Structural Adjustment Programme and the Nigerian Economy

HIS predecessor and father James had already ran the country monetary assets down. Charles got into power with no money and a high taste for lavish things. In 1640 Charles wanted to go to war and he demanded that parliament should give him the money, when they refused he became furious and wanted to dissolve them. The issues kept piling up and tension grew between Charles and the parliament. It eventually got to the point where Charles dissolved the parliament because of their refusal to release money to him, and he ruled without them for 1 1 years.

After those years a Scottish group called The Covenanter tried to obtrude England, as a result Charles put the parliament together again, with the sole alma of raising funds to stop the group. To his disappointment the parliament refused to help him and he dissolved them yet again. He finally had to pay the Scottish people 850 Euros everyday to prevent them from moving forward, he eventually ran out of money in 1641 and was forced to call back parliament. Charles lack of money and his peoples revolution against him. Another factor to consider is that of religion.

The English people did not like or want to be ruled by Catholics. Charles went ahead to marry a French Catholic lady, this caused a lot of anger and unrest amongst the people; not only that but it gave the people yet another reason to despise Charles. After dissolving parliament he made Laud the Archbishop, Laud went ahead to make a lot of changes in the church like making the priests wear robes, putting up stained-glass windows and building statues within and outside the church; this changes made the English people remember Catholicism whish they despised so dearly.

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Maritime Domain Awareness

SYNOPSIS FOR PAPER 3 ON MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS AS A VEHICLE FOR EFFECTIVE NIGERIAN NAVY OPERATIONS GUEST LECTURER:Rear Admiral FD Akpan (Rtd) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. This paper discussed the concept of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the strategic dimension involving the security and safety of the maritime environment. It further stressed that safety and security of the maritime environment are critical for national security and economic wellbeing of any nation.

While it highlighted the prospects of Nigeria’s littoral, the paper was quick to enumerate that there was need to present effective patrols, improve maritime security and provide a conducive environment within the maritime domain for enhanced commercial activities and foster the development of Nigeria. 2. The prospect of Nigeria’s maritime domain is enormous due to the presence of huge mineral deposit; however, the paper highlighted some threats to Nigeria’s adequate utilisation of the domain.

These threats include nation state threat, terrorism, trans-national criminals, pirates, environment pollution and illegal immigration. Of interest to the presenter was the loss of revenue, employment opportunity and environmental degradation as a result of these threats to Nigeria’s maritime domain. The paper stressed the need for the NN to imbibe the tenets of maritime awareness by acquiring critical response architecture for effective naval operation.

Some strategies proposed by the paper to address these threats include the preservation of the freedom of the seas/waterways through effective presence, facilitating and defending commerce and facilitating the movement of desirable goods and people, while screening out dangerous people and goods. 3. The paper enumerated the ISPS code and Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) as some international instruments for enhancing MDA. However, there was need to fuse information and intelligence between government agencies and private ector because sharing of common data bases has been identified as one of the key to the development of an effective MDA. In line with this development, the paper stressed the need for Nigeria to implement the provisions of these instruments as proposed in the code as soon as possible to meet international standards and practice. 4. Building capacity for MDA as posited in the paper could be enhanced through a bill and an enabling act, because the bill would seek to provide the national structures, roles and the various guide lines towards the actualisation of the instruments of the conventions on MDA.

Though the maritime security Bill is before the national assembly, the paper suggested the partnering of the NN with other key stakeholders in making inputs. However, due to the inhibitive cost of MDA programmes which would cause strains in planning regimes, there is need to utilize the provision for partnership to build enviable capacities for MDA within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and other well advanced countries. As part of measures to build capacity towards effective naval operation through MDA, the NN would need to acquire some infrastructure to facilitate the monitoring of vessels that enter Nigeria’s maritime domain.

These infrastructures include Port Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS), coastal VTMIS, Automated Identification System (AIS), Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) and Radio, Radar and Telecommunication system. 5. The strategic approach adopted in the paper for MDA involves consistent domestic and partner-initiated programmes, as well as significant regional collaboration given the trans-national character of most threats and vulnerabilities.

Hence the proposal in the paper is a strategy incorporating regional and global realities. However, to achieve the appropriate MDA, understanding the implications of threats would help stakeholders and government to better appreciate their respective roles. 6. The paper was also of the view that while the NN within its premises could provide the wherewithal to educate her personnel on the tenets of the code, the government must compliment the efforts of the NN with the acquisition of the right size and type of ships and platforms.

Also, it was opined in the paper that in the short term timeline for the NN to provide the adequate response as required in the MDA strategy, the Forward Operational Bases would have to be developed appropriately to meet the demands of MDA. The development would involve construction of jetties; logistics support facilities and other infrastructures to support helicopters operation. While the long term suggestion in the paper was the phased refit of NN warships. The paper was of the view that the losses to the government could be reduced if the funds for the refit and acquisition of NN ships were provided.

However, the paper stressed that the personnel are the greatest assets towards the realisation of effective MDA. Consequently, there was need for the NN to appropriate the right skills towards the management of the equipment required to actualise the regime. VERBATIM REPORT OF INTERACTIVE SESSION 7. The discussion session was conducted by the following resource persons: a. V/Adm J Ayinla (Rtd)-Moderator b. R/Adm OS Ibrahim-Discussant c. R/Adm J Kpokpogri-Discussant d. AVM Atawodei-Discussant e. Cdre IE Ibas-Discussant MODERATOR’ OPENING REMARKS 8. The moderator commended the presenter for doing justice to the topic.

He stressed that maritime domain has been given several definitions, but most of the definitions had missed out one part of the definition. According to him the earth spherical and 70 per cent of it is covered by water. He further stressed that the underwater aspect of maritime domain has always been ignored. He then posited that discussants should pay adequate attention to the underwater aspect of the maritime domain. He stated that vision 20 started in 1979. However, timeliness had been a problem in the NN. He posited that NN had continued from where it was in 1979, the NN could have gone far. CDRE IE IBAS 9.

The first discussant was Cdre IE Ibas. He thanked the CNS for giving him the opportunity to comment on the presentation. He acknowledged that the presentation was comprehensive, apt and the definitions of the variables of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) suited the theme of the conference. He stated that the presenter understood the goal of MDA as the early identification of threats at sea. According to him, the United States was the frontline proponent of the concept of MDA at all levels with the vision of multi layer domain picture involving identifying picture and observing known pattern of vessel movement in the MDA. 0. The discussant stressed the need for Nigeria to pursue an aggressive maritime domain culture. He further highlighted that Nigeria needs MDA in order to achieve 20:2020. The discussant emphasized that the SWOT analysis of the presentation gave an expose of the maritime environment. It was highlighted that MDA must go beyond platform sensors, consequently automated detection system could be the basis for MDA as they could be employed for activities at sea. According to the discussant, the threats of terrorism are not as potent as militancy in Nigeria.

Therefore, according to the presentation, all efforts could be geared towards addressing the potent threat of militancy. The militant attack on Atlas Cove was used for illustration. 11. The presentation also identified man as one of the key element in achieving MDA. However, the present attitude of personnel to attain MDA was stressed. The discussant enumerated the conditions that were prevalent in the 1980’s when the NN had been involved in arresting smugglers and pirates. The discussant stressed that the NN may not achieve the required rchitecture for MDA with the present behavioural attitude of the personnel. However, the discussant stressed that it was gratifying to note that the NN through the RMAC in the NN Base, Apapa through the installation of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) was making positive progress in MDA. He opined that the RMAC could be installed on NN helicopters. He was of the opinion that greater interaction was required between partners and stakeholders. However, the challenge of inter agency and service rivalry would need to be overcomed in order to achieve MDA.

R/ADM J KPOKPOGRI 12. The second discussant was R/Adm Kpokpogri. He thanked the CNS for finding him worthy to discuss this paper. He commended the presenter for a well delivered paper. The discussant stressed that he would look at the paper from one angle. He stated that the United States and the European nations started MDA. It was necessitated by the need to stop drugs trafficking and other illegal activities perpetrated at sea. 13. The importance of the NN is yet to be fully appreciated because the NN lacks the necessary platforms to cope with the present challenges.

According to him, the NN needs new platforms in order to cope with the challenges. He stressed that it was alarming to note that about 80 per cent of ships operating in Nigeria’s water are not registered. Consequently, he posited that there was need for the NN to synergise with NIMASA and other maritime agencies such as DPR and NNPC on observation of certificate carried by vessels in our maritime environment in order to enhance efficiency. 14. According to the discussant, there was need for all involved in maritime security including retired senior officer to help the NN in repositioning her for the challenges.

According to the discussant, Nigeria’s sub region is dominated by franco phone countries, consequently, he made some prayers for the NN to consider. The prayers made included the introduction of french language to enhance cooperation in the sub region, establishment of MDA watch in ENC and WNC and the need to involve foreign stake holders like the US and UK in perfecting MDA in Nigeria. R/ADM OS IBRAHIM 15. The third discussant was R/Adm OS Ibrahim and he stressed that he would look at the presentation based on 3 premises. The discussant highlighted his assumptions as: . It is upon the NN under the providence of God that the prosperity of the nation rest. b. Patrolling Nigeria’s EEZ is the only safe guard for control. c. Even if the money and resources required are made available today it will take a min of 5 days to achieve the much required state. 16. According to the discussant, MDA in line with vision 20:2020 would eradicate poverty, bring about peace and development. He stressed that MDA could guarantee full security of the maritime domain, make waters safe and attractive for investment.

