THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON SOCIO-POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA)

THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON SOCIO-POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study

One of the greatest challenges facing the Nigeria economy is unemployment which has maintained a rising trend over the years. The total labour force in Nigeria is made up of all persons aged 15 – 64 years excluding students, home keepers, retired person and stay-at-home to work or not interested.

Unemployment in Nigeria is defined as the proportion of labour force that was available for work but did not work in the week preceding, the survey period for at least 39 hours official figures from the Bureau of statistics put the figures of unemployment at 19-70 percent, about 30 million, but this figure still did not include about 40 million other Nigeria youths captured in world bank statistic in 2009. By implication it means that if Nigeria population is 140 millions then 50 percents of Nigerians are unemployment.

Viewing this from the perceptions of the recent events in the middle east were unemployment and poverty among others played a key role in the uprising, one can only  conclude that Nigeria’s unemployment poses a threat to its development, security and peaceful co-existences, being that Nigeria is made up of diverse entities from different cultural and religious background most of whom have shown differences in political, cultural and religious understanding and accommodation emanating from concerns of abuse of power, resource allocation nepotism negligence and corruption among others.

According to Bello (2003) from time Memorial, the subject of unemployment has always been an issue of great concern to the economists, policy markers and economic managers alike, giving the divesting effect of this phenomena on individuals. The society and the economy at large. The classical school of thought that provided the earliest thinking on economic issues did not fail.

• Statement of the Problems

According to Anyade (1995:214) stated that the problem of unemployment has become continually without solution being in sight, it has constituted itself into one of the worst enemies of the populace in this part of the world. That the problem of unemployment has been retrenchments unbindle rural – urban migrate etc. Unemployed is a great problem associated with both rural and urban communities of the Nigeria economy, it results to the following problems to Nigeria;

1. Threat to Peace: The unemployed constituted available book for political troubles shooter in a country.