youths are the worst hit. A
cursory look at the rush into Lagos state by unemployed
and unproductively engaged youths depicts the calamitous and outrageousness of the problem,
yet the government of Lagos state have continued to strive to contain the contagious effect of
youth unemployment by providing youth development and empowerment programmes. This is in
response to the clarion call by the federal government of Nigeria to develop and empower the
Nigerian youths to enable them contribute to the development of the nation today and take over
the leadership of the country tomorrow as they are the future leaders, especially in considering
the persistent and consistent uprising of the issue of unemployment. It is in this regard this paper
sought to find out how Nigerian government have fared in engaging youth unemployment with
youth development and empowerment packages and Lagos state was the study area. The paper
employed both primary and secondary sources in generating its data and utilized tables and
charts for data presentation and the simple percentage for analysis. And the paper made series of
findings among which is that unemployment in Nigeria is real and alarming; that youth
development and empowerment can curb youth unemployment and that there is high
unemployment in Lagos state owing to the influx of people from every corner of the country in
search of greener pasture and that the government of Lagos state reeled out many youth
development and empowerment programmes to handle youth unemployment in the state.
Keywords: Unemployment, Youth Development, Empowerment Programmes, Government.
Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences
Volume 3, No. 3.4 Quarter IV 2012
ISSN: 2229 – 5313
2
INTRODUCTION
The Nigerian economy since the attainment of political independence in 1960 has undergone
fundamental structural changes resulting to structural shifts which have however not resulted in
any significant sustainable economic growth and development to ensure adequate employment
opportunity for her youths. Recently, available data show that the Nigerian economy grew