He was of the view that the presenter was modest in his recommendations, however, he stressed that the presentation omitted logistics ship which was important for presence. 17. The discussant stressed that US mentioned capability gap in the regional maritime domain. To cover the gap, the US installed the RMAC in Nigeria. He further stressed that he was pursuing collaborative effort to enhance the utilisation of the RMAC. Consequently, the NN was able to organise a capability awareness discussion on the RMAC with representative from NPA and NIWA including the Director General of NIMASA.

He was of the opinion that Nigeria’s maritime agencies would need to cooperate better in order to achieve the objectives of MDA. AVM ATAODE 18. AVM Ataode structured his discussion into 2 parts. He raised some observations which included: a. Was it the first time the NN was discussing MDA? b. He corrected the mistake on the deadline for compliance with ISPS code on para 25 from 21September to 31 July 2009. c. Why has Nigeria not passed its own bill as was done in Ghana. 19. He stressed that the focus for MDA would be on early detection by radars and radios.

Consequently, he opined that the NN could set up a task force in determining NN capability on MDA. He stated that MDA could make the sea transparent and continuously available. According to the discussant, PICOMMS came about as a directive from IMO that all maritime nations should put in place a body to oversee the implementation of the ISPS code. He further enumerated that the government organisations were the ones defaulting in the implementation of the ISPS code, however, he stressed that 65 facilities have been declared compliant by the relevant authority.

Most compliant facility was Niger dock while the least was the Atlas cove in Lagos. 20. He stated that the contract sum for COMMARAS was over bloated to the tune of 250 million euros, leading to the re-evaluation of the contract. He emphasised that PICOMMS was not meant to be a permanent establishment. According to him the COMMARAS was to be installed at 11 stations, with 93 personnel to man each radar stations. However, some of the locations of these radar station sites are uninhabited. PICOMMS has procured the DA 42 Opale Twin Star and King Air 350 aircraft. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FLOOR 21. Cdr Oluwagbamila.

MDA is not an end in itself but a means to an end. Do we have a maritime security policy? Efforts of the government in achieving MDA were borne out of external influence. ISPS by IMO code and AIS by US, there was need to harmonise the 2, because both are meant to achieve the same goal. 22. R Adm Arogundade. MDA is a subset of the policing role of the NN. The absence of training in policing role has affected the capability of young officers from appreciating the recent challenges in policing functions. 23. Capt Carew (Rtd). PICOMMS primary duties is to coordinate international shipping and ports facility.

The absence of a senior naval officer could act as an impediment to the functions of the agency. 24. R Adm Adedeji. Real MDA is what is happening at the national high command. Real Change has to come from the political masters. 25. Capt Okunbor. He suggested that papers presented in the CONSAC be forwarded to the national planning committee on the implementation of vision20:2020 as the NN repositions itself for development. 26. Sen Olajumoke. He stressed a point that his duty was to be present for the whole deliberations in order to tow the line of developmental needs of the NN. He noted Capt Carew’s suggestion.

He had expected that someone would have reacted on the opinion of the first discussant. PRESENTER 27. The presenter agreed with Cdr Oluwagbamila in working out the terms for maritime strategy, he cited examples with the US. He stated that there was need for the NN to be in charge with issues bothering on maritime security. MODERATOR 28. In summarising the session, political will was needed from the national authority from where national aspiration derives all that needs to be done. He wanted to know the authority to deliver maritime security. He stressed that the national prosperity of Nigeria is dependent on sea power and NN.

Also, he stressed that there was consider previous threat appreciation in order to re-align it. Failure of the NN could be hinged on inability to ensure deterrence. In this regard, he highlighted the absence of a compact force and capability of visual deterrence. He further stressed the sophistication of the militants in Nigeria was affecting capacity development for adequate MDA. 29. He enumerated that the budget for maintenance of ARADU was not enough to ensure 15 per cent availability of the ship. According to him there was need for the NN to come up with a plan to growth within a time frame say 2010, 2020 or 2030.

Also, in his opinion, discussions bothering on ships could involve training considerations and motivations. These would ensure that the personnel are adequately motivated. The issue of 100 ships for the sub region was raised. He opined that, if Nigeria has to be relevant, Nigeria would have to provide at least 60 ships. In this regard, if Nigeria was to be among the 20 most developed economies, she was to develop her national and sea power. 30. Finally, he stated that the NN does not have the right platforms to counter the present threats in our maritime domain.

He opined that the NN could realise effective naval operations through better inter-agency cooperation between the NN and PICOMMS, and also that the NN could rely more on force multipliers for early detection and countering of threats. POSERS FOR PAPER 3 1. How can the NN in collaboration with other stake holders in the maritime sector implement measures to achieve MDA? 2. How can the NN harness her FOBs for improved MDA? 3. How can a framework for setting up a dedicated body structure that would be responsible for coordinating MDA in Nigeria? 4.

Identify the factors militating against effective MDA in Nigeria with a view to proffering solutions. 5. Based on an identified structure, does the NN need to pursue an act of parliament? 6. Is there an enabling act for effective MDA or are the existing terms good enough for an effective MDA? 7. Identify sources through which dedicated funding for MDA can be achieved outside government sources. 8. What strategies can be adopted by the NN in effectively combating identified threats so as to sustain effective NN operations? 9. Identify policies for implementing MDA and suggest ways of making them more effective.

If none, suggest policies. 10. What infrastructures can be put in place to facilitate effective monitoring of vessels? 11. In what ways can partnership with the various stakeholders be harnessed towards achieving MDA? 12. In extending her influence to cover the Gulf of Guinea, what asset mix would the NN require to be effective? 13. What strategies can be adopted by the NN to ensure that personnel are adequately enlightened or trained on MDA? 14. In what areas should the NN key into or make input towards the proposed maritime security bill in order to ensure that the interests of the service are guarded?

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CONFLICT IN NIGERIA

Muslims may be a ma-Sorority, but if so they are barely that. Islam has functioned in cultural and pop-Leticia terms to create unity in northern Nigeria. Indeed, as Nigeria moved too 12-state system in 1967 from one of four regions and then to a federal republic with 19 states in 1976, it became nieces-Sara to stress Islamic unity in the 10 northern states where two-thirds of the population was Muslim.

In order to maintain the dominance of the north in national politics, Islam had to provide the glue that had disappeared tit the demise of the old Native Administrate-Zion, the regional reassurance, and the party that had ruled the north in the First Republic-the Northern Peoples’ Congress. 22 When the military left power in 1979, the NP tried to appeal beyond the north. Under institutional provisions, in orders o Electra president,it had o win at least a quarter of the votes in two-thirds of the states. AT he NP could not campaign as a Muslim party and it had cost the administrative did hath ad supported the old ruling Northern Pee-apples’ Congress. But it retained the sup-port of Islamic elites in the north and it also had the support of many high-ranking officers, some but not all of 21 . Ibid. , p. 23. 22. Dudley, Introduction to Nigerian Govern-meet and Politics, p. 163. 23. In fact, She Shari did not win quite 25 percent of the vote in 12 states but in a series of contested court actions he was declared president in the 1979 elections by virtue of having won 20 percent of the vote in the twelfth state. Homo were Muslims. 24TH he NP was seen as a Muslim party in the north. With the chairman of the NP coming from the west, the president of the republic from the north, the vice press-dent from the east-an alignment us-attained in the second election of 1983- Nap’s ointment zone arty traders would have been under pressure if the civilian regime had continued and the posts had to be rotated by place of origin in 1988.

At the same time, as it became nieces-Sara to stress Islam in order to maintain northern unity that was under pressure from the creation of more states, Islam itself often worked to intensify fissures opened up by social and economic changes. Appeals for social Justice were made in Islamic terms. Thus, as reform and purifications pavements intentioned to proliferate,’ slam s a religions ND a set of cultural symbols was not solely a force for unity in the northern states. It was interpreted variably by different social groups.

Elites tried to maintain theirs eminence y manipulating do-erne and traditional institutions in the name of Islam while businessmen lilt mosques and workers made demands through Islamic terminology. At the same time, Muhammad Maria AP-pealed to fringe groups to follow him to an Islamic revival. OFF Rutherford, the 24. The Briar regime, which came in at the end of 1983, actually as had the most Muslims among its leadership of all the five military regimes since 1966-the other four being Irony’s, Gown’s, Mohammedan, Bassoon’s. Irons and Gown were Christians, as was Bassoon.

I have focused much more on the impacts f Islam Han of Christianity n political legitimacy and the role of the state in Nigeria because Islam has been, in the north, an unofficial state religion. Moreover, the struggle to define the relationship of religion to the state has been a struggle around the role of Islamic WI n Nigeria. Thee verve napping- elation of religious symbols both to Jus-tiff the rule of elites and to challenge that rule as been a manipulation of Islamic values and symbols more than Christian ones.

