IMPACT OF POPULATION GROWTH RATE ON THE LEVEL OF

UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

BY

EZRA OSESEH SALEH

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,

TARABA STATE UNIERSITY, JALINGO

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 Introduction

Population is a summation of all the organisms of the same group or species which live in a
particular geographical area and have the capability of interbreeding. But in sociology,
population refers to a collection of humans. Demography is a social sciences which entails the
statistical study of human population. This article refers mainly to human population.

Types of Population

Enumerated population: refers to the population counted in a city or define region such as a
country. It is called census.

Usual residence population: refers to the population that usually lives in a given area. Each
person completing the census is required to state their address of usual residence and their
information is used to derive the usual residence population.

Estimated residence population: refers to the census result that is updated yearly by projection.
Population is usually associated with terms such as Birth Rate, Dead rate, Migration,
overpopulation, optimum population and under population

Feature of a Rapidly Growing Population.

Overpopulation is a situation where the people in a country outgrow the resource available at
hand to sustain them. This situation create unemployment, shortage of resource crime rate etc
thereby making people compete for the limited available resource (Odincia 2006)

Overpopulation can lead to low child and infant mortality because the numbers of women
needing care would have exceeded the available health facilities. Overpopulated countries are
primarily engaged in agriculture for survival. Chance of epidemics outbreak and pandemics are
high. Poverty level is huge and unemployment and inflation take center stage.

Additionally, low life expectancy, criminality, warfare, low personal liberty, repression are the
order of the day.

The population growth rate of a country remains a critical factor in the development of
the economy and if not properly managed could inflate the scourge of poverty in the economy.

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On the other hand, population growth can be a useful factors in providing a workforce for the
production of goods and services to boost economic development and remains a critical
determinants of the potential of a country’s investment. It can act as a double edge sword to the
economy of that country.

According to Vanguard newspaper of 28/09/18,US raises alarm over Nigeria’s population

projected to be at 400 million by 2050, the fastest growing population not only in Africa but in
the whole but without commensurate amenities and employment to sustain it Going by this
projection, Nigeria would become the 3rd most populous country by 2050 (UN Report 2017)

According to NPC data base (2018) the current size of population in Nigeria is 199,681031 with
annual growth rate of 3.2%. History has it that in the 70s and 80s, firms and public offices
booked in advance prospective graduates to become their employee. What has gone wrong that
this practice real as it was is starring at us today as a myth? Could it be insufficient advancement
in job opportunities or other factor such as corruption, lack of skills or lack of technology and
perhaps lack of industrialization and mechanized agriculture?

At regular intervals we are told that Nigerians are fleeing to Europe, South Africa and some who
absconded during holy Pilgrimages to Israel and Saudi Arabia in search of Jobs for survival.
Some of the fleeing Nigerians took the risk of crossing to Europe through the Mediterranean sea
leading to the dead of many of them by been drowned in the sea. Some of them with full
knowledge of the risk of losing their lives through the desert still take the risk in order to get a
better life in diaspora. Why should Nigerian put their lives on the line needlessly. Answer to this
is very simple which is search of Job.

Already, other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa are becoming impatient with
pressure from Nigeria migrants taking over their jobs and business opportunities. These has led
to Zynophobia. For example, Ghana authority recently closed down 400 business belonging to
Nigerian, (Punch Online News 26/09/2018.)

At the moment, unemployment rate stood at 18.8% a record high which perhaps account for the
rush in any advertised job interview. Sometime the rush lead to the untimely dead of some of the
applicants. The ugly trend was experienced in 2014 during Nigeria the immigration recruitment
tragedy when 6.5 million people were jostling for 4000 vacant position.

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The trend is on the verge of been replicated in the recent road safety commission recruitment
exercise in which 300,000, applicants are jostling for 4000 vacant positions
(www.vanguardngr.com)

The rate of labour force supply has outnumbered that of Job creation implying that the rate of
unemployment or youth unemployment rate have been increasing rapidly. In other words the
number of people seeking employment increase more rapidly than the numbers of jobs available.

This kind of situation posed grave danger to the society. Consequently, some opinion leaders
have stated that Nigeria is sitting on time Bomb because of it high unemployed youths.

high population growth create serious social problem in Nigeria. It constitute intimidating
menace not only to Nigeria but are also exported to other countries as well. The impact of the
population growth may also pose a problem to the future generation if allow to persist
unchecked. Is it technology or failure of government that is responsible for the current trend? It
is paradoxical that populated Asian countries such as Indonesian, India and China are not faced
with the myriad of unemployment as we do in one hand and the population controlled western
world that has attained to near full employment and even import workers from Diaspora in the
other.

Causes of Unemployment

Policies makers such as Mallam Isa Mohammed Yola are of the view that there are basically two
trends that are responsible for unemployment in Nigeria which are as follow:

i. Technology: Actually the advent of technology to Nigeria has actually cause a great
harm to the employment of Nigeria, as the work of human has been taking by
machine, the work that 20-30 humans can do per day a single machine can do such
work within the limit of one hour.
ii. Failure of government: most policies makers has actually blame the government for it
failure to implement programme that will give employment to Nigeria youth such as
sitting up industries and host of others.

However, Ezra Saleh is of the view that the reasons to unemployment in Nigeria can basically be
seen in two ways such as:

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 i. Dependency of the Nigeria Youth: there is no doubt that scholars of development
state that the major reason to underdevelopment of the third world nations is high rate
of dependency. The Nigeria youth are so lazy that they depend so much on the
government to provide jobs to them. Forgetting that the country is over 160 million
people and universities are graduating people every year in batches and the
government cannot give them job all at once. The essence of them going to school is
to acquire knowledge and above all skills so as after their graduation they can put all
that they have learn in school to practice. China immediately after their revolution has
to shutdown their borders and state that if you are a graduate you have to prove that
you are by making something or inventing something in your field.
ii. Laziness among the Nigerians youths: The development of every societies lies on its
youth, that is to say that the youths are the forerunners in every development of a
society. However Nigerian youth are so lazy in their diligence they so much believe
that they have to walked on a red carpet to development. And it was in view of these
that the president comes out and said that the Nigeria Youth are lazy. (www.Premium
May 2, 2018)

Conclusion

No doubt over population has actually cause a lot of unemployment to Nigeria youth but that, not
an excuse for Nigerian to be taking the risks of fleeing out of Nigeria. Nigerian must learn that
the destiny of these country lies on them and by such they have to create job for Nigerians and
by Nigerians.