Written by Mosopefoluwa
August 12 every year is set aside globally to celebrate the young citizens and to reflect on the challenges they face. The reflection points to a troubling reality that has been sitting in their minds; the same young population that should be driving the country’s growth is instead being held back by unemployment and insecurity.
According to the State of the Nigerian Youth Report by Plan International Nigeria and ActionAid Nigeria, 80 million young Nigerians are currently without jobs. The report puts youth unemployment at 53 percent, describing it as the single greatest threat facing Africa’s most populous nation. Every year, about 1.7 million graduates leave tertiary institutions and enter a job market that cannot absorb them.
Unemployment is not the only burden young Nigerians carry. The report also highlights the impact of worsening insecurity: over 600,000 lives lost and 2.2 million people kidnapped in recent years. More than 1,500 schools have been shut down within two years, leaving about one million children without access to classrooms. Farmland abandonment linked to insecurity has also displaced millions and threatens food security for tens of millions of Nigerians.
These conditions leave many young people facing difficult choices, staying in the country and hoping for change, migrating if they can, accepting low-paying jobs simply to get by, or in more troubling cases, turning to risky alternatives such as cybercrime or irregular migration, both of which the report identifies as growing coping mechanisms among frustrated youths.
Despite these challenges, young Nigerians continue to contribute meaningfully to society, in technology, business, the creative industry, and community-driven initiatives, refusing to be defined only by unemployment statistics.
The concern raised by the report is not whether Nigerian youths have the talent or capacity to succeed, that has never been in doubt. The real question is whether the country will create an environment that allows that potential to thrive, rather than continuing to lose it to joblessness and insecurity.
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