There is reason to believe, however, that some Christian sects provide for their followers a measure of autonomy from established authority, both reel-Sioux and secular. The development of Ladder Christianity-the praying churches such as the Christ Apostolic Church and the Cherubim and Sera-pimp in Hardbound-seems to go hand in glove with the development of values and attitudes of industriousness and business. That is, the adherents of the Ladder hurdles o not appear s CEO- omicron addicts,a Thought hem ay insist on a measure of political independence from established authorities. AS o far, though, in Nigeria has been less directly cones-sequential for the struggle for political legitimacy and control of authoritative roles at central and state levels than has been the impact of Islam. Nigeria has not evolved political formulas hate explicitly Lori elision r religious theorists defined astigmatic. But there have been struggles carried out in religious terms over constitute-cantonal champions r adjudicating n-flick. Religion as been an element in the conflicts twenty ethnic-language pups.

And religion provides a language, a set of values,a NDIS institution’s rough which groups struggle and over which groups contend, both within and between reel-Sioux communities. 26. For a major study of the adoption of Ala-durra Christianity, see J. D. Y. Peel, Ladder:A Religious Movement among the Your (Loon-don: Oxford university Reese, 1968). P eel is con-current o explain he fundamental characters f a religion f industrialization the Yearbook intent as a new morality of obeying rules. Ibid. , p. 299. 60 This content

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Business of Entertainment

Thus it was an honor for the students f Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur, to attend a Guest Lecture by Mr. Narayan Raman, Chief Financial Officer, Viacom 18. Mr. Raman, while working with Viacom 18 for the past 9 years, has been driving growth and profitability, managing strategic and financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial negotiation. He has also managed legal, information systems and operations In the formative years of Vlacom18.

His previous stint at STAR group, Included setting up of Star News , spearheading Finance & Commercial functions as well as head of Planning for STAR group’s overall India operations. In arly part of his career, he handled equity research as FMCG and macroeconomic analyst for Shriram Group. He has been involved in some of the historic successes and launches in the media industry including the re launch of Star Plus in 2000, launch of Colors in 2008 and formation of JV with Network18 in 2007.

He was nominated for “Global Excellence Awards” of Newscorp for his extra-ordinary achievements in setting up Star News. Mr Raman amped up the energy in the room by starting his lecture with a video, showing us what Viacom 18 does and their plans for the future. There was a buzz among everyone since all of us have either grown up atching these shows and channels and still watch them. With this mood he started talking about how Indian entertainment has had a global Impact and is spreading and growing In many countries.

He spoke about how media Is a medium between the content made and the customers. It can either be for entertainment or Information, or can help us associate and engage with the characters being portrayed in television or movies. He also pointed out something surprising, that motion pictures or movies which would be expected to be the most growing or developing segment in media, in fact have a very small share in the media world. It is the gaming segment that is growing by leaps and bounds.

He also spoke about how the media business is unique in the sense that the “products” are generated by producers (shows, movies etc. ) and also by users (YouTube videos, bloggers etc. ). Shift to online media has brought in two way communication. The key business drivers here are digitization, regionalization, Innovation, talent management and development, Competition expansion and he growth In the importance of pay market. Media “products” have multiple sources of revenue. The product can be transformed by expanding It from ne genre of entertainment to another.

The best example for this being online games being launched after the release of a movie. Product longevity assures income until users can watch them any number o times, revenue keeps flowing in. Also Mr. Raman mentioned that the association of brands with the right channel is necessary to target the right market for sales. We also learnt about the major challenges in the media and entertainment business. Some of the most important ones being cost structuring, piracy, funding challenges, regulatory environment and business sensitivity.

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Curbing Unemployment Through Skills Acquisition

Curbing Unemployment through Skills Acquisition: A Study of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Kaduna State By AMUPITAN, Oboromeni Federal University, Lokoja Nigeria January, 2011. ABSTRACT The paper “Curbing Unemployment through Skills acquisition: A case of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE)”Kaduna State is about unemployment and how it can be reduced through skills acquisition. This work is aimed at finding out how the NDE has reduced unemployment through its skills acquisition programme.

Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources which include published and unpublished works, journals, internet, questionnaires and interviews. The systematic sampling method was used in determining the sample size of 150 respondents, statistical tables was used in data analysis while the Average Mean Score method was used for the test of the hypothesis formulated. The formulated hypothesis which states “that inadequate skills acquisition has led to an increase in graduate unemployment in Kaduna State” was Accepted.

It was discovered and also recommended that skills acquisition is an effective tool in reducing graduate unemployment. Thus, specific skills acquisition schemes should be included in the curriculum of post-secondary schools to help make graduates self employed. INTRODUCTION 1. 1Background of the Study Unemployment is no longer an alien word to the world’s populace. Even the western world experienced a notable rise in their unemployment rate, as the official unemployment rate in the 16 European countries that use the euro rose to 10% in December, 2009. Deutsche. 2010) Developed countries which hitherto experienced full employment are presently affected. The situation in Nigeria is quite alarming as the unemployment rate tends to be on a perpetual rise. In nations, most especially, developing countries like Nigeria unemployment serves as a major yardstick for development as was rightly portrayed in Dudley Seers definition of development. Seers (1969) asserted that: The questions to ask about a country’s development are therefore: what has been happening to poverty? What has been happening to inequality?

What has been happening to unemployment? If all three of these have declined from high level, then beyond doubt this has been a period of development for the country concerned. If one or two of these central problems have been worse especially if all three have, it would be strange to call the result “development” even if per capita income doubled. As a result of this consequence and the rising rate of unemployment, the Federal Government of Nigeria established a committee in 1986 to proffer solution to the menace (unemployment).

The committee’s recommendations formed the basis for the establishment of the “National Directorate of Employment” in 1986 established to curb and reduce the rate of unemployment through skills acquisition, self employment and labour intensive work scheme. 1. 2Statement of the Problem The International Labour Organisation feels “occurs when a person is available and willing to work but currently without work”. It is unfortunate that such occurrence is prevalent in the nation. Ake opined that “unemployment remains the greatest challenge of the economic wellbeing of the Nigerian Nation” (Daily Trust Newspaper, Jan. , 2010 Pg. 34) Unemployment rate has been of immense interest to the general public and policy makers. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) was established in 2003 to promote the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector of the Nigeria economy. It is to source, process and disseminate business information, develop policy, establish business support programmes build capacity and promote services, enhance MSME access to finance. The question is: how may Micro Small and Medium Enterprises have emerged from this scheme?

The recent crisis in the financial sector which has led to a ban on loan is an obvious limitation to this scheme. Should our graduates then become unemployed because banks are not giving out loans? Another of such programme is the Nigerian Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) Limited which is dedicated to financing agriculture at both micro and macro levels, they are to provide affordable financial and advisory services to the farm and non-farm enterprises of the Nigeria economy using well trained and highly motivated staff, back by appropriate technology.

If the NACRDB provided such assistance on time and make their procedures less cumbersome, many people would have been attracted to the scheme. But ironically, such funds more often than not are eventually made available at the end of the farming season. Also programmes such as (the Directorate for food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures otherwise known as (DFRRI), Mass Mobilization Self Reliance and Economic Reconstruction (MAMSER) and the National Agricultural Land Development Project (NALDA) created by the Babangida regime were all scraped by the Abacha regime.

During the 1980’s there was a global recession which became progressively worse for Nigeria because of the inherent weakness in the economy. The sudden reduction in oil prices led to cuts in government expenditure budgets leading to a reduction in employment opportunities especially school leavers. Hence, in order to curb the menace of the rising unemployment rate and considering its political and socio-economic implication; which includes a general increase in crime rates, such as armed robbery, youth restiveness, political thuggery, alcoholism, vandalization of petroleum pipes and electricity cables and prostitution.

Economic wastage such as excessive loss of output which manifests in a reduction of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and gross underutilization of Human Resources were reasons which led to the establishment of the National Directorate of Employment in 1986 to create employment for the teaming unemployed. Unfortunately, unemployment has either been on the rise or fluctuating, this is reflective in the various unemployment rates. As at 1985, unemployment rate was 8. 5%; 14. % in 2005 and as at December, 2009 it became 19. 7% (Wikipedia Encyclopedia). Is the National Directorate of employment living up to its mandate or are there other factors that affect unemployment? This, the researcher seeks to find out. Hence, this study seeks to find out how the National directorate of Employment has helped in reducing unemployment through skills acquisition programmes. 1. 3Objectives of the Study 1) To determine the causes of unemployment in Nigeria. ) To find out whether skills acquisition will help curb unemployment to the barest minimum. 3) To proffer possible solutions to the problems being faced by the National Directorate of Employment and make recommendations that will help improve the Directorate. 1. 4 Hypothesis Tested The following hypothesis was formulated: That inadequate skills acquisition has led to an increase in graduate unemployment in Kaduna state. 1. 5Significance of the Study

The study would provide vital information on the reduction of unemployment through skills acquisition; thereby helping not just students of public administration but the general public, policy makers and politicians, who are either affected in one way or the other or charged with the task of making developmental policies to set their priorities right. On the whole, the work would also add to knowledge. 1. 6Scope and Limitation This study is limited to the graduate scheme of the National directorate of Employment, Kaduna state.

Focus was on two local governments, that is, Zaria and Kaduna north, mainly because they contain the highest proportion of graduate beneficiaries. The time frame used is 2005 to 2009. 1. 7Methodology Data for this study was collected from both primary and secondary sources, which include textbooks, journals, newspapers, article, and the brochure of National Directorate of Employment, National Directorate of Employment annual reports, file documents, internet, and publication, among others.

Primary data were sourced mainly from questionnaires administered to both staff and beneficiaries of the National Directorate of Employment. Population and Sample Size Two local governments (Zaria, and Kaduna South) were picked as the focus basically because they have the highest amount of graduate beneficiaries. Thus, 150 questionnaires were administered to both members of staff and beneficiaries. The Systematic Sampling method in which 1 respondent was picked out of every 8 respondents was used. This gave a sample size of 150 respondents out of the total population size of 1200 people.

The total population size includes both beneficiaries and staff is 1200. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistical techniques i. e. Average mean score and tables will form the basic analytical tools. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2. 1Discussion of Related Concepts 2. 1. 1Unemployment Unemployment as defined by the International Labour Organisation “occurs when a person is available and willing to work but currently without work. Thus ILO agrees that only a person who is willing and available to work can be referred to as unemployed.

This implies that not everybody who is not working is unemployed, To Colander D. C. unemployment occurs when people are looking for a job and cannot find one. This further concurs with the earlier definition where there is a conscious effort by the person or people seeking employment, but fails to point out if the person or people in question have something doing or not, because some people who are working seek new jobs. Form the foregoing definitions, one is forced to ask if anybody willing and available to work could be termed unemployed, evened if the person is a child.

To this Frank R. et al defined unemployment as “adults not holding a job but looking for one. ” Who then is an adult? An adult is one who is 18 years and above, therefore the definition could be said to be “Anyone who is 18 years and above who is not holding a job but looking for one could be termed unemployed. In line with the aforementioned, the Bureau of Labour Statistics USA considers a person who is 16 years or older who has not worked during the preceding week but made some effort to find work (for example, by going to a job interview) in the past four weeks as unemployed.

Unemployment in Nigeria has actually become a menace, a vivid picture of which was painted by former executive secretary, National Manpower Board (NMB) Umo when he said at a seminar that “the problem of unemployment amongst our tertiary gradates is of recent vintage, if situated in a historical perspective, it is not more than two decades since it started, but since then, it has become unabated and cumulative”. To him many young graduates move from long spells of unemployment to high crimes including armed robbery while others have become handy tools for unscrupulous politicians. 2. 1. 2Employment

The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines employment as “the situation in which people have work”. This definition clearly States that when a person has work doing he/she is employed but fails to specify if the person is being paid for the work or not. Operationally, employment could be referred to the act of labour force being temporarily or fully occupied on either wages basis of interest basis for self occupied work. This definition added a new dimension, in that employment could be work based on wages or mere self interest either way, one is employed provided he/she is working.

Frank et al defined employment in terms of being employed. To them a person is employed if he or she worked full-time or part-time (even for a few hours) during the past week or is on vacation or sick-leave from a regular job. In a nut shell, employment could be defined as a person who is currently working for wages or self-interest. 2. 1. 3Labour Force Thomas J. H. et al (1970) defines labour force “as the non-institutional population who are working or looking for work”.

That is, it includes the unemployed, employed, proprietors, the self employed and members of the armed forces. To him, the labour force excludes all person engaged exclusively in housework in the homes or attending school, that is, a student, is not a member of the labour force unless he is working in addition to attending school (it is worthy of note that “non-institutional population” refers to all persons 16 years of age and older including members of the armed services but excluding persons in institutions). 2. 1. 4 Full Employment

To Ackely the concept of full employment is a very “slippery concept” and though “full employment is not definable nor should it be defined”, believes that Henry Hazlutt, it is worth-while analyzing the various views of economists on full employment. The Classical View The classical economists believed in the existence of full employment in the economy. Full employment to them was a normal situation and any deviation from this was regarded as abnormal. To the classical economists “unemployment resulted from the rigidity in the wage structure and interference in the working of free market system.

This comes in the form of trade union legislation, minimum wage legislation etc. On the other hand, Full employment exists “when everybody who at the running rate of wages wishes to be employed”. According to Pigou, those who are not prepared to work at the existing wage rate are not unemployed because they are voluntarily unemployed. To them, there should be no possibility of involuntary unemployment in the sense that, people are prepared to work but they do not find work. According to the classical economists, the above view only operates in an ideal economy.

This far differs from the reality in which involuntary unemployment is prevalent. The Keynesian View To Keynes, full employment means the absence of involuntary unemployment. That is, full employment is a situation in which everybody who wants to work gets work. He assumes that “with a given organisation, equipment and technique, real wages and the volume of output are uniquely co-related so that, in general, an increase in employment can only occur to the accompaniment of a decline in the rate of wages”.

In order to achieve full employment, Keynes advocates increases in effective demand to bring about reduction in real wages. 2. 2Types of Unemployment Economists have distinguished between various types of unemployment which includes Cyclical Unemployment, Frictional Unemployment, Structural Unemployment and Classical Unemployment. The aforementioned types are the most widely accepted by scholars. Other additional types that are occasionally mentioned are Seasonal unemployment, Hardcore unemployment Migrated unemployment. . 2. 1Cyclical or Keynesian Unemployment Cyclical or Keynesian unemployment is also known as Demand Deficient Unemployment. It occurs when there is not enough aggregated demand in the economy. Cyclical unemployment exists when the number of workers demanded falls short of the number of persons supplied (in the labour force). It gets its name because it varies with the business cycle which consists of alternating periods of booms and depressions. Robert F. et al said it could e likened to the most familiar form of musical chairs, in which the number of chairs is always less than the number of players. The Great Depression of the 1930’s is a striking example of Cyclical unemployment. In Nigeria today, the recent economic in Nigeria recession where supply was more than demand, most especially in the private sector is an example of cyclical unemployment. 2. 2. 2Frictional Unemployment Frictional unemployment occurs when a worker moves from one job to another. The time period between jobs is considered “frictional unemployment”.

Frictional unemployment is an example of a productive part of the economy, increasing both the worker’s long term welfare and economic efficiency and is also a type of voluntary unemployment. 2. 2. 3Structural Unemployment Structural unemployment occurs when the numbers of jobs in a labour market are unable to provide substantial jobs for everyone who wants one. 2. 2. 4Classical Unemployment Classical or real-way unemployment occurs when real wages for a job are set above the market clearing level, causing the number of job-seekers to exceed the number of vacancies.

Economists like Murray Ruthbard, suggest that even social taboos can prevent wages from falling to the market clearing level. Some economists believe that this type of unemployment can be reduced by increasing the flexibility of wages (abolishing minimum wages or employee protection) to make the labour market more like a financial market. This suggestion unfortunately, will lead to massive exploitation on the part of employers most especially in developing countries. 2. 2. 5Seasonal Unemployment Bradley R. S. s of the view that some joblessness is virtually inevitable as long as we continue to grow crops, build houses, or go skiing at certain seasons of the year. At the end of each season thousands of workers go searching for new jobs, thereby experiencing some seasonal unemployment in the process. Like in Nigeria, during the raining season, farmers are actively employed to plough sow, cultivate and harvest crops, this include both the aged and young. It is very common to see rural-urban migrants, return to their rural villages to cultivate during the raining season.

And once harvest is over they return to towns to search for menial jobs to carter for their needs. 2. 3Causes of Unemployment in Nigeria The cost of unemployment in any nation cannot be overemphasized, below are some of the costs identified by eminent scholars: individuals, economists, psychological, social socio-political. Economic Causes i)The Legacy of British Rule The bequest of some Nigerians who had high school education after independent and held job felt to be remunerated with high wages was a right.

This made majority of high school graduates at that time expressed their distaste for agriculture and their desires to be “pen pushers” these people were attracted to white collar jobs which were borrowed from the colonial master. This white collar jobs were unlike agriculture which provides employment for about eighty percent of the population. The colonial government fiscal policy with respect to employment also discouraged new entrants into agriculture which was the major alternative for white collar job.

Under the policy, marketing boards were introduced where farmers were heavily taxed by the colonial government. This made agriculture less appealing and killed the incentive that would have made people wish to take it upon as a carrier. Therefore, the mentality of white collar job was built into individuals Nigerian as a future employment. ii)The Oil Boom Era (1974-1980) Agriculture prior to the exportation of petrol had been the main asset of the economy but was neglected during the oil boom. All sorts of things were imported into the country.

The government of the day embarked upon all sorts of “white elephant:” projects e. g Ajaokuta Steel, building of Refinery, etc instead of investing in property with the windfall from oil. Over reliance on petroleum has till today led to fluctuation in government’s expenditures on unnecessary things and wastage of resource. The sudden slump in the international market for oil makes many projects undertaken especially construction come to stand still. Many employment opportunities were forced to reduce their capabilities.

Nigeria found itself in economic mess which it is still battling to salvage. iii)Consumption Pattern This entails the pattern of consumption of Nigerians’ as a relationship to the problem of unemployment. It has contributed to the high level of urban unemployment because the consumption of urban centres’ entails imported goods which attracted more able people from rural areas to search for job in urban centres’. This is due to the fact that Nigerians are to believe their home made goods are inferior.

But the more the demand for goods and services from foreign source the more employment we make available to the nationals of those countries and the reverse is the case for Nigeria. Social Causes i)Rural-Urban Migration The flow of labour force from rural to urban area has been a major cause of Nigeria’s unemployment situation. As a result of the neglect of agriculture and great increase in government expenditure during the oil boom era led to the migration of many young people who would have otherwise stayed in the rural areas to practice agriculture as an occupation.

Most migrants from rural areas were found to have only primary education with few having six years of secondary education. This led to surplus of unskilled workers and shortage of high level manpower. But now that Nigeria’s economy is producing more and more gradates from her institutions of higher learning, in almost all the metropolitan cities the unemployment problem continues to increase. People unable to get job since urban areas became saturated and unable to absorb every skilled job seekers. Table 1

Unemployment Rates, 2003-2007 (as at December) Description| 2003| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| National (Composite)| 14. 8| 11. 8| 11. 9| 14. 6| 10. 9| Urban | 17. 1| 11. 0| 10. 1| 10. 0| 10. 0| Rural | 13. 8| 12. 1| 12. 6| 15. 1| 12. 6| Source: National Bureau of Statistics, 2007. From the table above the composite unemployment rate stood at 11. 9% in 2005 compared with 14. 6% in 2006, and 10. 9% in 2007. It also shows that the rural unemployment rate is higher, hence, the reason for migrating to the urban areas in search of greener pastures.

Educational Factors The type of educational system inherited from the colonial masters put more emphasis on the production of gradates for white collars jobs at the expense of technical and vocational type. The result is that gradates do not only get unemployed but do not even find “black – collar” jobs to manage. Government policy with respect to university admission for first degrees in favour of the science as opposed to the arts does not still encourage students to study the science and other technological subjects, which Nigeria lacks.

However, the expansion in all educational level ranging from primary to tertiary institutions has contributed more to the unemployment problem. This is because the expansion does not correspond with the job provisioning for future graduates from the numerous schools. Political Causes i)Political Instability Ever since Nigeria got her independence from the British colonial masters in 1960, there has been political instability. A major problem of post independent Nigeria has been conflicts of personalities in politics and unbridled political party rivalries both of which affected government policies in all parts of the country.

Apart from the fact that the country had to go through a civil war form 1960 up till 1970. There has also been series of coups which have often resulted in abrupt changes in government up to date like that of June 12, 1993. This political environment which is unstable has negative effects on investment thereby creating problem of unemployment in the country. ii)Migrants from Neighbouring Countries People from neighbouring countries such as; Ghana, Benin Republic, Ivory Coast and Togo move down to Nigeria in search for jobs.

They feel that the Nigeria economy is better and more promising. As a result of this the Nigerian Labour Market cannot absorb all the job seekers, since it has too many factors to contend with. Foreign job seekers especially those from the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), those countries are often prepared to accept lower wages than Nigerians for the same type of work. And as employers are looking forward of cutting costs, they have no choice but to absorb these foreign seekers. Socio-Political Causes

The political independence Nigeria got from Great Britain was more of a flag independence and not economic Independence. Nigeria even today remains subservient to the whims and caprices of countries like Britain and United States of America. Despite the effort made to gain total control of the economy through the promulgation of the indigenization decree of 1977, Nigeria’s economy is still dominated by multinational corporations that employ a substantial number of Nigerians, thus, the fact remains that the profit is fleeing Nigeria to foreign countries head quarters.

The profit flight is supposed to be ploughed back into the country for provision of more jobs and development. Furthermore, external participation in the domestic activities of Nigeria by foreigners which is not reciprocated by similar Nigerian participation in their own domestic affairs militate against development efforts. All these slow down the economic growth and cause unemployment problem. Ethnicity Problem Nigeria is made up of many ethnic groups. Each of this ethnic group had the fear that another group may dominate it.

Apart from this, some ethnic groups which tend to be closer to neighbouring countries identify more with the than with other ethnic groups in the country that they are not familiar with. It is a fact that some northern States in Nigeria prefer to recruit Pakistani, Egyptians, and Indian professionals other than Nigerians from other ethnic group. Such discriminatory policies no doubt cause more unemployment in the country. 2. 4Theoretical Framework Various scholars have propounded theories relating to employment and unemployment.

These include those of the Classical view who believe that full employment was a normal situation and any deviation from this was regarded as abnormal. Okun’s law which was propounded by an American Economist named Arthur Okun (1926-1980) who looked at the US GNP during the 1950s and 1960s. Thus, for the purpose of this work the KEYNESIAN THEORY was adopted. It was propounded by John Maynard Keynes, a British Economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macro economics, social liberalism and economic policies of government. 2. 3. 1The

Keynesian Theory In the Keynesian theory which was propounded in 1936, Keynes argued that aggregate demand determined the overall level of economic activity, and that inadequate aggregate demand could lead to prolonged periods of high unemployment. He opined that if aggregate demand is not high enough to sustain full employment level of economy, then a gap is created between aggregate demand and aggregate supply known as the deflationary gap. To him this gap must be closed through concerted government programmes if not, the situation could degenerate into chronic unemployment.

The Keynesian prescription for reducing unemployment includes the following: 1) Increase in aggregate total demand through direct increase in government expenditure 2) By government policies that indirectly encourage more private investments (e. g. investment subsidies, tax allowances, low investment rates on business loans, establishing of institutions, etc). 2. 3. 2Its Application to this Study Looking at its applicability to this work, the Keynesian theory States that: inadequate aggregate demand could lead to prolonged periods of high unemployment.

It is no longer news in Nigeria that the demand for labour is on the decrease, as industries (e. g. textile) which hitherto where major employers of labour have been closed down due to unfavourable working conditions such as poor electricity supply, financial institutions have been hit by global recessions and the public sector have also resorted to downsizing thus making aggregate demand grossly inadequate thereby leading to a high rate of unemployment. Nigerian unemployment is a typical case of shortage in aggregate demand; the supply by far supersedes the demand.

With thousands of graduates leaving the higher institutions each year, the demand for time in the labour market depreciates. To Keynes, if aggregate demand is not high enough to sustain full employment level of the economy, then a gap is created between aggregate demand and aggregate supply known as the deflationary gap. This gap manifests itself in chronic unemployment which is been witnessed in Nigeria, with an unemployment rate of 19. 7% as at December, 2009. He further propounded that this gap must be closed through concerted government programmes so as to avoid unemployment.

From the foregoing it is evident that the Keynesian theory of unemployment not only explains the unemployment problem but has proffered solutions or ways of eradicating it. An Overview of the National Directorate of Employment 3. 1Introduction The worldwide economic depression of the early 80s caused a rapid deterioration in Nigerian’s economy. Industrial output shrank to an all time low and commercial activities were consequently reduced, leading to the loss of employment opportunity for many Nigerians.

By the end of 1985 the unemployment situations in Nigeria had reached desperate and alarming proportions (about 8. 5%). In the urban areas, where the educated tend to congregate, the unemployment rate was especially high. In the rural areas, it was no less severe. Graduate unemployment, which hitherto was unnoticed, emerged and was growing rapidly. The effect of such large-scale unemployment spelt disaster for both the society and individual victims. Deviant behaviours expressed in crimes and other anti-social behaviours were frequent among the frustrated youths.

The increase in crime rates and riots further created an atmosphere of general insecurity. Unemployed youths were easily susceptible to such manipulations and incitement by unscrupulous elements in the society or even politicians. It is in line with this that president Babangida appointed a committee on 26 March 1986 to deliberate on strategies for dealing with mass unemployment under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Employment, Labour and Productivity. The report of the Chukwuma committee, as it became popularly known, was approved by the Federal Government in October 1986.

Based on its recommendations the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was established on November 22, 1986 and its initial core programmes were formally launched on 30th January 1987. The president in his 1987 budget speech directed the new body to concentrate its effort on the reactivation of public works, promotion of direct labour, promotion of self-employment, organisation of artisans into co-operatives, and encouragement of a culture of maintenance and repairs.

To ensure effective implementation of the President’s directive, a board of Directors representing a cross section of all interest groups from industry, commerce, agriculture, finance, employers, labour and government was set-up to define policy and supervise operations. This board articulated four (4) practical programmes nationwide, each operating as a separate department. They include: a) National youth Employment and Vocational Skills Development Programme. b) Small scale industries and graduate employment programme. c) Agriculture sector employment programme d) Special public works programmes.

These programmes were backed by the necessary administrative, monitoring and support personnel, thus enabling optimum use of resources and prompt response to the requirement of the public. 3. 2Objectives of the National Directorate of Employment The objectives of the NDE were clearly Stated in Decree No. 24 of 1989 [i. e. NDE Decree (1989)] section 2 of the Decree provides for the objectives of the directorate. Thus, the NDE mandate is as follows: i) To design and implement programmes to combat mass unemployment. ii) To articulate policies aimed at developing programmes with labour intensive potentials. ii) To obtain and maintain a data bank of employment and vacancies in the country with a view to acting as a clearing house to link job seekers with vacancies. iv) To implement any other policies as may be laid down from time to time by the Board established under section 3 of its enabling act. NDE’s main function is to combat mass unemployment through skills acquisition, self-employment and labour-intensive work scheme. 4. 1Summary of discussions and findings It is no longer news that salaried jobs can no longer cater for the teaming graduates turned into the labour market from various higher institutions in Nigeria.

This has led to the search of alternative means of lively hood. One of such is the acquisition of specific skills to make graduates self-employed. It is against this backdrop that the hypothesis which States, “That skills acquisition is a prerequisite to a reduction in graduate unemployment in Kaduna State” was formed. In order to ascertain the hypothesis above, respondents were asked questions bordering on their level of acquisition vis-a-vis unemployment. The questions were answered by checking one position on two point scale of “Yes and No”. 4. 1. 1Skills

Acquired apart from Western Education Here respondents were asked if they have acquired any skill apart from the regularly western education. The responses gotten are shown in table 4. 1 below: Table 4. 1 Acquisition of Special Skills apart from Western Education Response| No. of Respondents| Percentage| Yes | 86| 59. 7| No| 58| 40. 3| Total | 144| 100| Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. The table above indicates that 86 respondents representing 59. 7% have acquired specific skills other than the western education while 58 respondents which represent 40. 3% have not.

This shows that specific skills acquisition is not alien to graduates in Kaduna State. 4. 1. 2Self Employment The respondents were further asked if they were presently self-employed. The following were the responses gotten: Table 4. 2: Self Employment Response| No. of Respondents| Percentage| Yes | 55| 38. 2| No| 89| 61. 8| Total | 144| 100| Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. Table 4. 13 depicts that 38. 2% of the respondents are self employed while 61. 8% are not. This shows that some respondents are utilizing the skills they have acquired. 4. 1. 3Nature of Self Employment

The respondents who claimed to be self-employed were asked to specify the nature of their self-employment and the following responses were gotten. i) Fashion designing ii) Farming iii) Electrical works iv) Wood work/carpentry v) Mechanized farming vi) Forest trading 4. 1. 4Acquisition of Specific Skills by Graduates in Kaduna State Many people agree that depending solely on salaried jobs is not the best. Thus, people should learn to acquire alternative sources of income. Hence, the respondents were asked: Do you think that most graduates in Kaduna State have acquired necessary skills to make them self employed?

Their responses are given below. Table 4. 3: Acquisition of Special Skills by Graduates in Kaduna State Response| No. of Respondents| Percentage| Yes | 36| 25| No| 108| 75| Total | 144| 100| Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. The table above shows that 36 respondents signifying 25% agreed that graduates in Kaduna State posses the necessary skill of being self employed while 108 respondents representing 75% were of the contrary view. , this shows that most gradates in Kaduna State have not acquired necessary specified skills to be self employed. 4. 1. 5Self Employment an Alternative to Salaried Job

The respondents were further asked if they agreed that self-employed in an alternative to salaried jobs. The following responses in table 4. 15 below were gotten. Table 4. 4: Employment an Alternative to salaried Jobs Response| No. of Respondents| Percentage| Yes | 136| 94. 4| No| 8| 5. 6| Total | 144| 100| Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. The table above indicates that 94. 4% of the respondents agreed that self-employment is an alternative to salaried jobs while 5. 6% do not agree that it is an alternative. Based on the responses gotten, it clearly shows that most people take self-employment as an alternative to salaried jobs. . 1. 6Skills Acquisition Schemes Established by the Government and Self Employment In a bid to make people become self-employed, government has put in place various schemes among which is the NDE. Thus, respondents were asked if the skills acquisition schemes put in place by the government have helped beneficiaries to become self-employed. The following were the responses gotten Table 4. 5: Skills Acquisition Schemes and Self Employment. Response| No. of Respondents| Percentage| Yes | 120| 83. 3| No| 24| 16. 7| Total | 144| 100| Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. From table 4. 16 above, 120 respondents representing 83. % agreed that the skills acquisition schemes put in place by government have helped beneficiaries to become self-employed while 24 respondents representing 16. 7% disagreed. 4. 1. 7Inclusion of Specific Skills Acquisition Programme in Post-Secondary School Curriculum With regards to specific skills acquisition, respondents were asked if skills acquisition programmes be included in Post-secondary schools’ curriculum and the following responses were gotten: Table 4. 6: Inclusion of specific skills acquisition programmes in post-secondary school curriculum Response| No. of Respondents| Percentage| Yes | 140| 97. 2| No| 4| 2. 8|

Total | 144| 100| Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. For table 4. 17 above, 140 respondents representing 97. 2% opined that specific skills acquisition programmes should be included in all post-secondary schools curriculum while 4 respondents representing 2. 8% held a contrary opinion. 4. 1. 8 Opinions about Skills Acquisition Schemes in Nigeria Respondents were asked to state their opinion on the skills acquisition schemes put in place by government and the following opinions/views were gotten: i) That the skills acquisition schemes have helped reduced unemployment not only in Kaduna State but in the country as a whole; ii)

That loan should be made available to the unemployed so that they can utilize both funds and skills together; iii) That skills acquisitions schemes should be fully implemented so that it’s aims and objectives can be accomplished; iv) That skills acquisition scheme should be well funded; v) It was also expressed that the skills acquisition schemes in Nigeria is too small compared to the population of the unemployed, thereby making it insignificant; vi) That, the skills acquisition schemes are sub-standard and need to be improved so that it can compete with those in other nations; vii) That skills acquisition helps graduate to become self employed; viii) That for skills acquisitions to succeed an adequate system that ensures the monitoring and evaluation of the scheme must be put in place; ix) That the skills acquisition schemes have been bedeviled by poor management plan, indiscipline and corruption; x) That the culture of skill acquisition should be inculcated into the citizens right form primary schools; Finally, that there should be more awareness and funding of the schemes available The table below shows a summary of the questions asked and responses gotten. 4. 2Test of Hypothesis using the Average Mean Score Method. The average mean score was used to test the Hypothesis which States: “That inadequate skills acquisition has led to an increase in graduate unemployment in Kaduna State”. Formular: X = ? p x where X=Average mean score ?p=Summation of percentages x=Total number of variables

Decision Rule: Accept Ho if average means score is 60% and above, reject Ho if average means score is less than 60%. Variables 1) Acquisition of specific skills other than western education 2) Self employment 3) Acquisition of specific skills by graduates in Kaduna State. 4) Self employment and alternative to salaried jobs 5) Skills acquisition schemes and self-employment 6) Skills acquisition and post secondary curriculum Table 4. 7: Highest Responses Variables | Responses | 1| 59. 7% of the respondents opined that they have acquired specific skills other than western education. | 2| 61. 8% of the respondents said they were not self employed. 3| 70% of the respondents were of the view that most graduates in Kaduna State have not acquired specific skills. | 4| 94. 4% of the respondents agreed that self-employment is an alternative to salaried jobs. | 5| 83. 3% of the respondents agree that skills acquisition schemes have made their beneficiaries self employed. | 6| 97. 2% of the respondents agreed that specific skills acquisition programmes should be included in post-secondary school curriculum. | Source: Researcher’s Survey, 2010. No. of Variables Percentages 159. 7 261. 8 375 494. 4 583. 3 697. 2 Total 6471. 4 ?p=471. 4= 78. 6% x 6 X = 78. 6% From the above calculation the average mean score of the Hypothesis is 78. 6%.

Going by the decision rule which States that Accept Ho if average mean score is 60% and above, our Ho which States; “that inadequate skills acquisition has led to an increase in graduate unemployment in Kaduna State” is Accepted. This implies that adequate skills acquisition will lead to a decrease in graduate unemployment in Kaduna State. 4. 3Major Findings It was discovered that Skills Acquisition is an effective tool in the reduction of graduate unemployment in Kaduna State. The researcher found out that most unemployed graduates in Kaduna State will opt for self-employment through the acquisition of specific skills, rather than wait for the non-existent salaried jobs. The researcher found out that “skill acquisition schemes” when effectively implemented will go a long way to reducing graduate unemployment not just in Kaduna State but in Nigeria as a whole.

It was also discovered that skills acquisition gives birth to small scale enterprise which in turn boost individual and national economy. As in the case of developed nations like China, Japan and even USA who started from small scale enterprises and they are world powers today. Thus, the importance of skills acquisition in unemployment reduction and by extension poverty reduction cannot be over-emphasized. 5. 1Conclusions and Recommendations As established by the study, the importance of skills acquisition cannot be overemphasized. Thus, it is recommended that learning of specific skills should be inculcated into the curriculum of the post-secondary schools of not just Kaduna State but Nigeria as a whole irrespective of the course of study.

In developed countries like the USA courses are courses such as fashion designing, automobile repairs, traffic control, animal husbandry, typesetting, catering, horticulture, swimming, memo writing, satellite installation, wood work and even cooking are included in formal school curriculum. Such compulsory electives should be imbibed in the nation thereby creating the spirit of entrepreneurship. There should be a diversification in the activities of the National Directorate of Employment. New challenging and innovative skills should be introduced from time to time. This will make it more enticing appealing for gradates to enrol, as young people like to explore new grounds. Also, specific organisation or institution should be established with the sole aim of tackling graduate unemployment.

Since unemployment cuts across various barriers (gender, class, age) and the National Directorate of Employment which is saddled with combating unemployment cannot effectively manage graduate unemployment as its resources (time, finance) are divided among other classes. Thus, giving more attention to graduate unemployment by establishing a body with the mandate of combating graduate unemployment will go a long way. References Bradley R. Schiller (2004) The Macro Economy Today 9th ed: New Delhi; McGraw Hill Irwin Companies. D. Rudiger et al (2004): Macro Economics: New Delhi; Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Ltd. David C. Colonader (2001) Macro Economics 4th ed. : New York; McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Euro-Zone Unemployment Climbs to 10 percent High Deutsche Welle. January 29, 2010. F. Onosode (1993): The Decades of Development Crises in Nigeria Essays. Ikeja: Malthouse Press Ltd. F. A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty:www. google. com G. Umoden (1992): The Babangida Year: Ikoyi-Lagos; Gabumo Publishing Company ltd. http://atext. ap[lia. com/controller/apliatext. aspx International Labour Organisation: Resolution concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, adopted by the thirteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (Oct. 1982) pg. 4. Jhingan M. L. (2004) Principles of Economics. 2nd ed. : India; Vrinda Publication Ltd.

National Bureau of Statistics, Core Welfare Indicator Questionnaire Newswise, Retrieved on October 27, 2008. National Directorate of Employment (2006) Brochure. Kaduna State Office. Richard A. (2007): “Fact Sheet on the Impact of Unemployment (PDF) Virginia Teach, Department of Economics USA. Robert F. e al (2001): Principles of Economics: India; McGraw-Hill Publishers S. Dudley (1969): The Meaning of Development. Eleventh Conference of the Society for International Development, New Delhi India. Wikipedia Encyclopaedia. www. econlog. econlib. org/archieves/2009 www. google. com www. uo. org/public. /english/bureau/stat/dpownload/ res/ecacpop. pdf

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Consequences of Ethnicity in Nigeria

Nigeria is by far the most populated of Africa’s countries, with more than one-seventh of the continent’s people. The people belong to many different ethnic groups. These groups give the country a rich culture, but they also pose major challenges to nation building. Ethnic strife has plagued Nigeria since it gained independence in 1960. Officially known as the ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria’, she has a federal form of government and is divided into 36 states and a federal capital territory.

Lagos, (formerly the capital of Nigeria) is the economic and cultural center located along the coast, and inhabited majorly by the Yoruba-speaking tribe. It is also the country’s largest city (in terms of population). The government moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 in the hope of creating a national capital where none of the country’s ethnic groups would be dominant. The land size area of Nigeria is approximately 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi).

It was home to ethnically based kingdoms and tribal communities before it became a European colony. In spite of European contact that began in the 16th century, these kingdoms and communities maintained their autonomy until the 19th century. The colonial era began in earnest in the late 19th century, when Britain consolidated its rule over Nigeria. In 1914 the British merged their northern and southern protectorates into a single state called the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria became independent of British rule in 1960.

After independence Nigeria experienced frequent coups and long periods of autocratic military rule between 1966 and 1999, when a democratic civilian government was established Nigeria is very rich in raw materials like crude oil, tin, iron etc but is almost solely dependent on crude oil which is a major source of income for the country. While oil wealth has financed major investments in the country’s infrastructure, Nigeria remains among the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income. Oil revenues led the government to ignore agriculture, resulting in dependence on food importation.

 The people of Nigeria Nigeria’s diversity, both in “tongue” and “tribe” makes it a very difficult region to subject to precise classification. This has led to the tendency among many scholars to focus on the three major ethnic or geographic zones in the country viz the Hausa-Fulani (Northern Nigeria), the Yoruba (Western Nigeria) and the Igbo (Eastern Nigeria). These geographic zones are not in any way solely occupied by the three ethnic groups. A plethora of smaller socio-ethnic groups may be located in these zones.

The highest population densities are in the Igbo heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, despite poor soils and heavy emigration. The intensively farmed zones around and including several major cities of the Hausa ethnic group especially Kano, Sokoto, and Zaria in the north are also densely populated. Other areas of high density include Yorubaland in the southwest, the central Jos Plateau, and the Tiv homeland in Benue State in the south central region. Densities are relatively low in the dry northeast and in most parts of the middle belt.

Ecological factors, including the prevalence of diseases such as sleeping sickness, carried by the tsetse fly, and historical factors, especially the legacy of pre-colonial slave raiding, help explain these low densities (Encarta, 2009).

Table 1. 1: Statistics of Nigeria Population| 138,283,240 (2008 estimate)| Population density| 152 persons per sq km 393 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)| Urban population distribution| 48 percent (2005 estimate)| Rural population distribution| 52 percent (2005 estimate)| Largest cities, with population| Lagos, 11,100,000 (2005 estimate) Ibadan, 3,570,000 (2007 estimate)

Ogbomosho, 861,300 (2007 estimate)| Official language| English| Chief religious affiliations| Muslim, 50 percent Christian, 40 percent Indigenous beliefs, 10 percent| Life expectancy| 47. 8 years (2008 estimate)| Infant mortality rate| 94 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)| Literacy rate| 70. 7 percent (2005 estimate)| Source: Encarta Encyclopaedia (2009) 1. 2 Social issues Wealth and power are distributed very unevenly in Nigerian society. This is due to several factors including corruption, political instability, and unemployment, amid others.

The great majority of Nigerians, preoccupied with daily struggles to earn a living, have few material possessions and little chance of improving their lot. Meanwhile, chiefs, rich merchants, politicians, and high-ranking civil servants often accumulate and flaunt massive wealth, which to a degree is expected and accepted in the Nigerian society. Most of these elite maintain power through networks of patronage: They secure and distribute labour and receive political support in return.

The system allows for some redistribution of income because patrons often pay for things such as school fees and marriage costs for relatives, community development, and charity work. Economic inequality has a severe effect on health, especially for children. One-fifth of Nigerian children die before the age of five, primarily from treatable diseases such as malaria, measles, whooping cough, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Less than one-half of infants are immunized against measles, and malnutrition affects more than 40 percent of children under the age of five.

Adults are equally affected, although with less deadly consequences. Only 20 percent of rural Nigerians and 52 percent of urban Nigerians have access to safe water. One-third have no access to health care simply because they live too far from clinics or other treatment centres. Many others cannot afford the fees charged by clinics. While average incomes are higher and death rates lower in cities, urban poverty is as pervasive as rural poverty. Secure, well-paying jobs are scarce, even for those with considerable education. Food is typically expensive.

Housing, too, is costly despite its rudimentary quality, prompting the poor to build basic houses in shantytowns. Sewage disposal systems in most cities are also basic or primitive, with polluted streams, wells, roadside drains, and other bodies of water increasing the risk of infectious disease. Industry, automobiles, and the burning of fuel-wood further pollute air and water. Crime in Nigeria rose in the mid-1990s as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality, which are abetted by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces.

More than half of all offenses are thefts, burglaries, and break-ins, although armed robberies are also prominent. Nigeria is a major conduit for drugs moving from Asia and Latin America to markets in Europe and North America. Large-scale Nigerian fraud rings have targeted business people in other parts of the world. Nigeria has been wracked by periodic violent clashes between ethnic and religious groups since the 1990s. The reasons behind these clashes have varied from local political disputes to conflicts between fundamentalist Muslims and Christians or moderate Muslims.

In many cases, local civic or religious leaders have manipulated these conflicts for political gain. 1. 3 Ethnicity: The Ethnic Composition of Nigeria Ethnicity is a term not easily defined and for proper understanding of the concept related terms requires description; an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties (Cohen, 1974). Ethnicism is another related concept used to denote ‘ethnic loyalty’ (Pepple, 1985).

The concept of loyalty here indicates willingness to support and act on behalf of the ethnic group. Subsequently, ethnic loyalty or ethnicism usually involves a degree of obligation and is often accompanied by a rejective attitude towards those regarded as outsiders i. e. members of other ethnic group (Salawu and Hassan, 2011). Thus the term Ethnicity can be defined as the interactions among members of many diverse groups (Nnoli, 1978). It is a commonplace fact that Nigeria is a society with different ethnic groups, religions, languages, cultures and institutional arrangements.

As a heterogeneous society of several ethnic groups, Nigerians are thus characterized by groups, desires, beliefs, values, customs, fears etc. These diversities in national life manifest in several ways including; music, language, culture, dance, beliefs, religion etc. The fact that over three hundred identified language groups exist in Nigeria has created some confusion as one may equate each language group with an ethnic group (Adejuyibem 1983) and thereby arrive at over three hundred ethnic groups.

As Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) and Anugwom (1997) have argued, however, languages and ethnic groups do not necessarily coincide. One language may be spoken by more than one ethnic group and one ethnic group may have linguistic variations of the same root language. Moreover, while language may be one of the important factors for defining an ethnic group, some ethnic groups in Nigeria may have lost their original linguistic roots, while retaining their identity, as a result of intense interaction with larger socio-ethnic groups.

In the same vein, many ethnic groups may use the same language to case communication, as is the case of the smaller ethnic groups in the North of Nigeria, where Hausa has become more or less a lingua franca. Therefore, it has been proven that there is no direct relationship between language and ethnic group in Nigeria. Thus, the 56 ethnic groups identified by Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) as the existing ethnic groups in contemporary Nigeria are adopted. It is important to note that the ethnic groups in Nigeria may exceed this number by far, though these 56 groups are both visible and easily identifiable.

The 56 ethnic groups are presented in the table below. Table 1. 2: Ethnic group in Nigeria 1. Hausa-FuIani| 29. Buri| 2. Igbo | 30. Balta| 3. Yoruba | 31. Kanuri| 4. Edo| 32. Margi| 5. Bassawa| 33. Delta Minorities| 6. Igala| 34. Gwadara| 7. Idoma| 35. Chamba-Daka| 8. Ora| 36. Mambila| 9. Ijo| 37. Katang | 10. Isoko| 38. Berom| 11. Urhobo| 39. Kadara| 12. Itshekiri| 40. Kurama| 13. Baatonum| 41. Mada| 14. Karnbari| 42. Alago| 15. Dulawa| 43. Migili| 16. Kamaku| 44. Eggon| 17. Ebira| 45. Bokyi| 18. Nupe| 46. Ekon| 19. Gwari| 47. Agoi| 20. Tiv| 48. Efik| 21. Jukun| 49. Ibibio| 2. Chomo-karim| 50. Annang| 23. Jarwa| 51. Mumuye| 24. Angas| 52. Waja| 25. Yekhee| 53. Busa| 26. Karekare| 54. Dendi| 27. Eloyi| 55. Buduma| 28. Gade| 56. Shuwa|

Source: Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) Nigeria is known for its cultural diversities but while these diversities have been positively harnessed for greatness by other nations of the world the opposite is regrettably the case in Nigeria despite the efforts of heroes past in ensuring that these diversities are harnessed for development; rather they have served as the bane of social, economic and political development.

Consequently, Nigeria as a nation has been besieged by an array of social, economic and political problems; these include corruption, tribalism, lack of patriotism, political gangsterism e. t. c (Nduka, 2004 and Omo-Ojugo et al. , 2009). 1. 4 Ethnicity and Marginalisation Before the advent of colonialism, the area now referred to as Nigeria was a large landmass occupied by un-unified people of diverse ethnic groups but for administrative convenience they were fused and merged together by the olonialists.

For the duration of colonial rule, the ‘marriage’ of the diverse ethnic groups was maintained and the diversities were united without any problem. With the exit of the colonialists, things started falling apart resulting in marginalisation and ethnic conflict thus adversely effecting the development of the budding nation. Ethnic conflict has been rightly defined as one of the greatest obstacles to meaningful development in Africa.

The ethnic factor did not diminish with the advent of independence; rather, it became a yardstick for measuring contribution to the national development effort and especially for allocating and distributing power and national resources and eventually resulted in the 30- month slaughter in the Nigerian civil war (1967 to 1970) which was anchored on ethnic rivalry. The history of present day Nigeria is rife with cases of ethno-religious conflicts. Since the annulment of the 1993 elections, there have been increased demands and counter-demands for marginalisa1ion by various ethnic groups in the country.

Marginalisation stems from a people’s perception of their treatment in the allocation or distribution of power and resources. A classic example is made for the Ogoni, who despite “having provided the nation with an estimated $30,000 million in oil revenues, their people had no pipe borne water or electricity, and lacked education, health and other social facilities: it is intolerable that one of the richest areas of Nigeria should wallow in abject poverty and destitution” (Saro-Wiwa, 1992).

In this light, the Ogoni ethnic group has concrete reasons to consider itself marginalised, especially since these facilities can be found in other ethno-regional areas of Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The general objective of the study is to

  1. Investigate the role ethnicity plays in the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
  2. Assess the impact of ethnicity on present day Nigeria
  3. Examine the effect on day-to-day activities of Nigerians

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

  1.  Impact of ethnicity on social and economic development in Nigeria? ii. Role of colonialism in ethnic groups formation.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the project envelops the influence of ethnicity in Nigeria’s social and economic development and its impact on present day Nigeria.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of this study is made manifest in the form of understanding the role ethnic diversity plays in the development of a country, in this case Nigeria.

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION ETHNICITY

Ethnicity in this study is referred to as an affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties or the interactions among members of many diverse groups

ETHNIC GROUP: For the purpose of this study, an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties SOCIO-

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: in this project, socio economic development is defined as a comprehensive process involved in improving social and economic conditions on individual and group empowerment, community, national and regional building.

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Interests of the Children and Goverment of Nigeria

The government of Nigeria believes in the protection of the interest of the children. Unfortunately, one can notice the use of child soldiers in Nigeria. Why there is the problem of child soldiers in Nigeria? During the 19th century and 20th century there have been interstate conflicts in the African continent. This led to the use of children as the soldiers in the warfare. There are many reasons for the wars fought between different states of Africa. Two important causes of the wars are poverty and orphan rates. (Reich and Acharina, 2005) In fact, the study of UNICEF data reveals that in Africa there is the maximum use of child soldiers in the wars.

It is known that 40 percent of the world child soldiers are found in the African continent. All the countries of the African continent particularly the third world countries are severely affected by the child soldier problem which is found in a poor country like Nigeria. Recently, international community has responded to this emerging problem. Great powers such as USA and UK have opposed the use of child soldiers in wars. In fact, international community has been shocked by the extent of the use of children as soldiers which has affected the future of the children of Nigeria.

UNO has taken this problem seriously which is proved by the fact that UNO has constituted committees to monitor the extent of the use of the child soldiers in the wars particularly in the African continent. The use of child soldiers can be seen in the African countries such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda.  The Nigerian government is also aware of the fact that there is need to guarantee the rights of the children. However due to economic backwardness, there has been growth in the use of the children as soldiers. Obviously, this led to loss of life of many children. However, it is found that due to food shortage and lack of productive resources, the parents are forced to send their children to help the military of their nation. Hence, poverty of the third world nations is the main cause of the participation of children in wars.(Reich and Acharina, 2005)

UNO and the various agencies of UNO such as UNICEF have taken this problem of child soldiers seriously. UNO was initially involved in this problem in an attempt to resolve the interstate conflicts in Africa. However, later it was known to the UNO members regarding the impact of the use of children on the children of Africa and the international community. In order to counter this problem, UNO has expressed its displeasure through the various conferences and by publishing reports concerning the efforts of the individual nations to curb the root cause of the children’s participation in the wars.

In 1999, the coalition forces decided to publish a worldwide report regarding the plight of the children as soldiers.  In fact, UNO has urged all the member nations to protect the rights of the children. Recently, Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General has urged the Security Council to impose sanctions on the nations indulging in the use of child soldiers in the wars leading to the violation of the international law. The coalition forces have decided to prohibit the use of children as soldiers. The UNO noted that more than 250000 children are used as soldiers. The suggested sanctions include ban on the sale of armaments, sanctions on financial assistance, and so on.

The UNO has also urged the NGOs participating in this anti-child soldier policy to implement the policy decisions on the UNO which has been discussed in the various conferences and UNO publications. The UNO committees on the children issues have submitted their reports regarding the position of the children in the underdeveloped countries. The imposition of sanctions is expected to curb the number of the child soldiers in the countries such as Nigeria. However, the UN report noted that there has been decline in the number of child soldiers worldwide. The UNO also decided to give financial and other kinds of support to the poor countries to help curb poverty so that there would be decrease in the number of children used in the warfare. The UN Under-Secretary Olara Otunnu also believed that children should be protected from military conscription. (Africa Renewal, 2005) In fact, the UNO members have urged the different nations to increase the minimum recruitment age to 18 years. (Maslen, 2002)

The UNO suggestions regarding the protection of the children’s rights have been implemented by most of the African countries including Nigeria. In fact, legislations have been passed by Nigeria to curb the incidence of the use of the child soldiers in the wars. Although, till 2002 Nigeria did not sign ‘the African charter on the rights and welfare of child’, the government has supported the voluntary recruitment of the soldiers as there is no conscription in Nigeria. Minimum age for the recruitment of the voluntary soldiers is 18 years. The Nigerian youth have participated in the ethnic conflict in the region. This conflict involves the various political and economic issues. However, Nigeria has participated in the several conferences organized by the UNO to oppose the violation of the children’s rights.

For instance, in the year 1999, the African countries including Nigeria attended the African Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers. In the conference the various facts concerning the child soldiers was discussed. In 2001 Nigeria attended the United Nations conference on the illicit trade which also discussed the issue of the child soldiers. Nigeria became the party to the resolution of this conference. The members understood the impact of the use of arms on the children and it was resolved to protect the rights of the children. The Nigerian government has realized that the main reason for the use of the child soldiers is the existence of poverty in Nigeria. Due to food shortage and productive resources, children have been sent to the battle field.

In order to curb the incidence of the use of children as soldiers, the Nigerian government has devised plans to improve the economic conditions of the families. The Nigerian government urges the international communities including UNO to understand the causes of the phenomenon of the child soldiers in Nigeria. Hence, international organizations should provide more economic support to bring the economic advancement of the region which will reduce the incidence of the use of children as soldiers. The government of Nigeria believes that necessary actions should be taken to ensure the protection of the children’s rights.

It is understood that involvement of children in wars negatively affects the relation between Nigeria and international community. However, in order to introduce these measures, the international community, through the organizations such as UNICEF, should strengthen the polity and economy of Nigeria. Nevertheless, in the name of the protection of the children’s rights the integrity of the nations should not be threatened. Therefore, this is to request the organizations such as UNO to provide the positive support to Nigeria to prevent the incidence of the use of the child soldiers in the wars. The Nigerian government plans to introduce and implement legislations and programs to reduce the use of children as soldiers in the wars. (Maslen, 2002)

Bibliography

Maslen, Stuart (2002). “The Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa A country analysis of child recruitment and participation in armed conflict”, retrieved online on 30-10-2005 from <http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/chilsold.htm>

Reich, Simon F (2005). “Why do Children “Fight”? Explaining Child Soldier Ratios in African Intra-State Conflicts”, retrieved online on 30-10-2005 from <http://www.ridgway.pitt.edu/home/publications/Ford/Working_Papers/ChildSoldierspdf.pdf>

(2005). “Africa Briefs”, Africa Renewal, 19:1, April, retrieved online on 30-10-2005 from <http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/>

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